About Vincent Dowling

Vincent Gerard Dowling (born September 7, 1929, Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish-American actor and director. He was formerly married to the late Irish actress, Brenda Doyle (who died in a car crash in 1981). He is the father of actress Bairbre Dowling, and the former father-in-law of Irish actor, Colm Meaney. Dowling first came to prominence in Ireland in the 1950s for his role as Christy Kennedy in the long-running radio soap opera, The Kennedys of Castleross. He served as Artistic and Producing Director of The Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival (now the Great Lakes Theater Festival) in Cleveland, Ohio from 1976 to 1984.[1] During his tenure at GLSF, he directed, produced and acted in many classical works, by Shakespeare and others.[1] He is credited with discovering award-winning actor Tom Hanks.[1] Dowling founded the Miniature Theatre of Chester (now the Chester Theatre Company), in