AKA: William Joseph Shields
Nationality: Irish
Birthdate: 03/10/1888
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
Death Date: 01/04/1961
A small, rumpled-faced and twinkly-eyed veteran Hollywood character player, Fitzgerald came from Dublin's Abbey Theatre and became Paramount's resident Irishman in such films as "Going My Way" (1944), for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and "The Naked City" (1948). Fitzgerald came to the US in 1936 to star in Sean O'Casey's "The Plough and the Stars" for director John Ford for whom he did some of his finest work ("How Green Was My Valley" 1941, "The Quiet Man" 1952). He was the brother of actor Arthur Shields.
1911
Became a bookkeeping clerk for the Board of Trade's Unemployment Insurance Division; gave up job in 1929 after 14 years of acting on the side
1915
First walk-on part with the Abbey Theatre and took suitably Irish-sounding stage name (one story says that he let the Abbey Theatre pick his name so that the Civil Service wouldn't find out he was moonlighting)
1929
Sean O'Casey wrote "The Silver Tassle" for him which led to his most famous stage role in O'Casey's "Juno and the Paycock"
1930
First film as actor "Juno and the Paycock"
1932
Broadway debut with the Abbey Theatre
