Background
He was born in Buffalo NY and attended Canisus High school there.
Actor teacher writer Catholic priest
He was born in Buffalo NY and attended Canisus High school there.
He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1953.
He taught theology, AP English and later an elective called The Problem of God/Morality/Marriage at Fordham Preparatory School in the Bronx until June 2012. He was an associate professor of theology at Fordham University. O'Malley is now a professor of theology and the humanities at Seattle University.
O'Malley is best known for his portrayal of Father Dyer in The Exorcist, for which he was also a technical advisor. According to one source, he was the first Catholic priest to portray a priest in a commercial motion picture. He has also appeared in the E! True Hollywood Story of the Curse of The Exorcist.
He has directed 99 plays and musicals with students and adults. As an author, O'Malley has published 37 books, including Choosing to Be Catholic, Why Be Catholic?, God: The Oldest Question, Meeting the Living God, Building Your Own Conscience, and The Fifth Week. O'Malley graduated on June 19, 1963.
Before heading to Fordham, O'Malley taught AP English and theology for 22 years at McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, New York. He also directed the school's musical and drama productions. On stage in Rochester he appeared as Jim, the gentleman caller, in a production of The Glass Menagerie at the Theater at the Tracks and as the cleric in the Rochester Community Players production of The Power and the Glory, by Graham Greene.