MICHAEL O'SHEA BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
 
Michael O'Shea was born on March 17th, 1906 in Hartford, Connecticut.  At the age of twelve he dropped out of school and chose to join vaudeville while his five other brothers all pursued career as policemen. 

O'Shea worked as a comedian as well as an emcee and even later formed his own dance band, "Michael O'Shea and His Stationary Gypsies".  Soon he was performing on the radio as well as adding a number of stage credits to his resume performing in such productions as, "The Eve of St. Mark".

By the early 1940's he had broken into the film industry with roles in, "Lady of Burlesque" (1943) starring Barbara Stanwyck, "The Eve of St. Mark" (1943) also starring Anne Baxter, Harry Morgan, Vincent Price, William Eythe, Ray Collins, John Archer and Dickie Moore, "Jack London" (1943) starring with Susan Hayward, Osa Massen, Harry Davenport, Frank Craven and Virginia Mayo, "Man from Frisco" (1944) also starring Anne Shirley, Gene Lockhart, Dan Duryea, Tommy 'Butch' Bond and Stanley Andrews, "Mr. District Attorney" (1947) starring Dennis O'Keefe, Adolphe Menjou, Marguerite Chapman, Steven Geray and Ralph Morgan, "Smart Woman" (1948) starring alongside Brian Aherne, Constance Bennett, Barry Sullivan and James Gleason and "The Big Wheel" (1949) co-starring Mickey Rooney, Thomas Mitchell, Mary Hatcher, Spring Byington, Steve Brodie, Hattie McDaniel and Allen Jenkins.

Along with working in films he still maintained his love of live performing and added such stock theater roles as, "George Washington Slept Here", "Tunnel of Love" and "Fiorello".

In addition he later turned his focus towards television roles appearing on such series as, "Shower of Stars", "The Revlon Mirror Theater", "Damon Runyon Theater", "It's a Great Life" co-starring with Frances Bavier, James Dunn, William Bishop and Barbara Bates, "Ethel Barrymore Theater", "Daktari" and "Adam-12".

Michael O'Shea retired from the industry in 1971 and found work as a plainclothes operative for the CIA.  He married twice, first briefly to Grace Watts whom he had two children with.  When this marriage came to an end in 1947 he then married actress Virginia Mayo in 1947 and they also had one child and remained married until he passed away from a sudden heart attack on December 4th, 1973 in Dallas, Texas. 
 

Filmography

1971         Adam-12 
1967         Daktari
1961         Adventures in Paradise 
1960         McGarry and His Mouse
1956         Ethel Barrymore Theater
1954-1956     It's a Great Life 
1955         Damon Runyon Theater 
1954         Shower of Stars 
1954         Schlitz Playhouse 
1954         It Should Happen to You
1953         The Revlon Mirror Theater 
1952         Bloodhounds of Broadway
1951         The Model and the Marriage Broker
1951         Fixed Bayonets!
1951         Disc Jockey
1950         The Underworld Story
1950         Captain China
1949         The Threat
1949         The Big Wheel
1948         Parole, Inc.
1948         Smart Woman
1947         Last of the Redmen
1947         Violence
1947         Mr. District Attorney
1945         Circumstantial Evidence
1945         It's a Pleasure
1944         Something for the Boys
1944         Man from Frisco
1944         The Eve of St. Mark
1943         Jack London
1943         Lady of Burlesque