Bonar Colleano, a talented actor and member of the renowned Colleano family acrobatic circus act, was born in New York City with the given name Bonar Sullivan. However, he adopted his family's stage name at a young age, joining the circus act at just five years old. By the time he was 12, he had moved to England, where he would go on to establish himself as a beloved figure in British cinema.
Bonar's mother, a skilled contortionist and part of the Colleano family act, had met his father in Australia, her homeland, where one of Bonar's ancestors, a boxer, had emigrated from Ireland. This ancestral connection played a significant role in the development of the family's famous circus act, which Bonar's uncle, also named Bonar, was instrumental in perfecting his expertise on the wire.
As an actor, Bonar Colleano was known for his charming, wisecracking on-screen presence, which earned him widespread recognition as the "wisecracking Yank" in many British films. His dashing good looks, dark hair, and endearing delivery, reminiscent of Bob Hope, made him a heartthrob among British females of the 1950s. Moreover, his portrayal of a charming American GI, who had courted and married British women during World War II, resonated with audiences and cemented his status as a symbol of the era.
Bonar's personal life was marked by a loving marriage to British Rank starlet Susan Shaw, with whom he had a son, Mark Colleano. Mark would go on to follow in his father's footsteps, appearing in films such as "Hornets' Nest" alongside Rock Hudson. Tragedy struck when Bonar died in a road accident on his way back to London from a theatre engagement, making front-page news in the English papers in 1958.
The loss was devastating for Bonar's wife, who struggled with a drinking problem for the remainder of her life, passing away in 1978. In the aftermath of Bonar's death, his mother, who had been a pillar of strength for the family, took on the role of legal guardian for their son Mark, nurturing his acting ambitions and guiding him towards a successful career in the entertainment industry.
