Vincent Dowling

Vincent Gerard Dowling (/ˈvɪnsənt/; Irish: Uinseann Gearóid Ó Dúnlaing; 7 September 1929 – 9 May 2013) was an Irish actor and director. Throughout his career, he served as Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Ireland, the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, and Chester Theatre Company. In 1981, he received a Emmy Award for his television film adaptation of J. M. Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World on PBS, starring his daughter Bairbre Dowling. As an actor and director, Dowling worked on over 100 productions with the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. He received four honorary Doctorate of Letters from John Carroll University, Kent State University, Westfield State University, and the College of Wooster, for contributions to Irish and American drama. Dowling was an early career mentor to Academy Award winning actor, Tom Hanks.