Bernard McDonald

Short Biography

Bernard McDonald was born in Galway, Ireland. His Gaelic name was Briain Mac Domhnaill. He often went by a nom de plume of Brian MacDonnnaill. He had a deep love of the ocean - the sound of the pounding waves. His solace was an attachment to nature. He loved all creatures - the tall and the small, and they loved him in turn. As a small boy he would hide in the hay in his grandparent's barn, bonding with a horse, bonding with his dog Nero. As an elder adult, even the crabs would come nibble his toes in Marina Del Rey. A swan, at the bed and breakfast called The Swan in Pangbourne, fell in love with him. She would knock on his bedroom door with her beak, demanding that he acknowledge her and come sit by the River Thames.He was given a scholarship to a Catholic boys school, whose students were going on to become priests. He was a "day boy" and would ride his bicycle miles and miles selling eggs on the way. Though he had no intention of becoming a priest he won the prize for the best knowledge of the bible every semester. Before he entered The National University of Ireland, Galway at 14, he took an adventure to Paris. He had very little pocket money, but somehow obtained a room in an attic, that barely fit a bed. There were times that he was so hungry that he would press his nose to the window of the store that sold tripe. He developed a love for pigs feet or trotters during that adventure. Sometimes he would do chores for the ladies of the night, earning enough francs for a meal or two.Bernard entered medical school at The National University of Ireland, Galway, at the age of 18. His education was interrupted by WWII. He Joined the RAF and became an Aircraftman Second Class - pilot, navigator, bomber. He trained as a navigator with the actor Richard Burton in Canada. He did a residency at Mercers Hospital in Dublin, Ireland.After graduating from medical school in 1950 Bernard took the SS America to New York. He traveled across the US on a Greyhound Bus. His brother Dr. John Thomas "Tommy" McDonald was a surgeon at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital. This is where Bernard did his required California residency.Bernard quickly became involved with a group of Ex-Pat actors, many of whom would attend the parties at the home of Mary Florence Roden-Ryan, whose brother was Oliver St. John Gogarty. Her daughter Maureen was an agent in the film industry. Familiar faces such as Barry Fitzgerald, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen, second generation - John Ford, John Huston, Carroll O'Connor and more socialized together. He hung out with Richard Burton, Richard Harris & Peter O'Toole.Bernard opened a family practice in Hawthorne, California. He delivered more than two hundred babies.When a Broadway play "Witness for the Prosecution" came to Los Angeles he met actress Anne Benton. He was smitten. They married in a Catholic ceremony in Mexico City, December 28, 1957. They honeymooned in Jamaica, flying there via Cuba. Their son Brian was born October 1958.September 1959 Bernard flew to Paris to take a job, and do post-graduate studies at Hospital Quinze Vingts. Anne opted to stay in Los Angeles and signed a contract with 20th Century Fox. She was hired for "Flaming Star" featuring Elvis Presley, and Dolores Del Rios. Bernard returned to the US in December 1960. Anne asked for a divorce shortly after his return. Sadly her symptoms of schizophrenia increased. Anne and Brian moved to New York then Oregon. Her niece who knew her in Oregon says she was sweet and very funny.Bernard went on to study Pathology in the early 1960s, working at the Veterans Hospital in Westwood. He eventually owned his own blood bank and cytology lab. He worked as a pathologist for various hospitals such as Mission Hospital and Downey Community Hospital.Over the years he patented more than one hundred inventions, many in the medical field, others dealing with energy.Bernard published his first book of fiction in 1963 under the name, Brian MacDonnaill. It was titled "Mananaland" and featured his favorite "people" the creatures of the farmyard and a few wild ones too.An avid skier, bicyclist, runner, and hiker Bernard traveled all over the world. There are tall tales of his rafting on the Amazon, and helicopter skiing in South America. He hiked the Pyrenees, the Alps, and walked all the major cities in Europe. He was heading to Nepal in 1995 when he had a heart attack...luckily he was in the US, and surgery including two stents saved his life. In July 2001 he had spinal surgery. His hiking days were numbered. His vision gave way as well to the point where he could no longer read his Financial Times.Bernard received last rites from his friend of more than sixty years, Father Matthew Delaney. On the last day of his life his partner Marsha read to him from his writings about his youth. He died peacefully that evening at the Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas. His ashes will be spread in the Pacific Ocean, and in Connemara.