Brian Aherne

• Birth name:

  William Brian de Lacy Aherne

• Date of Birth:

  10 February 1902 King's Norton, Worcestershire, England,

• Height:

  6' 3½" (1.92 m)

Brian Aherne was an Oscar-nominated anglo-American stage and screen actor who was one of the top cinema character actors in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. Born on May 2, 1902 in England, Aherne's performed as an actor as a child. He made his debut as an adult with the company that would evolved into the world-famous Birmingham Repertory Theatre when he was 18 years old. Three years later, he made his debut in London's West End, the English equivalent in Broadway.After his experience in Bir... more

Brian Aherne was an Oscar-nominated anglo-American stage and screen actor who was one of the top cinema character actors in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. Born on May 2, 1902 in England, Aherne's performed as an actor as a child. He made his debut as an adult with the company that would evolved into the world-famous Birmingham Repertory Theatre when he was 18 years old. Three years later, he made his debut in London's West End, the English equivalent in Broadway.After his experience in Birmingham, Aherne had studied architecture, but a life as an actor was too strong to resist, so he had returned to the theater in 1923. For the next eight years, he toured the provinces and appeared in the West End in various productions. In 1931, he made his Broadway debut playing Robert Browning in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934). He alternated between the New York and London stage in the early 1930s.Aherne made his movie debut in 1924, and by the mid-1930s, he moved to Hollywood. In 1940, he was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for Juarez (1939) for playing the Emperor Maximillian.Brian Aherne published his autobiography in 1969, and 10 years later, he published a biography of his friend George Sanders, entitled "A Dreadful Man." He died of heart failure on February 10, 1983 in Venice, Florida. He was 83 years old.