Aideen O'Kelly

Aideen O'Kelly (5 September 1940 – 22 April 2015) was an Irish actress of stage and television, who worked in both Ireland and the United States. She was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for her performance in Othello in 1982. She appeared on Broadway in New York City in Othello (as Emilia) and in Philadelphia Here I Come! (as Lizzy Sweeney). She also appeared in numerous Irish Repertory Theatre productions in NYC. She appeared off-Broadway on several occasions, most notably in Samuel Beckett's Happy Days as "Winnie". She earned the following 1987 review from Mel Gussow, New York Times critic for this role:"Aideen O'Kelly conforms more than many of her predecessors to the physical outline suggested by the author: blond, plump and bosomy. At the outset, the actress has an amiable, almost chipper quality as she goes through Winnie's ritual ablutions and her marital memories. But when she is called upon to laugh, the laughter is forced...[A]s in all of Beckett, the power is in the ambiguities, and Ms. O'Kelly is less ambiguous than she should be. She only begins to capture the eloquence of the play...[S]he is, however, engaging, and she is indisputably Irish. Before coming to America, Ms. O'Kelly was a member of the Abbey Theatre. Her director, Siobhan O'Casey, herself an actress and a designer, is the daughter of Sean O'Casey. In her production, which represents her directorial debut, one is aware of the Irish lilt of Beckett's language." She appeared on American television in episodes of Third Watch and Law & Order, both filmed in New York City.