John McDonough
Bloomfield — John Edward McDonough passed away from natural causes at his home in Bloomfield, Jan. 21, 2021, his 67th birthday. He was born in Hartford, to Estelle (McCullough) and George F. McDonough.
He completed his local schooling at Northwest Catholic High School where he began his acting career brilliantly playing Puck in “Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof.” He went on to perform at the College of Holy Cross under Ken Happe, while majoring in English literature. In his junior year, he studied in Ireland at the University College Dublin, staying in a working man’s rooming house which became the source for many stories later on. After graduation, he returned to his home in Bloomfield and was recruited by The Plum Cake Players Children’s Theater with whom he toured Connecticut schools, as well as the Mystic Marine life Aquarium, where he was featured in two productions for four species. While perusing his acting career, he started the Weatogue Fossil Fuel Company delivering coal. While on the Hough bucket loader, he would often recite Shakespeare or lines from his newest play.
As a member of the Shivram Shinola Memorial Clown Troupe, he was instrumental in the presentation of a “Feast of Fools” alternative liturgy at St. John’s Episcopal Church, as well as other events. He was co-founder of the Amelia Earhart Memorial Men’s Club, a kind of Algonquin Round Table of artists and other professionals that met at the Marble Pillar Restaurant in Hartford. There they planned the Annual Arts Turkey of the Year Award Gala, with send-ups of Hartford cultural institutions and personalities presented at the Hartford
State House and Wadsworth Athenaeum Theater. He was a member of the Hartford Stage Company and co-founder of Company One Theater. With Sidewalk, Inc., he performed in “Thursday Is a Work of
Art,” doing avant-garde street performance at lunchtime in downtown Hartford. A marvelous storyteller with a rich voice, he was featured as the narrator in concerts with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. He was a frequent guest of Garrison Keiller’s Prairie Home Companion. He recorded hundreds of audio books and was a favorite narrator of Jan Karon’s books, creating different voices for the many characters. For several
Christmases, he appeared as Good King Wenceslas at the St. John the Divine Boar’s Head Festivals. In recent years, he was the reader of passages he selected at the Christmas Angelicus concerts in Connecticut Churches, always ending with
“Touch Hands” by William Henry Harrison Murray. When Hollywood wanted to revive the Captain Kangaroo television show, they held a nationwide search and chose John who entertained families for several years. He also appeared in several of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parades as the Captain, once surviving a harrowing experience with a heavy rainstorm, while in a boat high in the air with water sloshing around him.
An avid crossword maven, he solved the New York Times puzzles every day in (sometimes) record time. John loved life. He had a joyous spirit and a ready wit. He loved being around family and friends, cooking food, raising bees, singing and reciting verse or stories. His favorite companion was Nora, a border collie who was rescued from a pound in Galway by friends, Richard Johnston and Chris Hanley.
He is survived by his sister Martha O’Brien of Pawcatuck; brother William McDonough of Bloomfield; nieces, Marita Coombs (Bob) of Somerville, Mass. and Marsina Stearns (Marc) of Hadden Heights,
N.J.; and nephews, William McDonough (Marycate) of West Chester, Pa., Colin McDonough of Bozrah, Timothy O’Brien (Abby) of Pawcatuck and Brendan O’Brien (Jennifer) of Ledyard; along with several grandnieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his sister Trudy McDonough; and brother-in-law John O’Brien.
A private livestreaming Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, at St. Timothy Church in West Hartford, followed by burial in Mount Saint Benedict Cemetery in Bloomfield. Donations can be made in his honor to Chorus Angelicus, P.O. Box 1051, Torrington, CT 06790, or the charity of your choice. There will be a celebration of John’s life in the fall when we are COVID free. John’s family has entrusted the Molloy Funeral Home, West Hartford, with the arrangements. A link to the streaming will be available at www.molloyfuneralhome.com.
“So until next time, be kind to each other, know that you can be anything you want to be, and remember — you’ll always have friends at the treasure house.”