Cyril Cusack

His sons, Paul and Pádraig, work as a producer with RTÉ and in computers, respectively. In the New Year's Honours List published 31 December 2004 he was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to Music, the Entertainment Industry, and Charity. His four daughters, Niamh, Sorcha, Sinéad and Catherine are actresses. Daltrey and his second wife, Heather, have two daughters, Rosie and Willow, and a son, Jamie. Cusack's last stage performance was in Chekhov's The Three Sisters, in which three of his daughters played the sisters. In 2003, he hosted the History Channel's Extreme History with Roger Daltrey. In 1989 his performance in the film My Left Foot, with Daniel Day-Lewis, contributed to its success. He has played a number of television roles, including BBC Television Shakespeare, the science fiction series Sliders, and Highlander: The Series.

In 1984 he appeared as the shop-keeper and Thought Police spy Charrington in the film version of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. He has appeared on stage in productions of The Wizard of Oz (as the Tin Man) and A Christmas Carol (as Scrooge). He received honorary doctorates in 1977 and 1980 from the NUI and the University of Dublin respectively. Daltrey's appearances in over 30 feature films include starring roles in: McVicar, as British train robber turned journalist John McVicar; Tommy, as "deaf, dumb and blind kid" Tommy Walker; and Lisztomania, as Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. Two years later in 1979 he married Mary Rose Cunningham. The collaboration came about through Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian's girlfriend, whose mother is a friend of Daltrey and his wife. In 1977 Cusack's wife, Maureen Kiely, an actress, died. In 2003, he provided backing vocals for thrash-metal band Anthrax on the song, "Taking the Music Back" from their album, We've Come for You All.

By this stage he had established a successful career in films. In 1992, Daltrey appeared on the Chieftains' Grammy Award-winning album, An Irish Evening: Live at the Grand Opera House. In 1963 he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in London and appeared there for several seasons. Daltrey celebrated his fiftieth birthday in 1994 by performing at Carnegie Hall in a show called, "Daltrey Sings Townshend," accompanied by The Julliard Orchestra, Townshend, Entwistle, Irish dancers and a group of folk musicians. In 1947 Cusack formed his own company and staged productions in Dublin, Paris and New York City. On Rocks in the Head, Daltrey is credited (along with Gerard McMahon) for co-writing seven of the eleven tracks. Between then and 1945 he performed in over sixty productions, particularly excelling in the plays of Sean O'Casey. Each of the album's tracks, including "Let Me Down Easy" by Bryan Adams, expresses the frustration of growing older as only a man who sang "Hope I die before I get old" can.

He left without a degree and joined the Abbey Theatre in 1932. The title track to Under a Raging Moon was a tribute to Who drummer Keith Moon, who died in 1978. Cusack was educated in Newbridge, Kildare, and University College, Dublin. McVicar included two hit singles, Free Me and Without Your Love and was Daltrey's best-selling solo recording. Cyril made his first stage performance at the age of seven. But since it featured all the other members of The Who — Townshend, Entwistle and Kenney Jones — it could almost have passed as a Who album. Cusack's mother and her partner, Breifne O'Rorke, joined the O'Brien and Ireland Players. McVicar was billed as a soundtrack album for the film of the same name, which Daltrey co-produced and starred in.

His parents separated when he was young and his mother took him to England, and then to Ireland. Paul McCartney contributed the new song "Giddy" to Ride a Rock Horse, where the band included Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee and Mick Ronson. He was the son of a sergeant in the mounted police and an actress. When Sayer launched his own career as an artist, Daltrey called on a widening group of friends to write for and perform on his albums. Cyril Cusack (26 November 1910 - 7 October 1993) was an Irish actor, born in Natal, South Africa. The emotional range displayed in Daltrey proved that the singer was capable of operating outside the context of The Who and of expressing his own moods, not just Townshend's. and the album, which introduced Leo Sayer as a songwriter, made the Top 50 in the United States.

The top single off the album, "Giving It All Away," reached number five in the U.K. 1973's Daltrey was not the first solo release by a member of The Who, following albums by both John Entwistle and Pete Townshend, but it was the first to make a significant impact. While he has always considered The Who his primary ambition in life, Daltrey has released eight solo albums. When Tommy appeared as a feature film in 1975, Daltrey played the lead role and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture".

With each of The Who's milestone achievements, Tommy, Who's Next, Quadrophenia, Daltrey was the face and voice of the band as they defined themselves as the ultimate rebels in a generation of change. 103). (Giuliano, p. During a recording session (in an incident that Daltrey claimed was overblown), Townshend whacked the singer over the head with his guitar and Daltrey responded by knocking Townshend unconscious, again with a single blow.

Later, in October, 1973, with Townshend at a low point after struggling through the Lifehouse and Quadrophenia projects while Daltrey was experiencing some success with his solo projects and acting roles, tension between the two created more sparks. He once flushed drummer Keith Moon's pills down the toilet and, when Moon protested, knocked him down with one punch. Yet, in the midst of the band's success, Daltrey repeatedly found himself fighting to keep the other members of The Who away from the drug and alcohol dependence that he believed would destroy them. Later, his scream near the end of Won't Get Fooled Again became a defining moment for the band and for all of rock music.

Daltrey's stuttering expression of youthful anger, frustration and arrogance in the band's breakthrough single, My Generation, captured the revolutionary feeling of the 1960s for many young people around the world and became the band's trademark. His habit of swinging the microphone around by its cord on stage became a signature sign of his exuberance. (Their second single, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere was the only song on which Daltrey and Townshend collaborated.) As Townshend developed into one of rock's most accomplished composers, Daltrey's vocals became the vehicle through which Townshend's visions were expressed, and he gained an equally vaunted reputation as an incomparably powerful vocalist. With the band's first record deal in early 1965, Townshend began writing original material and Daltrey's dominance of the band began to recede.

In 1964, he also helped decide on a new name for the group that had been suggested by Townshend's roommate, Richard Barnes — "The Who.". 26) He generally selected the music they performed, including songs by The Beatles, various Motown artists, James Brown, and other rock standards. If you argued with him, you usually got a bunch of fives." (Giuliano, p. According to Townshend, Roger "ran things the way he wanted.

Early on, Daltrey was the band's leader, earning a reputation for using his fists to exercise control when needed, despite his small stature. After a couple of years, Daltrey switched to vocals and Townshend to lead guitar. At the time, the band included Daltrey on lead guitar, Pete Townshend on rhythm guitar, John Entwistle on bass, Doug Sandom on drums and Colin Dawson on lead vocals. He became a sheet metal worker during the day, while practicing and performing nights with the band at weddings, pubs and men's clubs.

Soon after, interested in nothing but rock and roll, he was expelled from school. He made his first guitar from a block of wood and formed a band called, "The Detours." When his father bought him an Epiphone guitar in 1959, he became the lead guitarist for the band. His parents, Harry and Irene, hoped he would eventually continue on to study at a university, but obeying the rules and learning from his instructors was not in the plans of the self-described "school rebel.". He showed academic promise as a child in the English public school system, ranking at the top of his class on examinations that led to his enrollment at the Acton County Grammar School for boys.

Daltrey was born in the Shepherd's Bush section of London, the same working class neighborhood that produced fellow Who members Pete Townshend and John Entwistle. In addition, he has enjoyed a successful solo music career, and has acted in a large number of film, theater and television roles. Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE (born March 1, 1944) is a popular music artist, best known as the founder and lead singer of the British rock band The Who. Extreme History with Roger Daltrey, The History Channel (http://www.historychannel.com/global/listings/castbios.jsp?ACatId=8923935&CaseId=8923933&EGrpId=8921282).

Barling, Biography of Roger Daltrey, thewho.net (http://www.thewho.net/index.php?modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=5&page=1). David M. Steve Huey, Roger Daltrey - Biography, AllMusic.com (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3ueyxdgbjolj~T1). ISBN 0-8154-1070-0.

Behind Blue Eyes: The Life of Pete Townshend. Penguin Books, Ltd. Geoffrey Giuliano (1996). Best (Rodney Marsh), 2000. Chasing Destiny, 2000.

Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (King Janos), 2000. Like It Is (Kelvin), 1998. Vampirella (Vlad), 1996. Coles), 1994.

Lightning Jack (John T. If Looks Could Kill (Blade), 1991. Buddy's Song (Terry Clark); also Music Score Composer, Producer, 1991. Cold Justice (Keith Gibson), 1989.

Mack the Knife (Street Singer), 1989. The Little Match Girl, 1987. Murder: Ultimate Grounds for Divorce, 1985. McVicar (John McVicar), also Producer, 1980.

The Legacy (Clive), 1978. Tommy (Tommy Walker), also Music Score Composer, 1975. Legacy (Clive Jackson), 1975. Lisztomania (Franz Liszt), 1975.

Free Me (#39 UK), 1980. Without Your Love (#20 US), 1980. I'm Free (#13 UK), 1973. Giving It All Away (#5 UK), 1973.

Rocks in the Head, 1992. Can't Wait to See the Movie, 1987. Under a Raging Moon, 1985. Parting Should be Painless, 1984.

McVicar, 1980. One of the Boys, 1977. Ride a Rock Horse, 1975. Daltrey, 1973.