May 28, 1970 - December 3, 2002
He was 5'10", or 1.78 meters tall.
The actor who was most noted for playing Becky's boyfriend (later husband) Mark Healy on the sitcom Roseanne and the half-demon prophet Doyle on the series Angel, was born in Dublin, Ireland. His full name was Glenn Martin Christopher Francis Quinn. His father was Murty Quinn, a famous Irish musician who played with Dickie Rock and the Miami Showboard. He grew up with his two sisters Sonya and Louisa in Cabinteely, Dublin and attended Clonkeen College, a Roman Catholic Christian Brothers school, in nearby Blackrock. His Irish heritage was always very important to him, as he had tattoos on both shoulders: "Erin Go Bragh" (Ireland Forever) on his right, and a Harp on his left. However, for most of his acting career in America, he had to hide the accent (which he did quite well - I didn't even know he was Irish at first) - his roll on the Buffy-spin-off series Angel was the only American production where he got to use his own brogue. "I've been hiding it for so long that it's amazing to have some freedom. It was like putting on an old pair of shoes—it's bringing my soul back to life," Quinn said of the role in the July, 1999 issue of The Irish Times.
His character Alan Francis Doyle was one of the original three cast members of Angel -- which was on the air on the WB Network from October, 1999 - May, 2004 -- along with David Boreanaz (Angel, the title character) and Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase). Doyle, the product of a human mother and a male Brachen demon, was the only new character at the time, as Angel and Cordelia were Buffy carry-overs. He was only on the first nine episodes of the series, his character Doyle being killed off on the 11/30/99 episode "Hero" in which he and Angel had to fight a gang of demons hell-bent on eliminating "half breeds" (beings halfway between human and demon, which included Doyle's character and vampires like Angel). In the end Doyle sacrificed himself, "fought the good fight," to save the say. Tragically, nearly three years later to the day he passed away in real life. Glenn Quinn died of an apparent heroin overdose while at a friend's apartment in North Hollywood, California on December 3, 2002. At the end of the Angel episode "Long Day's Journey," in 2003, "In Loving Memory of Glenn Quinn" appeared after it faded to black.
He moved to the United States with his mother and two sisters in 1988 and his first role was as a pool shark in the Richard Marx video "Satisfied." He had worked in a factory, painted houses and waited tables before getting discovered by casting director Johanna Ray. He was good at an American accent as well as doing dead-on impersonations of the Muppet "Grover" and Christopher Walken. Following the video, Glenn had a major role in the John Travolta film Shout (1991), where he shared his first on-screen kiss with none other than Gwyneth Paltrow. It wasn't until 1990, though, that he would land the other roll he was most famous for.
It was originally only supposed to be a one-episode stint, but Glenn stayed on as a boyfriend of one of the daughters of Roseanne on the ABC series of the same name until its bizarre conclusion in 1997. The character Mark Healy, whom Glenn played, dated and later married the character Becky Conner (played by Alicia Goranson, then Sarah Chalke, then Alicia Goranson again, then Sarah Chalke again). In 1992 his role as Cedric in Covington Cross proved quite a commuting challenge to him, as that show was filmed in England, but he still had to fly back to the U.S. to film Roseanne episodes.
Glenn Quinn made the foray into business at one point, co-owning (with Mark Leddy) a James Bond-themed night club named Goldfingers in Hollywood.
He was only 32 years old when he died of the heroin overdose. He liked hiking, soccer/football, motor sports and playing the drums and guitar. His character Doyle was featured on Angel several times after both his and his character's deaths in archival footage, once in 2004 near the end of the series (on Charisma Carpenter's final episode). Michael Fishman, who co-starred with Quinn on Roseanne (as DJ Conner), set up a memorial fund in his name.
Below is a filmography of Glenn Quinn courtesy of imdb.com.
-
R.S.V.P. (2002/I) .... Prof. Hal Evans, phd.
-
At Any Cost (2000) (TV) .... Ben
- "Angel" (1999/I) TV Series .... Allen
Doyle (1999)
... aka Angel: The Series (USA)
-
Some Girl (1998) .... Jeff
... aka Girl Talk
... aka Men
-
The Curse of Monkey Island (1997) (VG) (voice) .... Pirate 5
... aka Monkey Island 3 (USA)
-
Campfire Tales (1997) .... Scott Anderson (segment "The Locket")/Paramedic
#1 (segment "The Campfire")
-
Outlaws (1997) (VG) (voice) .... 'Rattlesnake' Dick Farmer
-
Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (1996) (VG) (voice)
-
Live Nude Girls (1995) .... Randy
-
Dr. Giggles (1992) .... Max Anderson
- "Covington Cross" (1992) TV Series ....
Cedric Grey
... aka Charring Cross -
Shout (1991) .... Alan
-
Silhouette (1990) (TV) .... Darren Lauder
-
Call Me Anna (1990) (TV) .... George Chakiris
-
Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) (TV) .... Party Jock #1
Notable TV Guest Appearances
- "Angel"
playing "Doyle" (archive footage) (uncredited) in
episode: "You're Welcome" (episode # 5.12) 4
February 2004
- "Angel"
playing "Doyle" (archive footage) (uncredited) in
episode: "Birthday" (episode # 3.11) 14 January
2002
- "Angel"
playing "Doyle" (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited) in
episode: "I've Got You Under My Skin" (episode # 1.14) 15
February 2000
- "Jesse"
playing "Sean" in episode: "The Mischevous
Elf" (episode # 1.12) 21 January 1999
- "Roseanne"
playing "Mark Healy" in 55 episodes beginning
with "To Tell the Truth" (episode # 2.20) 27 February
1990 and ending
with the final episode, "Into
That Good Night: Part 2 " (episode # 9.23) 20 May 1997
- "Bagdad Cafe"
playing "Johnny" in episode: "Not
Enough Cooke" 5 October 1990
- "Beverly Hills 90210"
playing "Party Jock #1" in episode: "Class
of Beverly Hills" (episode # 1.0) 4 October 1990
Sources:
imdb.com
http://www.loony-archivist.com/doyle/frames.htm