Raymond John O'Connor (September 13, 1952 - October 9, 2023) was an American character actor.
Raymond O'Connor | |
|---|---|
 O'Connor in 2014 | |
| Born | Raymond John O'Connor September 13, 1952 South Bronx, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 9, 2023 (aged 71) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1985–2016 |
| Spouse | Stephanie O’Connor |
| Children | 3 |
Life and career
editRaymond John O’Connor was born September 13, 1952, in the Parkchester neighborhood of the South Bronx, New York. Born to a typical Irish Catholic family, his early life included attending Catholic schools and minor brushes with law enforcement. This path led Ray to attend Belmont Abbey College, a Benedictine monastery in North Carolina. Ray had no intentions of entering the monastery although it was a remarkable intellectual, emotional, and spiritual experience. During and after college he dabbled with many jobs including working as a hard rock miner, drilling and blasting 795 feet beneath New York. Ray flirted with theater in undergraduate school and began pursuing it more seriously in graduate school in the mid-1970’s eventually jumping into the deep end of the New York Theatre scene and finding his sea legs with the First Amendment Comedy group and Medicine Show Theatre, an off-off Broadway experimental troupe.
It was here that he met his wife of 38 years, Stephanie. They spent their early days together onstage at Medicine Show Theater and tending bar at Robert’s Restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen. They married in 1985 and moved to Los Angeles where Ray continued a successful acting career of nearly 40 years. Easily recognized, “Hey ain’t that the guy from….” were words frequently heard in his vicinity. His film and TV resume lists over one hundred productions not to mention his commercial work, for which TV Guide once dubbed him the “master of 60-second comedy.” Among others, Ray worked with such directors as Michael Bay, Mel Brooks and Blake Edwards. His notable film works include: The Rock, Off-Limits, Big Momma’s House, My Giant, Life Stinks, My Blue Heaven, Halloween 4, Just like Heaven, Inspector Gadget, and many other independent and big budget productions.
In addition to his success as an actor, Ray was a talented and dedicated writer, penning many screenplays, short stories, and poems. A selection of his poetry can be found in the Golden Pen Writers Guild anthologies “This and That (and everything else)”and “The Writer’s Brush.” More than anything, he was a family man and considered his family his greatest work of art.
O'Connor was in a number of films, some small roles and some larger. His first role was in the 1985 mini series Kane & Abel. He made guest appearances on several television shows, such as Seinfeld, Beverly Hills, 90210, Sister, Sister, Silk Stalkings and Babylon 5 (in the 5th-season episode "A View from the Gallery" as Mack).
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Off Limits | Elgin Flowers | |
| 1988 | Arthur 2: On the Rocks | Drunk #1 | |
| 1988 | Traxx | Tibbs | |
| 1988 | Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers | Security Guard | |
| 1988 | Dr. Alien | Drax | |
| 1990 | My Blue Heaven | Dino | |
| 1990 | Megaville | Taylor | |
| 1991 | Life Stinks | Yo | |
| 1991 | Pyrates | Fireman | |
| 1993 | Mr. Nanny | Frank Olsen | |
| 1995 | Prehysteria! 3 | Stutts | Direct-to-video |
| 1996 | The Rock | Park Ranger Bob | |
| 1998 | My Giant | Eddie | |
| 1999 | Breakfast of Champions | Rabo Karabekian | |
| 2000 | Drowning Mona | Father Tom Stowick | |
| 2003 | The Bug in My Ear | Jimmy | |
| 2003 | April's Shower | Sgt. Ted Burns | |
| 2004 | See This Movie | Manager | |
| 2004 | Serial Killing 4 Dummys | Frank | |
| 2004 | Bananas | Heston Brother #1 | Short |
| 2004 | Careful What You Wish For | Sleazy Salesman | Short |
| 2005 | Don't Come Knocking | Elko Policeman - Charlie | |
| 2005 | Just like Heaven | Catholic Priest | |
| 2006 | Love Made Easy | Pellini | |
| 2006 | Bottoms Up | Frank Peadman | Direct-to-video |
| 2007 | Crazy | Jimmy | |
| 2008 | Diamonds and Guns | Mr. Gretano | |
| 2009 | The Intervention | Norman Gardy | |
| 2009 | Off the Ledge | Richard | |
| 2011 | Balls to the Wall | Bernie Niles | |
| 2011 | L.A. Noire | Harold Kirby (voice) | Video game |
| 2016 | The Usual | Maitre D' |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Kane & Abel | New York Newsboy | Episode #1.2 "New York Newsboy" |
| 1986 | Hill Street Blues | Nate Mornath | Episode #7.1 "Suitcase" |
| 1987 | Hunter | Sooky Barnes | Episode #3.10 "The Cradle Will Rock" |
| 1987 | The Wizard | Raymond | Episode #1.17 "The Aztec Dagger" |
| 1987 | L.A. Law | Rick Santini | Episode #2.1 "The Lung Goodbye" |
| 1988 | J.J. Starbuck | Dickie Rich | Episode #1.15 "Rag Doll" |
| 1989 | Hard Time on Planet Earth | Phil Marker | Episode #1.2 "Something to Bank On" |
| 1989 | Tales from the Crypt | Jury Foreman | Episode #1.1. "The Man Who Was Death" |
| 1989 | Hooperman | Falstead | Episode #2.17 "Love Bytes" |
| 1989 | Growing Pains | Manny | Episode #5.11 "Five Grand" |
| 1990 | Hollywood Dog | Duane | TV movie |
| 1991 | Tagteam | Harrigan | TV movie |
| 1991 | Cast a Deadly Spell | Tugwell | TV movie |
| 1991 | Northern Exposure | Frank Watson | Episode #3.5 "Jules et Joel" |
| 1991 | Who's the Boss? | Burly Man | Episode #8.10 "Field of Screams" |
| 1992 | Sisters | I.N.S. Officer | Episode #2.12 "Good Help Is Hard to Find" |
| 1992 | Baby Talk | Manager | Episode #2.12 "The Littlest Shoplifter" |
| 1992 | Down the Shore | Carl | Episode #1.8 "A House Divided" |
| 1992 | Roc | Charlie | Episode #2.10 "Roc and the Actor" Episode #2.2 |
| 1993 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Curtis Bray | Episode #3.20 "Parental Guidance Recommended" Episode #3.22 "The Child Is Father to the Man" Episode #3.23 "Duke's Bad Boy |
| 1993 | Sirens | Security Guard | Episode #1.13 "Friday the 13th" |
| 1993-1994 | Phenom | Father Coyle Father Russell |
Answered Prayers (1993) Spring Breakout (1994) |
| 1994 | Rebel Highway | Mickey Maven | Episode #1.5 "Girls in Prison" |
| 1994 | Girls in Prison | Mickey Maven | TV movie |
| 1994 | Diagnosis Murder | Peter Kincaid | Episode #2.3 "Woman Trouble" |
| 1995 | Seinfeld | Night Doorman | Episode #6.17 "The Doorman" |
| 1995 | Vanishing Son | Artie Gallo | Episode #1.11 "Jersey Girl" |
| 1995 | Minor Adjustments | Merchant | Episode #1.6 "The Ex-Files" |
| 1995 | Fudge | Dave Katz | Episode #2.14 "The Mouse Trappers" |
| 1995 | Sister, Sister | Howard | Episode #3.9 "Thanksgiving in Hawaii: Part 1 Episode 3.10 "Thanksgiving in Hawaii: Part 2" |
| 1996 | Wings | Engineer Willy | Episode #7.13 "Sons and Lovers" |
| 1996 | Land's End | Carl Granger | Episode #1.15 "Fool's Gold |
| 1996 | Hudson Street | Leo | Episode #1.21 "One for the Monet" |
| 1997 | Boy Meets World | Officer Dibble | Episode #4.14 "Wheels" |
| 1997 | The Steve Harvey Show | Episode #1.14 "African-American Me" | |
| 1997 | Skeletons | Mr. Muir | TV movie |
| 1997 | The Sentinel | Charlie Spring | Episode #2.19 "Private Eyes" |
| 1997 | Silk Stalkings | Building Manager | Episode #7.10 "Child's Play" |
| 1997 | The Wayans Bros. | Frank Rizzo | Episode #4.8 "I Was En Vogue's Love Slave" |
| 1998 | Babylon 5 | Mack | Episode #5.4 "A View from the Gallery" |
| 1998 | Two of a Kind | Walter | Episode #1.11 "A Very Carrie Christmas" |
| 2000 | Brutally Normal | Vice Principal Strauss | Episode #1.2 "Barricade" |
| 2000 | Becker | Lenny Sinclair | Episode #2.15 "All the Rage" |
| 2000 | V.I.P. | Jerry Goldring | Episode #2.18 "Val's on First" |
| 2000 | City of Angels | Hay | Episode #2.2. "Jerque Du Soleil" |
| 2000 | The Michael Richards Show | Harvey | Episode #1.7 "USA Toy" |
| 2001 | That's Life | Cookie | Episode #1.13 "Heart Problems" |
| 2001 | Days of Our Lives | Cab Driver | Episode #1.8985 |
| 2001 | Dead Last | Charlie Cramachuck | Episode #1.10 "Laughlin It Up" |
| 2001 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Teeth | Episode #6.9 "Tabula Rasa" |
| 2002 | Six Feet Under | Man on Phone | Episode #2.3 "The Plan" |
| 2002 | Providence | ||
| 2002 | Boomtown | Albert Beechem | Episode #1.6 "The Freak" |
| 2003 | NYPD Blue | Aldo 'The Dentist' Sanfratello | Episode #10.16 "Nude Awakening" |
| 2003 | Audrey's Rain | Minster #1 | TV movie |
| 2003 | The Handler | Kevin Morris | Episode #1.6 "Dirty White Collar" |
| 2005 | Monk | Clemm | Episode #3.10 "Mr. Monk and the Red Herring" |
| 2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Salesman | Episode #6.14 "Killer" |
| 2006 | Malcolm in the Middle | Al | Episode #7.22 "Graduation" |
| 2007 | Sands of Oblivion | Dale | TV movie |
| 2007 | Saving Grace | Tendell Rusk | Episode #1.5 "Would You Want Me to Tell You?" |
| 2008 | Shark Swarm | George Banks | TV movie |
| 2016 | The Hub | Mr. Jones | TV movie |
References
edit- ^ "Magazine Fall/Winter 2023". SAG-AFTRA. p. 62. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/newhall-ca/raymond-oconnor-11498886