Ian Bannen (29 June 1928 – 3 November 1999) was a Scottish character actor and occasional leading man.
Bannen was known for starring as Christopher Lowe in From Beyond the Grave (1974), Jim Prideaux in the BBC production of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) and Jackie O'Shea in Waking Ned Devine (1998). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), as well as the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for both The Offence (1972) and Hope and Glory (1987).
Bannen was born in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, the son of Clare (née Galloway) and John James Bannen, a lawyer. Bannen served in the British Army after attending St Aloysius' College, Glasgow and Ratcliffe College, Leicestershire. His first acting role came in a 1947 Dublin stage production of Armlet of Jade. He became a successful figure on the London stage, making a name for himself in the plays of both Shakespeare and Eugene O'Neill. He was an original member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared on Broadway as well.
His film debut occurred in the early 1950s with a small role in Pool of London (1951), and he quickly rose to prominence, primarily in a wide range of supporting roles. He had a very significant role as Stoker Samuel Bannister in Yangtse Incident. During the early stages of his career he worked with the Boulting Brothers on Private's Progress and Carlton-Browne of the F.O.. His performance as Crow in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, making him the first Scottish actor to receive this honour; he also received a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year - Actor. That same year, he starred alongside Sean Connery in the WW2 prison drama, The Hill.
His notable television appearances include parts in Doctor Finlay, Thriller, and as a schoolteacher and ex-spy in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Acclaim
Ian Bannen received an Academy Award nomination in 1965 for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in The Flight of the Phoenix as Ratbags Crow, one of the survivors of a plane crash. He also received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as suspected child molester Kenneth Baxter in The Offence (1972). He also won acclaim for his roles as Brother Benedict in Lamb (1986), Grandfather George in John Boorman's Hope and Glory (1987) (for which he received a second Best Supporting Actor BAFTA nomination), the elder Robert de Brus in Braveheart (1995) and as the touchingly crafty villager in Waking Ned Devine (1998).
In 1996, he was honoured with the BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award. Death: Bannen was killed, aged 71, in a car accident by Loch Ness in November 1999. He and his wife, Marilyn Salisbury, who had been driving, were discovered in an overturned vehicle at Knockies Straight between Inverness and Fort Augustus. His wife, a veterinarian for the Ministry of Agriculture, suffered only minor injuries. The couple had been married since 1976; they had no children.
Legacy
Coatbridge College, Lanarkshire annually presents the Ian Bannen Memorial Award to the best actor or actress in its classes.
Bannen was posthumously given the 2000 Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award.
Partial filmography
See also: List of actors who have appeared in multiple Best Picture Academy Award winners
Private's Progress (1956) as Private Horrocks
The Long Arm (1956) as The Young Workman
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst (1957) as AB Bannister RN
Miracle in Soho (1957) as Filipo Gozzi
The Birthday Present (1957) as Junior Customs Officer
A Tale of Two Cities (1958) as Gabelle
She Didn't Say No! (1958) as Peter Howard
Behind the Mask (1958) as Alan Crabtree
Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959) as Young King Loris
A French Mistress (1960) as Colin Crane, The Headmaster's Son
Suspect (1960) as Alan Andrews
World in My Pocket (1961) as Kitson
Station Six-Sahara (1962) as Fletcher
Psyche 59 (1964) as Paul
The Hill (1965) as Staff Sergeant Harris
Mister Moses (1965) as Robert
Rotten to the Core (1965) as Lt. Percy Vine
Flight of the Phoenix (1965) as Crow
Penelope (1966) as James B. Elcott
The Sailor from Gibraltar (1967) as Alan
Lock Up Your Daughters (1969) as Ramble
Too Late the Hero (1970) as Pvt. Jock Thornton
Jane Eyre (1970) as St. John Rivers
The Deserter (1971) as British Army Capt. Crawford
Fright (1971) as Brian
Doomwatch (1972) as Dr. Del Shaw
The Offence (1972) as Kenneth Baxter
The Mackintosh Man (1973) as Slade
From Beyond the Grave (1974) as Christopher Lowe
(segment 2 "An Act of Kindness")
Il Viaggio (1974) as Antonio Braggi
The Driver's Seat (1974) as Bill
The Gathering Storm (1974) as Adolf Hitler
Bite the Bullet (1975) as Sir Harry Norfolk
Sweeney! (1977) as Charles baker
Jesus of Nazareth (1977) as Amos
The Inglorious Bastards (1977) as Col. Charles Thomas Buckner
Ring of Darkness (it) (1979) as The Professor
The Watcher in the Woods (1980) as John Keller
Eye of the Needle (1981) as Godliman
Night Crossing (1982) as Josef keller
Gandhi (1982) as Senior Officer Fields
The Prodigal (1983) as Riley Wyndham
Gorky Park (1983) as Iamskoy
Lamb (1985) as Brother Benedict
Defence of the Realm (1985) as Dennis Markham
Hope and Glory (1987) as Grandfather George
La Partita (1988) as Father of Francesco
The Courier (1988) as McGuigan
The Lady and the Highwayman (1989) as Christian Drysdale
Streghe (1989) as Father Matthew
George's Island (1989) as Captain Waters
Circles in a Forest (1990) as MacDonald
Ghost Dad (1990) as Sir Edith Moser
The Big Man (1990) as Matt Mason
Speaking of the Devil (1991) as Luzifer
The Treaty (1991) as Davd Lloyd George
The Sound and the Silence (1991) as Melville
Damage (1992) as Edward Llyod
A Pin for the Butterfly (1994) as Grandpa
Braveheart (1995) as The Leper
Something to Believe In (1998) as Don Pozzi
Waking Ned Devine (1998) as Jackie O'Shea
To Walk with Lions (1999) as Terence Adamson
Best (2000) as Sir Matt Busby
The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (2000) as Billy Evans (final film role)
For fifty years I have been a Document Examiner and that is how I earn my living.
For over 50 years I have also been a publicist for actors, singers, writers, composers, artists, comedians, and many progressive non-profit organizations.
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