{{Short description|American actor (1924–1958)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Bonar Colleano | image = Bonarcolleano.jpg | image_size = 240 | caption = | birth_name = Bonar William Sullivan | birth_date = {{Birth date|1924|03|14|df=y}} | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1958|08|17|1924|03|14|df=y}}<ref>'Colleano dies after party'. ''Daily Herald''. 18 August 1958. p. 1.</ref> | death_place = Birkenhead, Cheshire, England | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1944–1958 | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{Marriage|Tamara Lees|1946|1951|end=divorced}} * {{Marriage|Susan Shaw|1954}} }} | children = 2, including Robbie McIntosh }} '''Bonar Colleano''' (born '''Bonar Sullivan'''; 14 March 1924 – 17 August 1958) was an American-British stage and film actor based in the United Kingdom.
==Biography== ===Early life=== Colleano was born '''Bonar Sullivan''' in New York City. He had childhood experiences with the Ringling Brothers Circus and in his family's famous circus.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42506184 |title=STARS OF TIGHTROPE |newspaper=Cairns Post |issue=13,867 |location=Queensland |date=13 August 1946 |accessdate=27 September 2017 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
He moved to the United Kingdom when he was 12 so his family could appear at the London Palladium.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103925805 |title=POOL OF LONDON |newspaper=Western Herald |location=New South Wales |date=10 April 1953 |accessdate=27 September 2017 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He spent several years performing in music halls. When war broke out in 1939, he began entertaining troops in Britain.<ref>{{cite web|last=Williams|first=Tony|title=The Importance of Being Bonar|url=http://www.wetdryvac.net/November3rdClub/2007/08-07/nonfiction/williams.html|work=The November 3rd Club|accessdate=January 16, 2016|archive-date=24 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724072143/http://www.wetdryvac.net/November3rdClub/2007/08-07/nonfiction/williams.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1941, he was in a revue titled ''Piccadixie''.<ref>EDINBURGH THEATRES: LYCEUM: "Smilin' Through" The Scotsman 26 Aug 1941: 3.</ref> As a US citizen residing overseas, he was not required to do military service by the US or UK.
===Film 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'',<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article161316314 |title=No title |newspaper=The National Advocate |location=New South Wales |date=18 September 1947 |accessdate=27 September 2017 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article229232580 |title=A Streetcar Named Desire |newspaper=The Sun |issue=2430 |location=New South Wales |date=6 November 1949 |accessdate=27 September 2017 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82757109 |title=CIRCUS STAR IN FIRST FILM |newspaper=Singleton Argus |location=New South Wales |date=14 May 1951 |accessdate=27 September 2017 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He went to the US and starred in a Hollywood production, Stanley Kramer's ''Eight Iron Men'' (1952).<ref name="film">Over There Horton, Robert. Film Comment; New York Vol. 54, Iss. 5, (Sep/Oct 2018): 18-19.</ref>
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).<ref name="warwick">{{cite magazine|date=8 December 2025|access-date=8 December 2025|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-moguls-cubby-broccoli-and-irving-allen/|title=Forgotten British Film Moguls: Cubby Broccoli and Irving Allen}}</ref> He was also in ''Death Over My Shoulder'' (1958).
==Personal life== Colleano 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. In 1946, he married actress Tamara Lees, 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/15/newsid_3245000/3245079.stm|accessdate=January 16, 2016|work=BBC News|title=1958: Film stars raise cash for Colleano|date=15 December 1958}}</ref> In 1950, while living in the U.K., 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.<ref name="Death">{{cite web|url=http://www.entertainmentcalendar.com.au/article/bonar-colleano/|accessdate=January 16, 2016|work=Entertainment Calendar|title=Bonar Colleano|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110015505/http://www.entertainmentcalendar.com.au/article/bonar-colleano/|archive-date=January 10, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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,<ref name="Death"/> but eventually recovered.<ref name="Death"/><ref>The life and Wild times of Bonar Colleano Author: Cecil Wilson Date: Monday, Aug. 18, 1958 Publication: Daily Mail (London, England) Issue: 19385 p3</ref>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Film |- | 1944 | ''Starlight Serenade'' | Self | |- | 1945 | ''The Way to the Stars'' | Joe Friselli | known as ''Johnny in the Clouds'' in the USA |- | rowspan="2"|1946 | ''Wanted for Murder'' | Cpl. Nick Mappolo | |- | ''A Matter of Life and Death'' | An American Pilot | Alternative title: ''Stairway to Heaven'' |- | 1947 | ''While the Sun Shines'' | Joe Mulvaney | |- | rowspan="4"|1948 | ''Merry-Go-Round'' | | |- | ''One Night with You'' | Piero Santellini | |- | ''Good-Time Girl'' | Micky Malone | |- | ''Sleeping Car to Trieste'' | Sergeant West | |- | rowspan="2"|1949 | ''Maniacs on Wheels'' | Tommy Possey |Alternative title: ''Once A Jolly Swagman'' |- | ''Give Us This Day'' | Julio | |- | 1950 | ''Dance Hall'' | Alec | |- | rowspan="2"|1951 | ''Pool of London'' | Dan MacDonald | |- | ''A Tale of Five Cities'' | Bob Mitchell | Alternative title: ''A Tale of Five Women'' |- | 1952 | ''Eight Iron Men'' | Pvt. Collucci | |- | rowspan="2"|1953 | ''Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?'' | Cmdr. Laurie Vining | |- | ''Escape by Night'' | Tom Buchan | |- | rowspan="3"|1954 | ''Flame and the Flesh'' | Ciccio | |- | ''Time Is My Enemy'' | Harry Bond | |- | ''The Sea Shall Not Have Them'' | Sgt. Kirby | |- | 1955 | ''Joe MacBeth'' | Lennie | |- | rowspan="2"|1956 | ''Stars in Your Eyes'' | David Laws | |- | ''Zarak'' | Biri | |- | rowspan="2"|1957 | ''Pickup Alley'' | Amalio | |- | ''Fire Down Below'' | Lt. Sellars | |- | rowspan="4"|1958 | ''Them Nice Americans'' | Joe | |- | ''Death Over My Shoulder'' | Joe Longo | |- | ''No Time to Die'' | The Polish POW | Also known as ''Tank Force''
|- | ''The Man Inside'' | Martin Lomer | |- |- ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Television |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 1946 | ''In the Zone'' | Davis | TV film |- | 1957 | ''ITV Television Playhouse'' | Sam Pickens | Episode "The Confidence Man" |- | rowspan="2"|1958 | ''East End, West End'' | | 1 episode |- | ''Doomsday for Dyson'' | Jackston | TV film |- |}
==References== <ref>How a Star Gets in Trouble over Tax Author: By Daily Mail Reporter Date: Wednesday, May 21, 1958 Publication: Daily Mail (London, England) Issue: 19309 p 3</ref>{{Reflist|30em}}
===Citations=== * {{cite book|title=Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies|publisher=Harper Collins|year=2001|isbn=0-06-093507-3}}
==External links== {{Portal|Biography|United States|New York City|New York (state)|United Kingdom|Film|Theatre}} * {{IMDb name|0171713}} * {{Screenonline name|id=577872}} * The Importance of Being Bonar https://web.archive.org/web/20080407000529/http://www.november3rdclub.com/08-07/nonfiction/williams.html *{{Find a Grave|10348118}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Colleano, Bonar}} Category:1924 births Category:1958 deaths Category:American male film actors Category:American male stage actors Category:Male actors from New York City Category:Road incident deaths in England Category:American people of Indigenous Australian descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of United States Virgin Islands descent Category:Bundjalung people Category:American emigrants to England Category:American music hall performers Category:20th-century American male actors