Crow

The mallet swinging fellow on the left in the photo above is one Ian Bannen born this day 1928 in Airdire, Scotland. The son of a lawyer, he spent some time in the army before taking up acting. He had his first role at the age of 19, and was an original member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. The picture above shows him, and fellow hero Hardy Kruger, in 1965's "Flight of the Phoenix." His role of "Crow" a wise cracking passenger on the ill fated flight that the movie is based upon. For that role, he earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actor, making him the first Scottish actor to do so. He did not win, but still it is a wonderful role that provides a great deal of muted humour in an otherwise serious film. He went on to a fairly successful career, and had a fairly small, but still excellent role as the elder Robert the Bruce in Mel Gibson's Braveheart. He also starred in "Waking Ned" another lovely film, and his role is well crafted, and well played. He was tragically killed in a car accident near Loch Ness in 1999, but for those roles in some lovely films, Ian Bannen (June 29th, 1928-November 3rd, 1999, at the age of 71), you are my (310th) hero of the day.