The death has taken place in Buffalo, New York of Irish actor and theatre director Vincent O'Neill. he died after a battle with cancer.
O'Neill, who was honored by the Irish Echo last year, was 75.
O'Neill's obituary, published in the Buffalo New,s stated: Vincent O'Neill invigorated theater in Buffalo in countless ways. As an actor, he delighted audiences and critics alike with dozens of stunning performances in many of the area's playhouses.
As artistic director for 30 years for the Irish Classical Theatre Company, which he co-founded, he presented challenging, well-staged works by playwrights from his native Ireland and beyond.
Kate LoConti Alcocer told The Buffalo News after she succeeded him as artistic director in 2020, "As a mentor, he reinforced how incredibly important it is to pay attention to details, whether as an actor, or as an artistic director. Vincent's ability to take care of even the smallest of details is something I continuously incorporate in my work."
As a beloved teacher of acting and mime in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University at Buffalo, he developed class after class of young actors who considered it a mark of achievement to be cast in a play at the ICTC.
"Vincent O'Neill transformed the Buffalo theater landscape in terms of standards for locally produced theater, and that locally produced theater could be of national importance," said longtime theater critic and Artie Awards founder Anthony Chase. "As an artist, he was a man of uncommon talent, depth and versatility."
Inducted in 2022 into the Buffalo Theatre District's Plaza of Stars, he died Tuesday in Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. He was 75.
Born Vincent Michael O'Neill in Dublin, Ireland, he was the third of five children of Leo Vincent and Helen O'Neill. His father was a civil servant in the Irish Department of Finance. He was attracted to theater by his older brother Chris, who had begun acting as a teen.
After completing training at the prestigious Abbey Theatre School in Dublin, he turned down walk-on roles at the Abbey for better pay teaching French and Spanish at a Catholic girls' school while appearing in amateur productions.
In Dublin, he met legendary French pantomimist Marcel Marceau, who encouraged him to apply to his Ecole Internationale de Mimodrame in Paris. He sold his house to pay for the tuition.
While he was in Paris, Mr. O'Neill met legendary playwright Samuel Beckett. He told (New York's) Irish Echo newspaper that when he said he was training to become a mime, Beckett quipped, "You are a walking oxymoron, a native of the most talkative nation in the world pursuing the art of silence."
He first came to Buffalo in 1985 with his brother in the cast of an Irish-based production of Beckett's existential "Waiting for Godot." It drew rave reviews.
"Would you like to know the best theater in town at the moment?" News critic Terry Doran wrote after seeing it. "It's going on in the basement of the Airways Hotel on Genesee Street in Cheektowaga."
Back in Ireland, for three years he was a full-fledged member of the Abbey Theatre Company as actor, director, choreographer and mime. He toured internationally.
His brother Chris, after a brief sojourn in Dublin, returned to Buffalo. A resident actor at the Kavinoky Theatre, he became one of the leading lights on local stages.
When Mr. O'Neill came to visit his brother in 1989, he too was ready to leave Dublin, discouraged by the competitiveness of its theater scene.
"It creates very negative vibes, and it's difficult to raise your head above water there. When you do, they hang around waiting for you to drown," he told Anthony Chase in 1990 as he was preparing to direct his first production here in UB's Pfeifer Theatre.
It was "Waiting for Godot." It would become his signature work. It was the first play he presented when the ICTC debuted in 1999 in its new home in the Andrews Theatre at 625 Main St. in the heart of the Theatre District. It also marked the theater's reopening in January 2022 after the Covid-19 pandemic, when he took a final bow in the role of one of the two main characters, Vladimir.
Within a year of his arrival here, he founded the ICTC with his brother Chris, actor Josephine Hogan and the sponsorship of Dr. James Warde. It presented plays at the Pfeifer, the Kavinoky and other stages before finding a home in the Calumet Arts Building on West Chippewa Street in September 1993.
“When he and his brother arrived in Buffalo, they raised the bar for local theater so high it affected everyone," said artist and designer David Butler. "You always strived to do your best work at Irish Classical Theatre. You always stretched to reach that level."
In 2018, after more than two years of planning, he and four other artistic directors in the Greater Buffalo Cultural Alliance established a collaboration to begin staging co-productions in Shea's 710 Theatre.
He became a UB faculty member in 1990, serving as chairman of the Department of Theatre and Dance and director of theater performance. During Covid, he taught mime on Zoom.
Recalling his mime classes on his Facebook page after his death, actor Arin Lee Dandes wrote, "He taught us how to say so much without saying a single word. The power in a shift of the eyes. The grace of a gesture. He was supportive, encouraging and a master at his craft. The way he could take you to another world and embody character with a shift of posture was something I had never seen before."
At the ICTC, he appeared in 67 productions and directed 30 more. In 2016, he served as guide for a bus tour of Ireland sponsored by the theater.
He collaborated in programs with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and other theaters, gave dramatic readings and, with Hogan, led Irish Christmas celebrations.
He also appeared as Monsignor Dailey in the locally-produced 2002 film "Manna From Heaven," and had movie roles in "Queen City," "The American Side" and "Game Changers" in the 2010s.
He won Artie Awards as an actor, director and playwright and for career achievement. Other honors included the Buffalo News Outstanding Citizen Award in 2015, Irishman of the Year and the Irish Echo Community Champion Award.
He and his wife, Tejaswini Rao, would have celebrated their second wedding anniversary Saturday. Survivors also include a daughter, Laura Emily O'Neill; a son, Jamie O'Neill; their mother, Josephine Hogan; and a sister, Margaret Boucher. His brother Chris, to whom the Andrews Theatre lounge is dedicated, died in 1997.
O'Neill's theatre company, the Irish Classical Theatre Company, in a statement described O'Neill as a celebrated artist, playwright, educator, and cultural leader who would be remembered for his indelible impact on Buffalo’s theatre community.
The statement said: "The Irish Classical Theatre Company (ICTC) announces with deep sorrow the passing of its beloved Co-Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus, Vincent O’Neill - a visionary leader, masterful artist, and tireless advocate for Irish theatre and culture. Vincent co-founded the Irish Classical Theatre Company in 1990 and served as Artistic Director for over 30 years.
"His passion shaped ICTC’s identity and inspired generations of artists and audiences alike. Vincent’s ICTC legacy includes more than 67 unforgettable performances across our stages, 30 beautifully directed productions, and countless lives changed through his mentorship and spirit. His warmth, wit, and unwavering commitment to the transformative power of theatre remain woven into the fabric of this community.
"On the lasting influence of his life and work, ICTC’s current Artistic Director, Keelie A. Sheridan, shared the following: “It would be difficult to overestimate Vincent O'Neill's impact on our community. As an actor, director, leader and educator, his work touched countless artists, audiences and students, inspiring a love of live theatre, storytelling and cultural preservation. We are all richer for having benefited from his talent, passion, vision, and kindness. We at ICTC are honored to carry forward the torch that Vincent and his co-founders lit 35 years ago, and will honor his memory every time we step on our stage.”
Born in Dublin, Ireland, O’Neill trained at University College Dublin, Trinity College, and the prestigious Abbey Theatre School of Acting, as well as a mime under legendary Marcel Marceau in Paris. He went on to co-found Ireland’s first professional mime company, the Oscar Mime Company, and the Dublin Theatre School. His international career included performing and directing at the Abbey Theatre, touring across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the United States, and staging critically acclaimed solo work such as Joyicity, based on the writings of James Joyce.
In addition to his contributions to ICTC, O’Neill was a cherished educator, serving as Chair and Director of Theatre Performance in the Department of Theatre & Dance at the University at Buffalo, where he taught from 1990-2024. He was also a former President of the Theatre Alliance of Buffalo.
His many accolades include multiple Artie Awards for Outstanding Actor, Director, Playwright, Production, and Career Achievement; The Buffalo News Citizen of the Year Award; the YMCA’s Toast of Buffalo Award; The Irish Echo’s Community Champion Award, and their 2024 Heroes of Irish America Award. In 2022, he was inducted into the Buffalo Theatre District’s Plaza of Stars, where his permanent star can be found at the corner of Main and West Tupper Streets.
