John O'Malley (actor)

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John Patrick O'Malley (November 2, 1916 - August 26, 1959) was an Australian actor who moved to Hollywood and had a career there. He is best known for playing the father in Sons of Matthew . [1]

O'Malley was a journalist who started acting on stage and radio in 1940. [2] He was a commando on Timor during the war. [3]

After the war he became a leading radio actor and was cast in Sons of Matthew. In late 1948 O'Malley was part of a move to ban communists from Actors Equity. [4] [5]

In 1949 O'Malley was going to move to England after Sons of Matthew but was admitted to the US and decided to move there instead. [6] [7]

In Hollywood O'Malley worked on stage, television and film. [8] He played Australians in productions like The Firing Squad and The Desert Rats. [9] [10]

He is not to be confused with John O'Malley, a former Australian heavyweight champion who worked as a stand in on several movies. [11] [12]

Select credits

References

  1. "ACTOR MEETS GIRLS". Daily Mirror. No. 1771. New South Wales, Australia. 30 January 1947. p. 6 (Late Final Extra 3). Retrieved 11 October 2025 via National Library of Australia.
  2. "SUPPORT FOR AUDIENCE SHOWS". The Advertiser (Adelaide) . South Australia. 11 May 1940. p. 9. Retrieved 12 October 2025 via National Library of Australia.
  3. John O'Malley war service
  4. "Actors Ban 'Subversive' Members". The Daily News . Vol. LXVI, no. 22, 995. Western Australia. 22 December 1948. p. 8 (HOME). Retrieved 12 October 2025 via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Actors' Trade Union Bans Sedition". The Sydney Morning Herald . No. 34, 634. New South Wales, Australia. 22 December 1948. p. 3. Retrieved 12 October 2025 via National Library of Australia.
  6. Thomas, Bob (13 December 1949). "John O'Malley Australian actor". The Albert Lea Tribune. p. 6.
  7. "Hollywood is not what it was, actress finds". The Sun News-pictorial . No. 9691. Victoria, Australia. 16 October 1953. p. 16. Retrieved 11 October 2025 via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Wilde play". Valley Times. 22 June 1951. p. 12.
  9. "Australian actors". The Morning Call. 1 October 1955. p. 15.
  10. "Tobruk Rats in big battle film". The Australian Women's Weekly . Vol. 20, no. 38. Australia, Australia. 18 February 1953. p. 24. Retrieved 11 October 2025 via National Library of Australia.
  11. "THESE FILM STARS HAVE FOUGHT THEIR WAY TO THE TOP". Whyalla News . Vol. 11, no. 4. South Australia. 26 January 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 11 October 2025 via National Library of Australia.
  12. "SYDNEY ACTOR-SINGER 'HOPPING MAD' AFTER CLASH WITH DUSKY FIJIANS". Daily Mirror. No. 3577. New South Wales, Australia. 19 November 1952. p. 2 (Late Final Extra 2). Retrieved 11 October 2025 via National Library of Australia.
  13. Australian Broadcasting Commission. (22 May 1948), "Ex-R.A.A.F. PILOT PLAYS PILOT!", ABC Weekly, Sydney: ABC, nla.obj-1314028317, retrieved 11 October 2025 via Trove