- Born
- Died
- Height6′ 2½″ (1.90 m)
- Suave Irish-born actor with resonant voice and a commanding presence,
who made his theatrical debut in 'The First of Mrs.Fraser' (1942) at
the age of 19 at the Cork Opera House. Nine years later, after spells
with the Gate Theatre in Dublin and the Liverpool Repertory Company,
Mulhare appeared in a
Laurence Olivier-directed London
production of
'Othello' with Orson Welles.
It was there, that he was spotted by
Alan Jay Lerner and signed as an
understudy to Rex Harrison for the
part of Henry Higgins in 'My Fair Lady'. The play ran on Broadway from
1957 to 1962, totalling a massive 2,717 performances. Harrison dropped
out of the part in December 1957, and Mulhare, a relative unknown in
the U.S., took over the role. This sparked a controversy with Actor's
Equity over the hiring of foreign actors, which required a noted labour
negotiator to resolve. In the end, Mulhare played Higgins to both
audience approval and critical acclaim more than 1,000 times between
1957 and 1960. The play subsequently toured the Soviet Union, before
returning to London. On Broadway, Mulhare also replaced
Michael Rennie in the leading role of
Dirk Winsten in
'Mary,Mary' and starred as Giacome
Nerone in Dore Schary's
'The Devil's Advocate', alongside actors Leo Genn
and Eduardo Ciannelli.
It was ironic, that Mulhare followed in Harrison's footsteps on
television as well, playing the part of Captain Daniel Gregg
(Harrison's in the 1947 movie), the titular spectre of
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1968).
The popular NBC series updated the setting from turn of the century New
England to present day, and, by comparison with its cinematic
predecessor, was less sentimental, but wittier by some degree. There
was an undeniable on-screen chemistry between co-star
Hope Lange and Mulhare, who was
Emmy-nominated for his portrayal as the cantankerous, but thoroughly
charming captain. From 1982 to 1986, Mulhare also appeared on
television as the articulate Devon Miles,
David Hasselhoff's boss, in the
fantasy series
Knight Rider (1982).
Surprisingly, Edward Mulhare never achieved star status on the big
screen. Among the few films he made, one only remembers his dastardly
villains of Our Man Flint (1966)
and Caprice (1967). He did, however,
continue to make frequent guest appearances on television in series
ranging from
The Streets of San Francisco (1972)
to
Battlestar Galactica (1978).
In 1988, he also hosted a series about the paranormal, entitled
Secrets and Mysteries (1983).
Mulhare, a confirmed bachelor, died during filming of the
Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau
comedy Out to Sea (1997) at the age of
74.- IMDb Mini Biography By: I.S.Mowis
- ParentsJohn MulhareCatherine Keane
- RelativesThomas Mulhare(Sibling)John Mulhare(Sibling)
- Often compared to Rex Harrison, Mulhare had his two greatest US
successes inheriting roles that Harrison created. On Broadway, Mulhare
succeeded Harrison as Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady" when the latter
joined the London company, playing the part for most of the play's
remaining Broadway run. On television, Mulhare played the role of the
ghost of Captain Daniel Gregg in the TV version of "The Ghost and Mrs.
Muir", a role Harrison had created two decades earlier in the film
version. - Mulhare was offered a cameo role in the 1997 release Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. The story and plot elements of Austin Powers was largely plagiarized directly from the 1960s' spy spoof Our Man Flint, where Mulhare played the villain. Sadly, Mulhare's failing health did not allow him to participate.
- Long considered a "ladies' man"; however, he never married or had any children.
- His two best-known roles in the U.S. are the TV series "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" opposite Hope Lange, and "Knight Rider" opposite David Hasselhoff. In fact, Edward Mulhare's last role was reuniting with David Hasselhoff on the "Baywatch" spinoff "Baywatch Nights".
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