Oscar-winner Edmond O'Brien was one of the most-respected character actors in American cinema, from his heyday of the mid-1940s through the late 1960s. Born on September 10, 1915, in the New York City borough of The Bronx, O'Brien learned the craft of performance as a magician, reportedly tutored by neighbor Harry Houdini. He took part in student ...
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1 | He appeared in two films which depicted the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944: D-Day the Sixth of June (1956) and The Longest Day (1962). D-Day veteran Richard Todd also appeared in both films. |
2 | Served with the US Army Air Force in World War II. |
3 | Often played characters with drinking problems and may have been an alcoholic in real life. |
4 | Appeared older than his actual age, often being cast as "old coots" when he was only in his 40s. |
5 | Ex-father-in-law of Michael Anderson Jr.. |
6 | In an interview, director Don Siegel recalled that during the production of China Venture (1953), he noticed that O'Brien was spending more and more time in his trailer before a scene, and was beginning to arrive late for shooting, which he had never done before. Suspecting that O'Brien might be secretly drinking before he went on camera--an experience Siegel had undergone with several well-known actors he had worked with--the director peeked through the windows of O'Brien's trailer one day and was surprised to see a young man reading O'Brien's lines to him. It turned out that O'Brien's eyesight and memory were beginning to fail him, he didn't want the studio to find out and fire him, so he had his assistant read him his lines and stage directions immediately before he was to shoot a scene so he wouldn't forget them on-camera. |
7 | O'Brien was originally cast as the photo-journalist Jackson Bentley (based on Lowell Thomas) in Lawrence of Arabia (1962). After O'Brien filmed several scenes, he suffered a heart attack and had to drop out of the picture. He was replaced by Arthur Kennedy. |
8 | Was cast in Black Christmas (1974) as Lt. Kenneth Fuller, but the part was recast with John Saxon because of O'Brien's poor health. He was rumored to be suffering from Alzheimers. |
9 | Father-in-law of Ingrid K. Behrens (wife of son Brendan O'Brien). |
10 | A German Shepherd aficionado. |
11 | Recited Shakespeare with Keith Moon at Sam Peckinpah's surprise birthday party. |
12 | Second actor to portray the title character on CBS Radio's "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar" (1950-1952). |
13 | Younger brother of screenwriter Liam O'Brien. |
14 | Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA. Specific Interment Location: F, T54, 50. |
15 | At the age of 10 he learned conjuring tricks from his neighbor, Harry Houdini. |
16 | His production company, Tiger Productions, came from his childhood nickname, 'Tiger'. |
17 | Father, with Olga San Juan, of actress Maria O'Brien, TV producer Bridget O'Brien Adelman and Brendan O'Brien. |
Title | Year | Status | Character |
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The Long, Hot Summer | 1965 | TV Series | 'Boss' Will Varner |
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color | 1965 | TV Series | Crowley Jefferson Crowley |
Synanon | 1965 | | Chuck Dederich |
Sylvia | 1965 | | Oscar Stewart |
The Hanged Man | 1964 | TV Movie | Arnie Seeger |
Rio Conchos | 1964 | | Col. Theron Pardee |
The Eleventh Hour | 1964 | TV Series | Buck Denholt |
Breaking Point | 1964 | TV Series | Roger Conning |
The Greatest Show on Earth | 1964 | TV Series | Mike O'Kelley |
Seven Days in May | 1964 | | Sen. Raymond Clark |
Sam Benedict | 1962-1963 | TV Series | Sam Benedict |
The Longest Day | 1962 | | Gen. Raymond D. Barton |
Birdman of Alcatraz | 1962 | | Tom Gaddis |
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | 1962 | | Dutton Peabody |
Moon Pilot | 1962 | | McClosky aka 'Mac' |
Target: The Corruptors | 1961 | TV Series | Ollie Crown |
The Dick Powell Theatre | 1961 | TV Series | Sid Williams |
The Great Impostor | 1961 | | Capt. Glover - HMCS Cayuga |
The 3rd Voice | 1960 | | The Voice (voice) |
The Last Voyage | 1960 | | Second Engineer Walsh |
Johnny Midnight | 1960 | TV Series | Johnny Midnight |
Zane Grey Theater | 1957-1959 | TV Series | Marshal Ben Clark / Russ Andrews |
Laramie | 1959 | TV Series | Captain Sam Prado |
The Ambitious One | 1959 | | Mike Buchanan |
Up Periscope | 1959 | | Commander Paul Stevenson |
Playhouse 90 | 1957-1959 | TV Series | Roy Brenner Joe Ferguson Al Preston |
Lux Playhouse | 1958 | TV Series | Big Jim Webber |
Suspicion | 1958 | TV Series | Sgt. Miles Odeen |
Schlitz Playhouse | 1953-1958 | TV Series | Jim Reardon / Rick Saunders / Captain Simpson |
Sing Boy Sing | 1958 | | Joseph Sharkey |
The World Was His Jury | 1958 | | David Carson |
Stopover Tokyo | 1957 | | George Underwood |
The Big Land | 1957 | | Joe Jagger |
Lux Video Theatre | 1951-1957 | TV Series | Harry 'Steve' Morgan / Major Jepelo / Randall / ... |
The Girl Can't Help It | 1956 | | Marty 'Fats' Murdock |
The Rack | 1956 | | Lt. Col. Frank Wasnick |
A Cry in the Night | 1956 | | Capt. Dan Taggart |
Climax! | 1954-1956 | TV Series | Leo Waldek / Joel Flint |
D-Day the Sixth of June | 1956 | | Lt. Col. Alexander Timmer |
Screen Directors Playhouse | 1956 | TV Series | Thaddeus Kubaczik |
1984 | 1956 | | Winston Smith of the Outer Party |
The Star and the Story | 1955 | TV Series | Ray Ericson |
Playwrights '56 | 1955 | TV Series | Sidney |
Pete Kelly's Blues | 1955 | | Fran McCarg |
Damon Runyon Theater | 1955 | TV Series | Duke Martin |
The Red Skelton Hour | 1955 | TV Series | Grizzled Old Prospector |
Stage 7 | 1955 | TV Series | Clinton Sturges |
The Ford Television Theatre | 1953-1954 | TV Series | Captain Joyce |
The Barefoot Contessa | 1954 | | Oscar Muldoon |
Shield for Murder | 1954 | | Detective Lt. Barney Nolan |
The Shanghai Story | 1954 | | Dr. Dan Maynard |
The Bigamist | 1953 | | Harry Graham / Harrison Graham |
China Venture | 1953 | | Capt. Matt Reardon |
Julius Caesar | 1953 | | Casca |
Cow Country | 1953 | | Ben Anthony |
Man in the Dark | 1953 | | Steve Rawley |
The Hitch-Hiker | 1953 | | Roy Collins |
Robert Montgomery Presents | 1953 | TV Series | |
The Turning Point | 1952 | | John Conroy |
Denver and Rio Grande | 1952 | | Jim Vesser |
The Greatest Show on Earth | 1952 | | Midway Barker at End (uncredited) |
Silver City | 1951 | | Larkin Moffatt |
Warpath | 1951 | | John Vickers |
Two of a Kind | 1951 | | Michael "Lefty" Farrell |
Pulitzer Prize Playhouse | 1951 | TV Series | Ben Jordan |
The Redhead and the Cowboy | 1951 | | Maj. Dunn Jeffers |
Between Midnight and Dawn | 1950 | | Officer Dan Purvis |
The Admiral Was a Lady | 1950 | | Jimmy Stevens |
711 Ocean Drive | 1950 | | Mal Granger |
D.O.A. | 1950 | | Frank Bigelow |
Backfire | 1950 | | Steve Connelly |
White Heat | 1949 | | Hank Fallon Vic Pardo |
Task Force | 1949 | | Radio Announcing Pearl Harbor Attack (voice, uncredited) |
An Act of Murder | 1948 | | David Douglas |
Fighter Squadron | 1948 | | Maj Ed Hardin |
For the Love of Mary | 1948 | | Lt. Tom Farrington |
Another Part of the Forest | 1948 | | Benjamin 'Ben' Hubbard |
A Double Life | 1947 | | Bill Friend |
The Web | 1947 | | Bob Regan |
The Killers | 1946 | | Jim Reardon |
Winged Victory | 1944 | | Irving Miller (as Sgt. Edmond O'Brien) |
The Amazing Mrs. Holliday | 1943 | | Tom Holliday |
Powder Town | 1942 | | J. Quincy 'Penji' Pennant |
Obliging Young Lady | 1942 | | 'Red' Reddy, aka Professor Stanley |
Parachute Battalion | 1941 | | Bill Burke |
A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob | 1941 | | Stephen Herrick |
The Hunchback of Notre Dame | 1939 | | Gringoire |
The Other Side of the Wind | 2016 | post-production | Pat |
Juicio de Socrates | 1974 | Short | Socrates |
99 and 44/100% Dead | 1974 | | Uncle Frank |
Police Story | 1974 | TV Series | Chief Frank Modeer |
Lucky Luciano | 1973 | | Commissioner Harry J. Anslinger (as Edmund O'Brien) |
Isn't It Shocking? | 1973 | TV Movie | Justin Oates |
The New Temperatures Rising Show | 1973 | TV Series | Dr. Banning |
They Only Kill Their Masters | 1972 | | George |
McMillan & Wife | 1972 | TV Series | Mr. Fontaine |
The Streets of San Francisco | 1972 | TV Series | Officer Gustav 'Gus' Charnovski, SFPD |
Jigsaw | 1972 | TV Movie | Det. Ed Burtelson |
Cade's County | 1972 | TV Series | Clint Pritchard |
What's a Nice Girl Like You...? | 1971 | TV Movie | Morton Stillman |
River of Mystery | 1971 | TV Movie | R.J. Twitchell |
The High Chaparral | 1971 | TV Series | Morgan MacQuarie |
The Name of the Game | 1971 | TV Series | Bergman |
Dream No Evil | 1970 | | Timothy MacDonald |
The Young Lawyers | 1970 | TV Series | MacGillicuddy |
The Intruders | 1970 | TV Movie | Col. William Bodeen |
Insight | 1961-1970 | TV Series | Houseworthy |
The Bold Ones: The Protectors | 1969 | TV Series | Warden Millbank |
The Love God? | 1969 | | Osborn Tremaine |
The Wild Bunch | 1969 | | Freddie Sykes |
It Takes a Thief | 1969 | TV Series | Rocky McCauley |
Mission: Impossible | 1968 | TV Series | Raymond Halder |
Flesh and Blood | 1968 | TV Movie | Harry |
The Outsider | 1967 | TV Movie | Marvin Bishop |
The Virginian | 1967 | TV Series | Thomas Manstead |
To Commit a Murder | 1967 | | Sphax (publisher) |
The Viscount | 1967 | | Ricco Barone |
The Doomsday Flight | 1966 | TV Movie | The Man |
Fantastic Voyage | 1966 | | General Carter |
Title | Year | Status | Character |
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The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage | 1996 | Documentary short | Himself (voice) |
The 50th Annual Academy Awards | 1978 | TV Special | Himself - Past Winner |
The Movie Game | 1970 | TV Series | Himself |
Men in Crisis | 1964-1965 | TV Series | Himself - Narrator |
The 37th Annual Academy Awards | 1965 | TV Special | Himself - Nominee: Best Actor in a Supporting Role |
The 22th Annual Golden Globes Awards | 1965 | TV Special | Himself - Winner: Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture |
Freedom Spectacular | 1964 | TV Movie | Himself |
The 32nd Annual Academy Awards | 1960 | TV Special | Himself - Presenter: Best Actor in a Supporting Role |
I've Got a Secret | 1960 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
The 31st Annual Academy Awards | 1959 | TV Special | Himself: Past Winner |
The George Gobel Show | 1957 | TV Series | Himself |
The 28th Annual Academy Awards | 1956 | TV Special | Himself - Presenter: Best Actress in a Supporting Role |
The Ed Sullivan Show | 1956 | TV Series | Himself |
The 27th Annual Academy Awards | 1955 | TV Special | Himself - Winner: Best Actor in a Supporting Role & Co-Presenter: Short Subject Awards |
The Red Skelton Hour | 1955 | TV Series | Himself / Award for Best Supporting Actor |
The Bob Hope Show | 1954 | TV Series | Himself |
Screen Snapshots: Hollywood on the Ball | 1952 | Short | Himself |
The Kate Smith Evening Hour | 1951 | TV Series | Himself |
Texaco Star Theatre | 1951 | TV Series | Himself - Actor / Himself |
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