Edmond O'Brien(1915-1985)
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
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
Brooklyn, O'Brien learned the craft of performance as a magician,
reportedly tutored by neighbor
Harry Houdini. He took part in student
theatrics in high school and majored in drama at Fordham University, dropping out after six months.
He made his Broadway debut at the age of 21 in 1936 and, later that
year, played "The Gravedigger" in the great Shakespearean actor
John Gielgud's legendary production of
"Hamlet". Four years later, he would play 'Mercutio' to the 'Romeo' of
another legendary Shakespearean,
Laurence Olivier, in Olivier's 1940
Brodway production of "Romeo & Juliet".
O'Brien worked with another magician,
Orson Welles, in the Mercury Theater's
production of "Julius Caesar", appearing as 'Mark Antony'. He would
later play 'Casca' in
Joseph L. Mankiewicz's film of the
play, Julius Caesar (1953).
Although it has been stated that he made his debut as an uncredited
extra in the 1938 film,
Prison Break (1938), the truth is
that his stage work impressed RKO boss
Pandro S. Berman, who brought him to
Hollywood to appear in the plum supporting part of 'Gringoire' in
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939),
which starred Charles Laughton in the
title role. After returning from his wartime service with the Army Air
Force, O'Brien built up a distinguished career as a supporting actor in
A-list films, and as an occasional character lead, such as in
D.O.A. (1949).
O'Brien won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in
The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
and also received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role
as a drunken senator who ferrets out an attempted coup d'etat in
Seven Days in May (1964). He
also appeared as crusty old-timer 'Freddy Sykes', who antagonizes
Ben Johnson's character 'Tector
Gorch' in director Sam Peckinpah's classic
Western, The Wild Bunch (1969).
Increasingly, O'Brien appeared on television in the 1960s and '70s, but
managed a turn in his old boss Welles' unfinished film,
The Other Side of the Wind (2018).
He married and divorced actresses
Nancy Kelly and
Olga San Juan, the latter being the mother
of his three children, including actors
Maria O'Brien and
Brendan O'Brien. He died in
May of 1985 in Inglewood, California, of Alzheimer's Disease and was
interred in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
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
Brooklyn, O'Brien learned the craft of performance as a magician,
reportedly tutored by neighbor
Harry Houdini. He took part in student
theatrics in high school and majored in drama at Fordham University, dropping out after six months.
He made his Broadway debut at the age of 21 in 1936 and, later that
year, played "The Gravedigger" in the great Shakespearean actor
John Gielgud's legendary production of
"Hamlet". Four years later, he would play 'Mercutio' to the 'Romeo' of
another legendary Shakespearean,
Laurence Olivier, in Olivier's 1940
Brodway production of "Romeo & Juliet".
O'Brien worked with another magician,
Orson Welles, in the Mercury Theater's
production of "Julius Caesar", appearing as 'Mark Antony'. He would
later play 'Casca' in
Joseph L. Mankiewicz's film of the
play, Julius Caesar (1953).
Although it has been stated that he made his debut as an uncredited
extra in the 1938 film,
Prison Break (1938), the truth is
that his stage work impressed RKO boss
Pandro S. Berman, who brought him to
Hollywood to appear in the plum supporting part of 'Gringoire' in
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939),
which starred Charles Laughton in the
title role. After returning from his wartime service with the Army Air
Force, O'Brien built up a distinguished career as a supporting actor in
A-list films, and as an occasional character lead, such as in
D.O.A. (1949).
O'Brien won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in
The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
and also received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role
as a drunken senator who ferrets out an attempted coup d'etat in
Seven Days in May (1964). He
also appeared as crusty old-timer 'Freddy Sykes', who antagonizes
Ben Johnson's character 'Tector
Gorch' in director Sam Peckinpah's classic
Western, The Wild Bunch (1969).
Increasingly, O'Brien appeared on television in the 1960s and '70s, but
managed a turn in his old boss Welles' unfinished film,
The Other Side of the Wind (2018).
He married and divorced actresses
Nancy Kelly and
Olga San Juan, the latter being the mother
of his three children, including actors
Maria O'Brien and
Brendan O'Brien. He died in
May of 1985 in Inglewood, California, of Alzheimer's Disease and was
interred in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.