Born William Joseph Shields in Dublin, Ireland. A veteran of Dublin's famed Abbey Theatre, he made his film debut in Hitchcock's British production of JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK (1930). He first came to the US with the Abbey Players in the late 20s and thereafter appeared frequently on Broadway. He was lured to Hollywood in 1936 by John Ford, to repeat his stage role in Sean O'Casey's THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS (1936), and remained there as the movie colony's Irishman-in-residence, playing fanciful, heavily accented, ethnic near-caricatures with skill and whimsical charm. A notorious scene stealer, he was among Hollywood's prime character actors and won an Academy Award as best supporting actor for his role as Father Fitzgibbon in Leo McCarey's GOING MY WAY (1944), as he became the only performer to receive two nominations for the same performance (in the same film, that is!). He was the brother of actor Arthur Shields. Visit the Internet Movie Database for a detailed listing of Fitzgerald's many screen and television credits.  Nominated for Actor 1944: GOING MY WAY  Supporting Actor 1944: GOING MY WAY 2 nominations, 1 Award