Bonar Colleano

Bonar Colleano
Born	(1924-03-14)14 March 1924 New York City, New York, US
Died	Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, UK
Cause of death	car crash
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1944 – 1958
Spouse(s)	Tamara Lees (1946 – 1951) Susan Shaw (1954 – 1958, his death)

Bonar Colleano (14 March 1924 – 18 August 1958) was an American-born British stage and film actor.

Early life

Colleano was born Bonar Sullivan in New York City. Following childhood experiences with the Ringling Brothers Circus and in his family's famous circus, he entered films in 1944. He lived as a British resident, spending several years performing in music halls, the legitimate stage and radio. When war broke out in 1939, he began entertaining troops in England and was not called up for either nation's military forces.

Career

His first important role came with the popular wartime drama, The Way to the Stars (also known as Johnny in the Clouds, 1945) and later he starred in a Hollywood production, Stanley Kramer's Eight Iron Men (1952). His later screen roles included Lenny, in the oddball Shakespeare derivation Joe MacBeth (1955).

Colleano's stage work included the role of Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Aldwych Theatre, London, directed by Laurence Olivier and co-starring with Vivien Leigh.

Personal life

He was from a well known Australian circus family and was a nephew of Con Colleano, the first tightrope walker to perform a forward somersault on the wire.

In 1946, he married actress Tamara Lees, but the couple divorced in 1951. His second wife was actress Susan Shaw, who descended into alcoholism after his death. Their son Mark Colleano is also an actor.

In 1950, while living in the U.K., he fathered future Average White Band drummer, Robbie McIntosh. Colleano was not married to McIntosh's mother.

Death

Colleano died at the age of 34, when he crashed his sports car (a Jaguar XK140) in Birkenhead shortly after exiting the Queensway Tunnel. He was driving back from Liverpool's New Shakespeare Theatre, where he had been appearing in a stage production of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? His passenger, fellow actor and friend Michael Balfour, required 98 stitches but eventually recovered.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1945	The Way to the Stars	Joe Friselli	known as Johnny in the Clouds in the USA
1946	Wanted for Murder	Cpl. Nick Mappolo
	A Matter of Life and Death	An American Pilot	Alternative title: Stairway to Heaven
1947	While the Sun Shines	Joe Mulvaney
1948	Merry-Go-Round
	One Night With You	Piero Santellini
	Good-Time Girl	Micky Malone
	Sleeping Car to Trieste	Sergeant West
1949	Maniacs on Wheels	Tommy Possey	Alternative title: Once A Jolly Swagman
	Give Us This Day	Julio
1950	Dance Hall	Alec
1951	Pool of London	Dan MacDonald
	A Tale of Five Cities	Bob Mitchell	Alternative title: A Tale of Five Women
1952	Eight Iron Men	Pvt. Collucci
1953	Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?	Cmdr. Laurie Vining
	Escape By Night	Tom Buchan
1954	Flame and the Flesh	Ciccio
	Time Is My Enemy	Roommate
	The Sea Shall Not Have Them	Sgt. Kirby
1955	Joe MacBeth	Lennie
1956	Stars in Your Eyes	David Laws
	Zarak	Biri
1957	Pickup Alley	Amalio
	Fire Down Below	Lt. Sellars
1958	Them Nice Americans	Joe
	Death Over My Shoulder	Joe Longo
	No Time to Die	The Polish POW	Also known as Tank Force
	The Man Inside	Martin Lomer
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1946	In the Zone	Davis	TV Film
1957	ITV Television Playhouse	Sam Pickens	Episode: The Confidence Man
1958	East End, West End		1 episode
	Doomsday for Dyson	Jackston	TV Film

Citations

• Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies, Harper Collins, 2001, ISBN 0-06-093507-3

1949 movie "Maniacs on Wheels", also released as "Once A Jolly Swagman", starring Dirk Bogarde, Thora Hird and Sid James.

External links

• Bonar Colleano at the Internet Movie Database
• Bonar Colleano at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• The Importance of Being Bonar http://www.november3rdclub.com/08-07/nonfiction/williams.html
• Bonar Colleano at Find a Grave