Dave O'Brien

Dave O'Brien

1912-05-31 – 1969-11-08 (age 57) Big Spring, Texas, USA
View on IMDb ↗

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.

Photos

Known For

Double Trouble
Double Trouble

1941

as Sparky Barton

Flaming Bullets
Flaming Bullets

1945

as Dave Wyatt / Steve Carson

Captain Midnight
Captain Midnight

1942

as Captain Albright / Captain Midnight

Pick-up
Pick-up

1933

as Party Boy (uncredited)

Wonder Bar
Wonder Bar

1934

as Chorus Boy (uncredited)

Lightnin' Crandall
Lightnin' Crandall

1937

as Tommy Shannon

🎦
Carry Harry

1942

as Arthur - Harry's Friend

Studio Visit
Studio Visit

1946

as O'Brien

Fighting Valley
Fighting Valley

1943

as Tex Wyatt

Water Rustlers
Water Rustlers

1939

as Bob Lawson

Three in the Saddle
Three in the Saddle

1945

as Dave Wyatt

Undercover Agent
Undercover Agent

1939

as Billiards Player

🎦
Do Someone a Favor!

1954

as George Dibson

Forbidden Trails
Forbidden Trails

1941

as Jim Cramer

🎦
Pest Control

1950

as Cruising Wolf

🎦
Safety Sleuth

1944

as Careless Man

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

1976

as (archive footage)

The Sign of the Cross
The Sign of the Cross

1932

as Christian on Stairway (uncredited)

Just Suppose
Just Suppose

1948

as Husband (uncredited)

Victory Quiz