John Joseph "Jack" MacGowran was an Irish character actor, whose last film role was as the alcoholic director Burke Dennings in The Exorcist. He was probably best known for his work with Samuel Beckett. MacGowran was born on October 13, 1918 in Dublin. He established his professional reputation as a member of the Abbey Players in Dublin, while he achieved stage renown for his knowing interpretations of the works of Samuel Beckett. He appeared as Lucky in Waiting For Godot at the Royal Court Theatre, and with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Endgame at the Aldwych Theatre. He released an LP... record, MacGowran Speaking Beckett, to coincide with Samuel Beckett's 60th birthday in 1966, and won the 1970-71 Obie for Best Performance By an Actor in the off-Broadway play MacGowran in the works of Beckett. He also specialised in the work of Sean O'Casey, creating the role of Joxer in the Broadway musical Juno in 1959, based on O'Casey's 1924 play about The Troubles, Juno and the Paycock. Fittingly, he played O'Casey's brother Archie in Young Cassidy , one of John Ford's last films .
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| Birthdate: | October 13, 1918 |
| Birthplace: | Dublin |
| Date of death: | January 31, 1973 |
| Also known as: | John Joseph MacGowran |