Chris O'Neill, actor, director, producer, impresario, agent, founder of Four in One players, founder of the Oscar School of Acting, Michael in "The Riordans". And that's not the half of it. It's very difficult to believe that he's gone. Such prodigious energy silenced. Diaghilev in a red suit, the amazing Chris O'Neill.
Where did he get the energy? Apart altogether from his theatrical activities there were the many journeys to follow the Irish soccer team, his legendary battles with the bookies, phone calls by the million, his interest in almost every aspect of everyday life. I could go on and on. He was always up to something. Phone calls, morning, noon and night. I used to wonder who he was talking to. I can still see him sitting on the stool, the curly hair, the cigarette. the pint, and the phone to his ear.
Who was he talking to? Take your pick ... Cork Opera House? RTE? BBC? Ladbrokes? The Revenue Commissioners? London? Scarriff? Gabriel Byrne? Steven Spielberg? Sheehans? Nearys? Tomas Mac Anna? Tommy Carberry? Jim Sheridan? To name but a few.
Where did he get the energy? Tom Murphy's On the Outside/On the Inside. directed by the author at the Project Arts Centre and brilliantly performed by Chris, Don Nelligan and many others. He staged this play because he believed in its value when many others didn't. The unforgettable charm of his young Charlie in Hugh Leonard's Da. Waiting for Godot at the Focus - Chris, Johnny Murphy, Vincent O'Neill, Mannix Flynn and of course, Aisling O'Neill. The Lesson by Ionesco at the Gaiety. If any proof were ever needed about his acting talent there you have it. He codirected a play called The House of Blue Leaves at the Olympia for the Dublin Theatre Festival. His codirector was a very prominent Broadway Producer with a very brash manner and no directing skills whatsoever. After the first uneasy day's rehearsal he triumphantly said to Chris: "Terrific kid. You look after the poetry, I'll look after the laughs".
Poetry and laughs. An abundance of both in Chris's life.
He was one of the few people I've ever met who actually read poetry. He would often carry a poetry book around with him and not for show. McNiece and Kavanagh were special favourites. As for laughs, no shortage. He laughed a lot, he relished the absurd, he delighted in his own absurd exploits. The ramshackle touring van that pulled up outside the Shelbourne. Chris gets out, walks around to the rear doors, and opens them. Virginia Mayo, lately of Hollywood, alights with her American producer. She puts her shoes back on and they sweep into the Shelbourne. And then came the Summer when his love of racing and of theatre fused to solve a touring problem. I'm quite certain that no other theatre company ever used a horse box hitched to a 4L Renault to transport sets and furniture from venue to venue. The show must go on.
That sort of determination was typical. He enjoyed solving problems in his own unique manner. He did things. He didn't sit and moan if he wasn't working. He started lunch time theatre in Dublin when it was unheard of. There was his touring company Four in One players, The Oscar Theatre, The Oscar Acting School, The Casting Agency, not to mention being on the board of the Gate. In the USA he toured from Buffalo to Ford Lauderdale from West Palm Beach to Winnipeg. He started the Irish Classical Theatre Company in Brooklyn. One man shows, films and, of course, Broadway. Yes, he did things.
Chris and I didn't always agree. I remember we had a row in Kinnegad once. Where else? He drove home, I stayed overnight. I got to Dublin the next day, we met at rehearsal, we laughed, and that was the end of it.
Where did he get the energy? I think I sort of know where it came from his unique, unquenchable spirit. Imagine all that energy let loose in his new celestial location. The racing game and poker with Godfrey Quigley. Celestial tours - no horse box needed with Ray MacAnally, Siobhan McKenna and Cyril Cusack. And endless, new casting possibilities. St Peter as Hawkes in Peg o' my Heart.
I salute his memory. I am proud to have been his friend. Let us not be sad - let us celebrate a unique spirit that walked among us for a while. May he rest easy.