Rio Fanning

Rio Fanning (7 November 1931 – 12 August 2018) was a Northern Irish actor and writer. Theatre Raised in Tralee, he made his debut appearing in school plays and pageants produced by his father. As an adult, he trained at the London School of Dramatic Art. Fanning began appearing in repertory theatre in late 1954 in Lancashire. Among these roles was playing Walter Darvel in Alan Melville's play Dear Charles at Royalty Theatre, Morecambe. Later that year, he was invited by English actor/director Margery Mason to join her fledgling company, the Bangor New Theatre, becoming the founder member. It was, at the time, the first professional company in Northern Ireland to be formed outside Belfast.