Phelan was born in Dublin on 2 December 1934 to Micheál Phelan, a builder, and Theresa (née Fogerty) Phelan, a housewife. Educated by the Christian Brothers, Brian was apprenticed as a carpenter at the age of 15.[3] Three years later, he and his family moved to Canada. While there, he was able to obtain his first professional job at the Crest Theatre in Toronto as an assistant stage carpenter.[4]
Career
In 1956, Phelan returned to Dublin to pursue his acting career. He appeared in productions at the Abbey Theatre, the Gate Theatre with the Edwards McLiammoir Company, and the Pike Theatre in the 1950s.[3]
While he continued to work as a full-time actor in the 1960s, Phelan began his screenwriting career.[5] His first television play was The Tormentors (1966), starring James Mason and Stanley Baker, produced by ATV.[6] Writing predominantly for television, Phelan’s other works include The Russian Soldier (BBC, 1986), The Emigrants (BBC, 1977), In the Secret State (BBC, 1985), The Ivory Trade (HBO), and No Tears (RTÉ One, 2002).[7] Phelan wrote for films as well, including Little Mother (also known as Woman of the Year, 1973), Honeybaby, Honeybaby (1974), and Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy (1989).[8][9]
Phelan met actress Dorothy Bromiley on the set of The Criminal, where she was accompanying her then-husband, Joseph Losey. Bromiley later divorced Losey, and she and Phelan entered a long-term relationship beginning in 1963.[1]
Death
Pheland died in England on 8 May 2024, five days after Bromiley. He was 89-years-old.[1][12]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
