Editing Carroll O'Connor (section)

=== Prolific character actor ===
After acting in theatrical productions in Dublin and New York during the 1950s, O'Connor's breakthrough came when he was cast by director [[Burgess Meredith]] (assisted by [[John Astin]]) in a featured role in the Broadway adaptation of [[James Joyce]]'s novel ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]''. O'Connor and Meredith remained close, lifelong friends.<ref>{{cite book| last=O'Connor| first=Carroll| title=I Think I'm Outta Here| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y6h2LYVKaKYC&q=burgess+meredith| publisher=Simon & Schuster| pages=140–143| date=April 1, 1999| isbn=978-0671017606}}</ref>

O'Connor made his television acting debut as a [[character actor]] on two episodes of ''Sunday Showcase'' in 1960. These two parts led to other roles on such television series as ''[[The Americans (1961 TV series)|The Americans]]'', ''[[The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)|The Eleventh Hour]]'', ''[[Bonanza]]'', ''[[The Fugitive (1963 TV series)|The Fugitive]]'', ''[[The Wild Wild West]]'', ''[[Armstrong Circle Theatre]]'', ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'', ''[[The Great Adventure (U.S. TV series)|The Great Adventure]]'', ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]'', ''[[Dr. Kildare (TV series)|Dr. Kildare]]'', ''[[I Spy (1965 TV series)|I Spy]]'', ''[[That Girl]]'', ''Premiere'', ''[[Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea]]'' and ''[[Insight (American TV series)|Insight]]'', among many others. O'Connor guest-starred as Josef Varsh in the first season of ''[[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|Mission Impossible]]'', season one, episode 18 "The Trial". Late in his career, he appeared on several episodes of ''Mad About You'' as the father of Helen Hunt's character.

He was among the actors considered for the roles of the Skipper on ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'' and Dr. Smith in the TV show ''[[Lost in Space]]'', and he was the visual template in the creation of [[Batman]] nemesis [[Rupert Thorne]], a character who debuted at the height of ''All in the Family''{{'s}} success in ''[[Detective Comics]]'' No. 469 (published May 1976 by [[DC Comics]]).