Michael O'Hare
Michael O'Hare | |
---|---|
New York City, New York , U.S. | |
Education | |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1972–2000 |
Spouse |
Ruth O'Hare (m. 1998) |
Robert Michael O'Hare Jr. (May 6, 1952 – September 28, 2012) was an American actor who performed on stage and television. He was best known for playing the lead role of space station Commander Jeffrey Sinclair in the science fiction television series Babylon 5, a role he left after the first season due to serious mental health issues.
Early life and education
Robert Michael O'Hare Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in Chicago Heights. His father, Robert Michael O’Hare Sr., was of Irish descent while his mother, Sally O’Hare (née Crisanti) was of Italian descent. He attended Chicago's Mendel Catholic Preparatory High School,[1][2] where he played football, to defy his doctor who told him he would never be in athletics because of his asthma.[3][4][5] He received several awards and scholarship offers based on his football ability and scholastic performance.[6][7][8][9][10]
Coming from a career military family,
Career
O'Hare appeared in a number of theatrical productions on Broadway and in regional theaters, including an acclaimed revival of Shaw's Man and Superman[25] with Philip Bosco; in the role of Col. Jessup in the original stage version of A Few Good Men;[26] as Captain Solyony in Chekhov’s Three Sisters.[27] Other notable roles included Alfred in a 1986 stage revival of Little Murders;[23][28] Jake in A Lie of the Mind[29][30] and John in Lips Together, Teeth Apart.[31][32]
He was the first white actor nominated by the African-American theater community of New York for the AUDELCO Award for Best Actor, for his performance as Captain Jaap van Tonder[33] in Michael Picardie's play Shades of Brown, about apartheid in South Africa.[34][35]
He co-starred in the biographical TV movie Marciano
He was the lead character in Michael Lengsfield's CINE-award-winning short film Short Term Bonds in 1988,[38][39][40] screened at the 1989 Sundance festival.
In 1992, he was cast in the lead role of Commander Jeffrey Sinclair in the science fiction television series Babylon 5. He appeared in the pilot and throughout the show's first season in 1994. He left the cast for mental health reasons that were not disclosed at the time, but made guest appearances in the second and third seasons.
Subsequently, he had one guest role on The Cosby Mysteries and appeared twice on Law & Order, the last time in 2000. He did some voiceover work for commercials and read a radio adaptation of the science fiction novella Think Like a Dinosaur for Seeing Ear Theater.[41][42]
After 2000, he retired from acting and rarely made public appearances.
Illness and death
Babylon 5 creator
His treatments were only partially successful. He reappeared in a cameo appearance early in season two ("
On September 28, 2012, Straczynski posted that O'Hare had had a heart attack in New York City five days earlier, and had remained in a coma until his death that day.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1979 | The Promise | Ben Avery | |
1981 | The Pursuit of DB Cooper
|
Car Owner | |
1982 | C.H.U.D. | Fuller | |
1989 | Last Exit to Brooklyn | Riot Police Officer | |
1990 | The Ambulance | Hal |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | McClain's Law | Robert Mellie | 1 episode |
1981 | Jessica Novak | Eddie Danova | 1 episode |
1982 | TJ Hooker
|
Cal Jastrow | 1 episode |
1982 | Trapper John M.D.
|
Jensen | 1 episode |
1982 | Kate & Allie | Richard Curtis | 1 episode |
1986 | The Equalizer | Alex | 1 episode |
1986 | Tales from the Darkside | Jimmy | 1 episode |
1987 | One Life to Live | George Vasquez | 1 episode |
1985–1990 | Another World | Fire Captain/Pilot | 3 episodes |
1991 | LA Law
|
Dr. Michael Lattimer | 1 episode |
1993–1996 | Babylon 5 | Jeffrey Sinclair | |
1997–2000 | Law and Order
|
Mr. Tobin / Roy Lawlor | 2 episodes |
Broadway
- Players (1978)
- Man and Superman (1979)
- A Few Good Men (1989)
- The Crucible (1991)
References
- ^ "Mendel CHS of Chicago, Illinois - News". www.mendelchs.com. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- ^ "Mendel Catholic Prep High School Alumni Home Page". December 17, 2009. Archived from the original on December 17, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- ^ "Hope Star from Hope, Arkansas on November 30, 1973 · Page 4". Newspapers.com. November 30, 1973. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "The Robesonian from Lumberton, North Carolina on September 5, 1973 · Page 3". Newspapers.com. September 5, 1973. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago South End Reporter Archives, Dec 14, 1969, p. 9". NewspaperArchive.com. December 14, 1969. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ a b All Hands. Bureau of Naval Personnel. 1995.
- ^ "Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois on July 2, 1970 · 92". Newspapers.com. July 2, 1970. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago South End Reporter Archives, Nov 9, 1969, p. 1". NewspaperArchive.com. November 9, 1969. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois on February 5, 1970 · 88". Newspapers.com. February 5, 1970. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Park Forest Star Newspaper Archives, Dec 5, 1971, p. 89". NewspaperArchive.com. December 5, 1971. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
- ^ "VMH: RAYMOND E. O'HARE, LCDR, USN". usnamemorialhall.org. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
- ^ "The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts on November 21, 1972 · 28". Newspapers.com. November 21, 1972. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Harvard". Harvard. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Media Center: Harvard Crimson Football All-Time Letterwinners". Harvard. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ^ ""Beware of O'Hare" - Interview, 1973".
- ^ The Wrongway Inn - 1972 Original Cast, retrieved May 5, 2020
- ^ "Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770 | Hasty Pudding Songs". hastypudding.org. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts on March 9, 1972 · 39". Newspapers.com. March 9, 1972. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "The Wrongway Inn | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago South End Reporter Archives, Aug 16, 1972, p. 11". NewspaperArchive.com. August 16, 1972. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Daily Press from Newport News, Virginia on October 7, 1973 · Page 35". Newspapers.com. October 7, 1973. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ a b "The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey on November 22, 1986 · Page 27". Newspapers.com. November 22, 1986. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ babylon5 1995 an audience with the commander (Michael O'Hare), archived from the original on December 12, 2021, retrieved June 2, 2020; Mentioning Sandy Meisner 24:51-25:15.
- ^ "Search results - "man and superman 1978" - NYPL Digital Collections". digitalcollections.nypl.org. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut on April 15, 1984 · 135". Newspapers.com. April 15, 1984. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Town Topics 15 October 1986 — Princeton Periodicals". papersofprinceton.princeton.edu. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "The Star-Democrat from Easton, Maryland on March 17, 1989 · Page 45". Newspapers.com. March 17, 1989. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "The Evening Sun from Baltimore, Maryland on March 15, 1989 · 23". Newspapers.com. March 15, 1989. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Sun-Sentinel, BILL VON MAURER, Special to the (January 29, 1993). "'LIPS TOGETHER' ONSTAGE AT GROVE". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Writer, JACK ZINK, Theater (January 22, 1993). "FINE ART OF SHUFFLING AROUND STARTS THEATER SEASON". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
- ^ Communications, Emmis (October 1984). Cincinnati Magazine. Emmis Communications.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ "Courier express. (Buffalo, N.Y.) 1964-1982, October 20, 1979, Image 11" (1979/10/20). October 20, 1979: 11.
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(help) - ^ "Michael O'Hare". IMDb. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- OCLC 24539605
- ^ "Michael Lengsfield - Research Database, The University of East Anglia". people.uea.ac.uk. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Short-Term Bonds, retrieved May 5, 2020
- ^ "Seeing Ear Theatre – SFFaudio". May 13, 2010. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ^ SETheater, retrieved May 6, 2020
- ^ YouTube(explanation begins at 10:50)
- ^ "J. Michael Straczynski on Michael O'Hare's battle with mental illness". YouTube. February 25, 2014. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- ^ a b Roth, Dan (May 28, 2013). "Straczynski reveals moving story of why Michael O'Hare left Babylon 5". Blastr. Archived from the original on June 1, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ Straczynski, J. Michael (May 1994). "About Michael O'Hare's Departure". The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5.
As a result of these discussions, it has been agreed that we will have a separation, in the role of the commander. Let me emphasize this very clearly, so there is no chance of miscommunication: this is a mutual, amicable, and friendly separation.
- ^ Original GEnie post Message 560 by Straczynski on Fri May 20, 1994[permanent dead link]
- ^ Glenn Hauman (September 28, 2012). "Michael O'Hare: 1952–2012". ComicMix. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
External links
- Michael O'Hare at the Internet Broadway Database
- Michael O'Hare at IMDb