Michael O'Reilly

Michael O'Reilly (December 10, 1944 - June 1, 2021) was a British-born Canadian actor, songwriter, musician, and voice actor. He has more than 25 years of experience on the screen, as well as a prolific and active musical career.

Biography
Born December 10, 1944, in Seaton, Devonshire, England, Michael's family moved to Canada in 1946, first settling in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and eventually relocating to Ottawa in 1958. He showed an interest in music early on, thanks to his father's wind-up phonograph and country records.

Michael's voice acting career began in 1988 in the Dennis the Menace animated series. He subsequently obtained more roles, participating in a video or animated production nearly every year afterwards. However, after filming the live-action TV movie My Daughter's Secret in 2007, Michael took a five year break from the screen. He returned in 2012 in My Mother's Secret, also a live-action mini-series. He is most known for his role as Greg in The Commitments and his appearance in The Van, both movies being part of The Barrytown Trilogy. Michael has also done voiceover work for several corporate productions.

In his early years, Michael taught himself how to play the guitar, banjo, and mandolin. He also quickly developed a talent in songwriting and singing. Throughout his life, he has been a member of many bluegrass country bands, including Mike O'Reilly and Cody and The Dick Smith and Mike O'Reilly Band. The latter still performs to this day, having participated in the 20th Annual Bluegrass Festival in Ottawa Valley in July 2014. The band has also released several CDs available for purchase.

At some point, Michael also began hosting Rural Roots on CJET Country Classics radio. He later moved on to hosting and leading The Radio Kings, a radio mixing group. The trio, composed of Mike (mandolin/lead vocals), Al Bragg (steel guitar/keyboard) and Steve Piticco (lead guitar/vocals), released a single album in 2002.

O'Reilly passed away from liver cancer on June 1, 2021 at the age of 76.

Animated Series

 * Princess Sissi (1997-1998) - Additional Voices
 * The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehog (2010) - Additional Voices

Anime

 * Jungle Tales (1974-1975) - Donny Deer
 * Huckleberry Finn (1976) - Additional Voices
 * Samurai Pizza Cats (1990-1991) - Bad Bird, Additional Voices

Trivia

 * Michael's name was often shortened to Mike O'Reilly.
 * Michael was inducted to the Ottawa Valley Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996.