Will Mahoney


William James Fitzpatrick Mahoney, better known as Will Mahoney, was an American vaudevillian performer, stage actor and theatre manager of the latter he was best known for carving out a successful stage career in Australia.

Early life

He was born in Helena, Montana, to rancher Michael Fitzpatrick and Mary Moran. His father died when he was two and his mother who had two children, Frank and Mary from a previous marriage, supported the family by holding several jobs.

Personal life

Mahoney was married three times, firstly aged 21 to Iva Gibbs and toured England appearing in films. After his wife's death he married Lililan Wilson in 1928, whom he later divorced and then married actress Evie Hayes in 1938 who appeared in his numerous stage show productions. They immigrated to Australia and were featured on the Tivoli Circuit.

Career

Mahoney along with his brother Frank devised an act called the Mahoney Brothers, they toured the United States, Mexico and Australia. In 1931, Mahoney was featured in The Earl Carroll Vanities. He had extensive experience on the vaudeville circuit in the US, becoming the highest paid variety star in the country by the early 1930s, when he arrived in Australia with fellow American star and future wife Evie Hayes. They acted in the film Come Up Smiling in 1939, after which he became a theatre manager in Australia of the Cremorne theatre in Brisbane. The theatre was successful and many of Mahoney's US friends attended including Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Gary Cooper and Artie Shaw, amongst others.
After the war, Mahoney went back to the USA to revitalize his career, being nominated for a Tony Award in 1956 for a revival of Finian's Rainbow before eventually settling permanently in Australia, in Melbourne in 1958, playing in musicals and revues and teaching a generation of young performers. He died in Melbourne on February 9, 1967.