William George "Willie" Fay (12 November 1872 â€" 27 October 1947) was
an actor and theatre producer who was one of the co-founders of the
Abbey Theatre.Fay was born in Dublin, where he attended Belvedere
College. He worked for a time in the 1890s with a touring theatre
company in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. When he returned to Dublin,
he worked with his brother Frank, staging productions in halls around
the city. Finally, they formed W. G. Fay's Irish National Dramatic
Company, focused on the development of Irish acting talent. The
brothers participated in founding the Abbey Theatre and were largely
responsible for evolving the Abbey style of acting. After a
falling-out with the Abbey directors in 1908, the brothers emigrated
to the United States to work in theatre there.He moved to London in
1914, working as an actor on stage and in films. One of his most
notable film roles was as Father Tom in Carol Reed's Belfast-set Odd
Man Out (1947), whose cast was dense with actors from the Abbey
Theatre. His memoir, The Fays of the Abbey Theatre, appeared in 1935.
Willie Fay died in London in 1947, aged 74.
an actor and theatre producer who was one of the co-founders of the
Abbey Theatre.Fay was born in Dublin, where he attended Belvedere
College. He worked for a time in the 1890s with a touring theatre
company in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. When he returned to Dublin,
he worked with his brother Frank, staging productions in halls around
the city. Finally, they formed W. G. Fay's Irish National Dramatic
Company, focused on the development of Irish acting talent. The
brothers participated in founding the Abbey Theatre and were largely
responsible for evolving the Abbey style of acting. After a
falling-out with the Abbey directors in 1908, the brothers emigrated
to the United States to work in theatre there.He moved to London in
1914, working as an actor on stage and in films. One of his most
notable film roles was as Father Tom in Carol Reed's Belfast-set Odd
Man Out (1947), whose cast was dense with actors from the Abbey
Theatre. His memoir, The Fays of the Abbey Theatre, appeared in 1935.
Willie Fay died in London in 1947, aged 74.
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