Niall MacGinnis

Patrick Niall MacGinnis (29 March 1913 – 6 January 1977) was an Irish actor and physician. On screen, he was well-known for his character roles with a "poetic timbre",

Early life and education MacGinnis was born in the Ranelagh area of Dublin in 1913, the son of Mary Josephine (née Kelly) and Patrick F. MacGinnis. He served through the end of Second World War, until 1947, when he returned to acting in the film Captain Boycott.

In 1953, MacGinnis played the title character in the biographical film Martin Luther. The film was critically acclaimed and a large commercial success, earning multiple Academy Award nominations and appearing on the National Board of Review's Top Ten Films of 1953. One critic called MacGinnis' performance "magnificent... given reverential, straightforward, honest, sincere treatment, as well as eschewing anything savoring of sensationalism."

In 1957, MacGinnis played the villain Dr. Julian Karswell opposite American actor Dana Andrews in the classic British horror film Night of the Demon (initially released in the United States as Curse of the Demon). His role as a sinister-yet-charismatic occultist remains one of his most well-remembered among film fans. Another notable role was as Zeus in the 1963 fantasy film Jason and the Argonauts.

Television On television, he played the arch-criminal A. J. Kent in the Danger Man episode "Battle of The Cameras" and Colonel Probst in The Saint episode "The Paper Chase".

Personal life During the late 1930s, MacGinnis lived on the River Thames on a houseboat converted out of a commercial sailer, the Hermoine.

In 1942, MacGinnis married Sheila Mcdonald; the couple later divorced. In 1955, he married his second wife Eleanor, with whom he had a daughter. In the mid-1970s, he gave up acting, moved back to his native Ireland, and returned to the medical profession. He lived in Ashford, County Wicklow.

Death MacGinnis died of cancer in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales, in January 1977, aged 63, where he had been working in a local clinic. At the time of his death, he was considering coming out of retirement to appear to narrate his old friend Michael Powell's film Return to the Edge of the World (1978).

His wife Eleanor remained in Ashford until her death in 2013. Their daughter and family still reside on the family property.

Filmography

Turn of the Tide (1935) – John Lunn The Crimson Circle (1936) – Jack Beardmore Debt of Honour (1936) – Lt. Peter Stretton Ourselves Alone (1936) – Terence Elliott The Luck of the Irish (1936) – Derek O'Neill The Edge of the World (1937) – The Gray Family: Andrew, His Son The Last Adventurers (1937) – Jeremy Bowker Spring Meeting (1938 TV movie) – Michael Byrne Mountains O'Mourne (1938) – Paddy Kelly East of Piccadilly (1941) – Joe 49th Parallel (1941) – Vogel The Day Will Dawn (1942) – Olaf We Dive at Dawn (1943) – Torpedo Gunner's Mate – C/P.O. Mike Corrigan Undercover (1943) – Dr. Jordon The Demi-Paradise (1943) – Man on ship-dedication stand (uncredited) The Hundred Pound Window (1944) – Chick Slater Tawny Pipit (1944) – Jimmy Bancroft Henry V (1944) – Macmorris – Irish Captain in the English Army Captain Boycott (1947) – Mark Killain Death at Newtownstewart (1948 TV movie) – District Inspector Montgomery Anna Karenina (1948) – Levin Hamlet (1948) – Sea Captain No Room at the Inn (1948) – O'Rane Christopher Columbus (1949) – Juan de la Cosa Diamond City (1949) – Hans Muller Which Will Ye Have? (1949 short) – Barabbas Chance of a Lifetime (1950) – Baxter Talk of a Million (1951) – Tom Cassidy No Highway in the Sky (1951) – Captain Samuelson, Pilot (uncredited) Murder in the Cathedral (1951) – Herald Martin Luther (1953) – Martin Luther Knights of the Round Table (1953) – Green Knight Hell Below Zero (1954) – Dr. Howe Conflict of Wings (1954) – Harry Tilney Betrayed (1954) – "Blackie" Special Delivery (1955) – Sidney Helen of Troy (1956) – Menelaus Alexander the Great (1956) – Parmenion Lust for Life (1956) – Roulin The Shiralee (1957) – Beauty Kelly Night of the Demon (1957) – Doctor Karswell She Didn't Say No! (1958) – James Casey Behind the Mask (1958) – Neil Isherwood The Nun's Story (1959) – Father Vermeuhlen (Leprosarium) Shake Hands with the Devil (1959) – Michael O'Leary Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959) – Kruger This Other Eden (1959) – Devereaux Kidnapped (1960) – Mr. Shuan Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960) – Defense Counsel A Terrible Beauty (1960) – Ned O'Neill In the Nick (1960) – Prison Governor Foxhole in Cairo (1960) – Radek Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) – Friar Tuck Johnny Nobody (1961) – Defending Counsel Sullivan The Webster Boy (1962) – Headmaster Billy Budd (1962) – Nathaniel Graveling – Ship's Master, Rights of Man The Devil's Agent (1962) – Paul Vass The Playboy of the Western World (1963) – Old Mahon Jason and the Argonauts (1963) – Zeus The Man Who Finally Died (1963) – Brenner Face in the Rain (1963) – Klaus Becket (1964) – Baron The Truth About Spring (1965) – Cleary The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) – Checkpoint Charlie Guard The War Lord (1965) – Odins A Man Could Get Killed (1966) – Ship's Captain Island of Terror (1966) – Mr. Roger Campbell The Viking Queen (1967) – Tiberian Torture Garden (1967) – Dr. Silversmith The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968) – Capuchin friar Krakatoa, East of Java (1969) – Harbor Master Sinful Davey (1969) – Boots Simpson The Kremlin Letter (1970) – Erector Set Darling Lili (1970) – Von Hindenburg (uncredited) River of Mystery (1971 TV movie) – Garwood Drum The Mackintosh Man (1973) – Warder Crisis in Sun Valley (1978 TV movie) – James (final film role)