Bonar William Sullivan (14 March 1924 – 17 August 1958), known professionally as Bonar Colleano, was an American actor, long based in the United Kingdom.
Early life Colleano was born Bonar Sullivan in New York City. He was from a well-known Australian circus family and was a nephew of Con Colleano, the first tightrope walker to perform a forward somersault on the wire. He had childhood experiences with the Ringling Brothers Circus and in his family's circus.
He moved to the United Kingdom when he was 12 so his family could appear at the London Palladium. He spent several years performing in music halls. When war broke out in 1939, he began entertaining troops in Britain. In 1941, he was in a revue titled Piccadixie.EDINBURGH THEATRES: LYCEUM: "Smilin' Through", The Scotsman, 26 August 1941: 3. As a US citizen residing overseas, he was not required to do military service by the US or UK.
Career Colleano's first important role came with the popular wartime drama The Way to the Stars (also known as Johnny in the Clouds, 1945), playing an American airman.
He played American servicemen in Wanted for Murder (1946), A Matter of Life and Death (1946), and While the Sun Shines (1947).
Colleano played an Italian in One Night with You (1948), and was in Good-Time Girl (1948) and Sleeping Car to Trieste (1948) and Broken Journey (1948). He worked regularly in radio, appearing in a revue Navy Mixture, and had a lead part in Once a Jolly Swagman (1949).
Leading roles Colleano's reputation shot up when cast in the role of Stanley Kowalski in the original English stage production of A Streetcar Named Desire (1949) at the Aldwych Theatre, London, directed by Laurence Olivier and co-starring Vivien Leigh.
His film parts got better. Give Us This Day (1949) was set in the U.S. but shot in England. He was a romantic lead in Dance Hall (1950).
It led to lead roles in films starting with Pool of London (1951) and A Tale of Five Cities (1952). The latter enabled him to display some of his circus skills. He went to the US and starred in a Hollywood production, Stanley Kramer's Eight Iron Men (1952).Over There Horton, Robert. Film Comment; New York Vol. 54, Iss. 5, (Sep/Oct 2018): 18–19.
He went back to Britain to play the lead in Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? (1953), a comedy with Diana Dors, and in Escape by Night (1953).
Support parts Colleano had another Hollywood role, a support, in Flame and the Flesh (1954), shot in England and Italy.
He went back to support parts in British films with Time Is My Enemy (1954) and The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1955).
Colleano had good support roles in the oddball Shakespeare derivation Joe MacBeth (1955) and Stars in Your Eyes (1956).
Warwick Productions Warwick Productions used him in Zarak (1956). They liked his work and kept him on for Interpol (1957), Fire Down Below (1957), No Time to Die (1958) and The Man Inside (1958). He was also in Death Over My Shoulder (1958).
Personal life Colleano married actress Tamara Lees in 1946, but the couple divorced in 1951. His second wife was actress Susan Shaw, who descended into alcoholism after his death. Their son Mark Colleano is also an actor.
In 1950, he fathered future Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh. Colleano was not married to McIntosh's mother.
Death Colleano died in 1958 at the age of 34, when he crashed his sports car (a Jaguar XK140) in Birkenhead shortly after leaving the Queensway Tunnel. He was driving back from Liverpool's New Shakespeare Theatre, where he had been appearing in a stage production of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?. His passenger, fellow actor and friend Michael Balfour, required 98 stitches, but eventually recovered."The life and Wild times of Bonar Colleano". Cecil Wilson, 18 August 1958, Daily Mail (London, England) Issue: 19385 p3
Partial stage credits +YearTitleRoleVenueNotes1943–46Sweet and LowAmbassadors Theatre, LondonWhile the Sun ShinesLt. MulvaneyUK tourReplacement1944–46Sweeter and LowerAmbassadors Theatre, London1945A Bell for AdanoSgt. Leonard BorthPhoenix Theatre, LondonManchester Opera House, Manchester1947Separate RoomsTaggertStrand Theatre, London1948BurlesqueSkidUK tour1949–50A Streetcar Named DesireStanley KowalskiAldwych Theatre, LondonManchester Opera House, Manchester1951–52Jack and the BeanstalkSimple SimonUK tour1952The Blue LampTom Riley1957A Hatful of RainJohnny Pope1958Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?George MacCauley
Filmography Film YearTitleRoleNotes 1944 Starlight Serenade Himself 1945 The Way to the Stars Joe Friselli 1946 Wanted for Murder Cpl. Nick Mappolo A Matter of Life and Death An American Pilot 1947 While the Sun Shines Joe Mulvaney 1948 One Night with You Piero Santellini Good-Time Girl Micky Malone Sleeping Car to Trieste Sergeant West1949 Once a Jolly Swagman Tommy Possey Give Us This Day Julio 1950 Dance Hall Alec 1951 Pool of London Dan MacDonald A Tale of Five Cities Bob Mitchell 1952 Eight Iron Men Pvt. Collucci 1953 Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? Cmdr. Laurie Vining Escape by Night Tom Buchan 1954 Flame and the Flesh Ciccio Time Is My Enemy Harry Bond The Sea Shall Not Have Them Sgt. Kirby 1955 Joe MacBeth Lennie1956 Stars in Your Eyes David Laws Zarak Biri 1957 Pickup Alley Amalio Fire Down Below Lt. Sellars 1958 Them Nice Americans Joe No Time to Die The Pole Death Over My Shoulder Joe Longo The Man Inside Martin Lomer
Television Year Title Role Notes 1946 In the Zone Davis TV film 1957 ITV Television Playhouse Sam Pickens Episode "The Confidence Man"1958 East End, West End 1 episode Doomsday for Dyson Jackston TV film Sunday Night TheatreGuy MooreEpisode: "Statue of David"
References
Citations
External links
Bonar Colleano at Theatricalia
The Importance of Being Bonar https://web.archive.org/web/20080407000529/http://www.november3rdclub.com/08-07/nonfiction/williams.html