Brian Phelan obit

Brian Phelan obituary

 

He was not on the list.

My friend Brian Phelan, who has died aged 90, was an actor turned playwright whose work was performed on television and on stage between the mid-1970s and early-2000s.

Over that period he produced works such as Woman’s Estate (1974) and Holding On (1977), both for LWT; The Russian Soldier (1986), directed by Gavin Millar for the BBC; Murphy’s Stroke (Thames Television, 1980); Knockback (1987 for the BBC) and Coded Hostile for Granada in 1989.

His many stage plays included Article 5 (1975), The Signalman’s Apprentice (1974), which was perhaps his best known creation, Paddy (1977) and Himself (1993), the last of which starred Timothy West at the Nuffield theatre in Southampton, the Theatre Royal in Bath and Richmond theatre, London.

Later on, No Tears, which he wrote for RTÉ in 2002, won the best miniseries award at the Monte Carlo television festival.

Brian was born in Dublin to Micheal, a builder, and Theresa (nee Fogerty), a housewife. Educated by the Christian Brothers, Brian was apprenticed as a carpenter before emigrating at the age of 18 with his family to Canada, where he began acting in theatre and television.

In his early 20s he returned to Ireland, and in 1956 landed his first notable stage role there at the Abbey theatre in Dublin, in Brendan Behan’s The Quare Fellow. Moving to the UK shortly afterwards, he met the young Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, resulting in a long-lasting friendship, and appeared in Miss Julie at the Arts theatre, as well as in a number of films, including The Kitchen (1961), HMS Defiant (1962) and three movies for Joseph Losey – The Criminal (1960), The Servant (1963) and Accident (1967). I met Brian in London in the late 60s when I was working at the BBC, and we discovered that we had mutual friends and shared cultural interests.

While still acting Brian delivered his first television script to ATV – The Tormentors (1966) – which became an ITV Play of the Week starring James Mason and Stanley Baker. Its success prompted him to turn away from acting to concentrate on his writing.

Both in his work environment and outside, Brian was a man of great loyalty and simpatico, and his many friends were a vital part of his life.

His first marriage, to Jan Heppell in 1960, ended in divorce in 1964, and he spent the rest of his life with his partner, Dorothy Bromiley, an actor who predeceased him by only a few days.

He is survived by their daughter, Kate, and by Josh, Dorothy’s son from a previous marriage.

 

Actor

Cathy Come Home (1966)

Days of Hope

8.0

TV Mini Series

Solicitor

1975

1 episode

 

Armchair Theatre (1956)

Armchair Theatre

7.6

TV Series

Jeremy Leeds

Steve Mathews

1961–1974

2 episodes

 

Honeybaby, Honeybaby (1974)

Honeybaby, Honeybaby

4.3

Harry

1974

 

The Fellows (1967)

The Fellows

6.6

TV Series

Harris

1967

1 episode

 

Phillip Manikum and Christopher Matthews in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1967)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

TV Series

Ian Lambert

1967

1 episode

 

The Wednesday Play (1964)

The Wednesday Play

7.5

TV Series

The Interviewing Doctor

1967

1 episode

 

Accident (1967)

Accident

6.8

Police Sergeant

1967

 

Patrick Hatfield and Nicolette Robinson in Jemima and Johnny (1966)

Jemima and Johnny

7.6

Short

Johnny's Father

1966

 

Dr. Finlay's Casebook (1962)

Dr. Finlay's Casebook

7.7

TV Series

Father Kelly

1966

1 episode

 

Steve Forrest in The Baron (1966)

The Baron

7.1

TV Series

Ernst Rishner

1966

1 episode

 

No Hiding Place (1959)

No Hiding Place

7.7

TV Series

Paddy Harrigan

1966

1 episode

 

Bradford Dillman and Peter Graves in Court Martial (1965)

Court Martial

7.4

TV Series

Lt. Charles Braun

1965

1 episode

 

Emergency-Ward 10 (1957)

Emergency-Ward 10

6.4

TV Series

Ronald Casey

1965

1 episode

 

Judi Dench in Four in the Morning (1965)

Four in the Morning

6.1

Boy

1965

 

Anthony Quinn and James Coburn in A High Wind in Jamaica (1965)

A High Wind in Jamaica

6.5

Curtis

1965

 

Patrick McGoohan in Secret Agent (1964)

Secret Agent

8.2

TV Series

Donald McKinnon

1965

1 episode

 

Gideon C.I.D. (1964)

Gideon C.I.D.

8.1

TV Series

Dandy Johnson

1964

1 episode

 

The Soldier's Tale (1964)

The Soldier's Tale

7.0

The Soldier

1964

 

Colin Campbell and Rita Tushingham in The Leather Boys (1964)

The Leather Boys

7.1

Man in Jeans

1964

 

Keith Barron and William Mervyn in It's Dark Outside (1964)

It's Dark Outside

8.0

TV Series

Scooty Williams

1964

1 episode

 

The Sentimental Agent (1963)

The Sentimental Agent

7.2

TV Series

Sylvester O'Toole

1963

1 episode

 

Dirk Bogarde, James Fox, and Sarah Miles in The Servant (1963)

The Servant

7.8

Man in Pub

1963

 

ITV Play of the Week (1955)

ITV Play of the Week

6.9

TV Series

Noah

Tracy

Owen Brown

1959–1963

3 episodes

 

Bob Dylan, David Warner, Ursula Howells, Reg Lye, and Maureen Pryor in The Madhouse on Castle Street (1963)

BBC Sunday-Night Play

8.8

TV Series

Eddie

1963

1 episode

 

Reginald Marsh, Barbara Murray, and Patrick Wymark in The Plane Makers (1963)

The Plane Makers

8.1

TV Series

Joe Seeley

1963

1 episode

 

James Ellis and John Slater in Z Cars (1962)

Z Cars

7.0

TV Series

Geraghty

1962

1 episode

 

Probation Officer (1959)

Probation Officer

7.4

TV Series

Len

1962

1 episode

 

Damn the Defiant! (1962)

Damn the Defiant!

7.1

Grimshaw

1962

 

The Kitchen (1961)

The Kitchen

6.4

Kevin

1961

 

Jackpot (1960)

Jackpot

5.9

Taffy

1960

 

The Concrete Jungle (1960)

The Concrete Jungle

6.8

Pauly Larkin

1960

 

On Trial

TV Series

John Cronin

1960

1 episode

 

Inside Story

TV Series

Mike Steele

1960

13 episodes

 

Writer

Brenda Fricker, Tina Kellegher, and Maria Doyle Kennedy in No Tears (2002)

No Tears

7.5

TV Mini Series

Writer

2002

4 episodes

 

The Treaty (1991)

The Treaty

7.9

TV Movie

Writer

1991

 

Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy (1989)

Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy

6.2

TV Movie

Writer

1989

 

Manika, une vie plus tard (1989)

Manika, une vie plus tard

6.8

writer

1989

 

Screen Two (1985)

Screen Two

6.3

TV Series

writer

screenplay

screenwriter

1985–1986

4 episodes

 

Die Andere Seite der Welt

Writer

1984

 

Being Normal

TV Movie

play

1983

 

ITV Playhouse (1967)

ITV Playhouse

6.9

TV Series

writer

1969–1981

2 episodes

 

Les aiguilleurs

TV Movie

play

1980

 

Pierce Brosnan and Niall Toibin in Murphy's Stroke (1980)

Murphy's Stroke

7.2

TV Movie

by

1980

 

Caravans (1978)

Caravans

5.9

screenplay (uncredited)

1978

 

Tony Britton and Paul Freeman in Scorpion Tales (1978)

Scorpion Tales

7.4

TV Series

writer

1978

1 episode

 

Das Doppelleben des Wilfried E.

TV Movie

teleplay

1978

 

Michael Elphick in Holding On (1977)

Holding On

TV Series

writer

1977

6 episodes

 

Frauensiedlung

TV Movie

teleplay

1976

 

Michael Craig in The Emigrants (1976)

The Emigrants

TV Series

writer

1976

1 episode

 

Das Anhängsel

TV Movie

teleplay

1975

 

The Compliment

TV Movie

Writer

1974

 

Julie Peasgood in Seven Faces of Woman (1974)

Seven Faces of Woman

8.2

TV Series

writer

1974

1 episode

 

Honeybaby, Honeybaby (1974)

Honeybaby, Honeybaby

4.3

Writer

1974

 

Christiane Krüger in Woman of the Year (1973)

Woman of the Year

5.4

writer

1973

 

Geoffrey Bayldon and Gillian Bailey in The Frighteners (1972)

The Frighteners

7.3

TV Series

Writer

1972

1 episode

 

ITV Saturday Night Theatre (1969)

ITV Saturday Night Theatre

6.3

TV Series

writer

1971

1 episode

 

Speaking of Murder

TV Movie

adaptation

1971

 

Thirty-Minute Theatre (1965)

Thirty-Minute Theatre

7.4

TV Series

writer

1967

1 episode

 

ITV Play of the Week (1955)

ITV Play of the Week

6.9

TV Series

teleplay

1966

1 episode