Kenny Ireland

Kenny Ireland
Ireland in character as Donald Stewart from the comedy TV series Benidorm
Born
George Ian Kenneth Ireland

(1945-08-07)7 August 1945
Paisley, Scotland[1]
Died31 July 2014(2014-07-31) (aged 68)
NationalityScottish
Occupation(s)Actor, theatre director
Years active1965–2014[1]
Spouse(s)Marilyn Imrie (divorced)
Meg Poole (1980–2014; his death)
Children1 step-daughter

George Ian Kenneth "Kenny" Ireland (7 August 1945 – 31 July 2014)[2] was a Scottish actor and theatre director. Ireland was best known to television viewers for his role in Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV in the 1980s, and for playing Donald Stewart in Benidorm from 2007 until his death in 2014.

Career

Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, Ireland was prominent in Scottish theatre and spent ten years as director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh. When he left the post in 2003 he controversially attacked the Scottish arts establishment for providing "theatre on the cheap" and the Scottish Executive for putting plans for a National Theatre of Scotland on "the back burner".[3] The National Theatre of Scotland was finally launched in 2006. He also appeared in an episode of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet as journalist Sid Payne. In some early TV appearances (e.g. the BBC's "Five Red Herrings") he was credited as "Ian Ireland".

Ireland's directing credits include Guys & Dolls, A View from the Bridge, Romeo and Juliet, Phaedra, Macbeth, Lovers, The Anatomist, Clay Bull, Mother Courage, Much Ado About Nothing, Of Mice and Men, Private Lives, Oleanna, The Gowk Storm, Waiting for Godot, Dancing at Lughnasa, Oedipus Tyrannos and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

He also appeared in Acorn Antiques, the STV series Taggart, the 1983 film Local Hero, Dempsey and Makepeace episode "In the Dark", Series 2 of Auf Wiedersehen Pet, the 1990 series House of Cards as media tycoon Benjamin Landless starring alongside Ian Richardson as Francis Urquhart, and the David Leland film The Big Man with Liam Neeson. He was also in Heartbeat and made a brief appearance in the promo video for Tracey Ullman's "Sunglasses".

He appeared in the television series Benidorm as swinger Donald Stewart from 2007 until the end of series 6, that aired in early 2014. In June 2014, it was announced that he had brain cancer. His character did not appear in the seventh series of Benidorm in person but the character's voice was heard on a telephone call, albeit provided by a sound-a-like.[4][5][6]

Death

Ireland died of cancer on 31 July 2014, aged 68.[7]

Filmography

Film[8]
Year Title Role Notes
1972 The Hound of the Baskervilles Sir Henry Baskerville Television film
1980 Enemy at the Door German officer Heller 1 episode
The Dogs of War Film crew member Feature film
1982 Moonlighting Timber man
1983 Local Hero Skipper
1984 The Young Visiters Alfred Salteena
1985–1987 Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV Derek 9 episodes
1986 Auf Wiedersehen, Pet Sid Payne 1 episode
1987 Life Without George Sammy 6 episodes
City Lights Bank Rober
A Hazard of Hearts Padlett Television film
1988 Salome's Last Dance 1st soldier Feature film
Drowning by Numbers Jonah Bognor
1989 Hard Cases Slow Michael
Resurrected Denzil Clausen Feature film
1990 The Big Man Tony
Drop the Dead Donkey Sound man
Rab C. Nesbitt Gavin Clark
House of Cards Ben Landless
1991 Spatz Johnnie
4 Play Sammy Duncan
1992 El C.I.D. Angus
1993 Punch Drunk Vinnie Binns 6 episodes
1997 Hamish Macbeth Torquil McFarquar
1999 Taggart Kenny Murdoch
Loose Women Himself
2003 Monarch of the Glen Mike Baxter
My Dad's the Prime Minister Union leader
2004 Heartbeat Zeph Pratt
2005 Casualty Joshua Wright
New Tricks George Morton
Rose and Maloney Mr. Hawkins the prison officer
2007–2014 Benidorm Donald Stewart Series regular, 42 episodes (Series 1–6)
2009 Beyond a Joke Himself
2011 All Star Family Fortunes Benidorm vs. The Only Way is Essex
2012 This Morning Interview
Doctors Godfrey Lang
Midsomer Murders George Dormer
2013 Loose Women Himself Interview

References

  1. ^ a b "Kenny Ireland". IMDb.
  2. ^ Hayward, Anthony (31 July 2014). "Kenny Ireland obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Scots getting theatre 'on the cheap'". Scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com. 24 February 2002. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  4. ^ "'Benidorm' Star Kenny Ireland Fighting Cancer". Huffingtonpost.co.uk. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  5. ^ "Benidorm star Kenny Ireland battling cancer – Showbiz News". Digital Spy. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Benidorm Star Kenny Ireland is 'battling cancer' – Yahoo TV UK". Uk.tv.yahoo.com. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  7. ^ "BBC News – Benidorm actor Kenny Ireland dies from cancer aged 68". bbc.com. 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014."Kenny Ireland obituary". The Guardian. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Kenny Ireland – IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 31 July 2014.

External links