Dave O'Brien

Dave O'Brien

1912-05-31 – 1969-11-08 (age 57) Big Spring, Texas, USA
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Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dave O'Brien (born David Poole Fronabarger, May 31, 1912 – November 8, 1969) was an American film actor, director, and writer.

O'Brien was best known to movie audiences in the 1940s as the hero of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer comedy short film series Pete Smith Specialties narrated by Pete Smith. O'Brien wrote and directed many of these subjects under the name David Barclay. He also appeared in many low-budget Westerns, often billed as Tex O'Brien. In 1942, O'Brien starred in the movie serial Captain Midnight.

Modern audiences perhaps best remember O'Brien as a frantic dope addict in the 1936 low-budget exploitation film Tell Your Children (better known under its reissue title, Reefer Madness).

As a writer for The Red Skelton Show, O'Brien shared an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 1961 and shared a nomination for the same award in 1963.

O'Brien died, aged 57, of a heart attack while competing in a yachting race.

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Known For

The Sign of the Cross
The Sign of the Cross

1932

as Christian on Stairway (uncredited)

Kiss Me Kate
Kiss Me Kate

1953

as Ralph

Madam Satan
Madam Satan

1930

as Zeppelin Reveler

42nd Street
42nd Street

1933

as Chorus Boy (uncredited)

Devil and the Deep
Devil and the Deep

1932

as Submarine Crewman (uncredited)

That's Entertainment, Part II
That's Entertainment, Part II

1976

as (archive footage) (uncredited)

The Devil Bat
The Devil Bat

1940

as Johnny Layton

New Frontier
New Frontier

1939

as Jason Braddock

Rasputin and the Empress
Rasputin and the Empress

1932

as Soldier (uncredited)

Wonder Bar
Wonder Bar

1934

as Chorus Boy (uncredited)

The World Changes
The World Changes

1933

as Otto Peterson (uncredited)

Spooks Run Wild
Spooks Run Wild

1941

as Jeff Dixon

The Dawn Patrol
The Dawn Patrol

1930

as Pilot (uncredited)

Studio Visit
Studio Visit

1946

as O'Brien

The Big Parade of Comedy
The Big Parade of Comedy

1964

as Actor in the Pete Smith Shorts (archive footage)

We're Rich Again
We're Rich Again

1934

as Pete (uncredited)

Born to Be Wild
Born to Be Wild

1938

as Trucker (uncredited)

Bowery at Midnight
Bowery at Midnight

1942

as Det. Pete Crawford

T.V. of Tomorrow
T.V. of Tomorrow

1953

as Man on TV

Murder at the Vanities
Murder at the Vanities

1934

as Chorus Boy (uncredited)