William Joseph Shields (10 March 1888 â€" 14 January 1961), known
professionally as Barry Fitzgerald, was an Irish stage, film and
television actor. In a career spanning almost forty years, he appeared
in such notable films as Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Long Voyage Home
(1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), Going My Way (1944), None but
the Lonely Heart (1944) and The Quiet Man (1952). For Going My Way
(1944), he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and was
simultaneously nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He was
the older brother of Irish actor Arthur Shields. In 2020, he was
listed at number 11 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film
actors.Fitzgerald was born William Joseph Shields in Walworth Road,
Portobello, Dublin, Ireland, the son of Fanny Sophia (née Ungerland)
and Adolphus Shields. His father was Irish and his mother was German.
He was the older brother of Irish actor Arthur Shields.He went to
Skerry's College, Dublin, before going on to work in the civil
service, starting in 1911 as a junior clerk at the Dublin Board of
Trade. He later went to work for the unemployment office. "It was an
easy job, full of leisure," he later said.
professionally as Barry Fitzgerald, was an Irish stage, film and
television actor. In a career spanning almost forty years, he appeared
in such notable films as Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Long Voyage Home
(1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), Going My Way (1944), None but
the Lonely Heart (1944) and The Quiet Man (1952). For Going My Way
(1944), he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and was
simultaneously nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He was
the older brother of Irish actor Arthur Shields. In 2020, he was
listed at number 11 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film
actors.Fitzgerald was born William Joseph Shields in Walworth Road,
Portobello, Dublin, Ireland, the son of Fanny Sophia (née Ungerland)
and Adolphus Shields. His father was Irish and his mother was German.
He was the older brother of Irish actor Arthur Shields.He went to
Skerry's College, Dublin, before going on to work in the civil
service, starting in 1911 as a junior clerk at the Dublin Board of
Trade. He later went to work for the unemployment office. "It was an
easy job, full of leisure," he later said.
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