Arthur Joseph O'Connell (March 29, 1908 â€" May 18, 1981) was an
American stage and film actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award
for Best Supporting Actor for both Picnic (1955) and Anatomy of a
Murder (1959). He made his final film appearance in The Hiding Place
(1975), portraying a watch-maker who hides Jews during World War II.
O'Connell bore a physical resemblance to actor Jack Albertson. The two
were cast together in The Poseidon Adventure.O'Connell was born on
March 29, 1908 in Manhattan, New York. He made his legitimate stage
debut in the middle 1930s, at which time he fell within the orbit of
Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. Welles cast O'Connell in the tiny role
of a reporter in the closing scenes of Citizen Kane (1941), a film
often referred to as O'Connell's film debut, though in fact he already
had appeared in Freshman Year (1938) and had costarred in two Leon
Errol short subjects as Errol's conniving brother-in-law.After
numerous small movie parts, O'Connell returned to Broadway, where he
appeared as the middle-aged swain of a spinsterish schoolteacher in
Picnic - a role he played in the 1956 film version, earning an Oscar
nomination in the process. Later, the jaded looking O'Connell
frequently was cast as 40ish losers and alcoholics; in the latter
capacity he appeared as James Stewart's boozy attorney mentor in
Anatomy of a Murder (1959), and the result was a second Oscar
nomination.In 1959, O'Connell also played the part of Chief Petty
Officer Sam Tostin, engine room chief of the fictional World War II
submarine USS Sea Tiger, opposite Cary Grant and Tony Curtis in
Operation Petticoat. In 1961, O'Connell played the role of Grandpa
Clarence Beebe in the children's film Misty, the screen adaptation of
Marguerite Henry's story of Misty of Chincoteague. In 1962, he
portrayed the father of Elvis Presley's character in the motion
picture Follow That Dream, and in 1964 in the Presley-picture Kissin'
Cousins. In the same year, O'Connell portrayed the
idealist-turned-antagonist Clint Stark in The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao,
which has become a cult classic, and in which O'Connell's is the only
character other than star Tony Randall to appear as one of the "7
faces." O'Connell continued appearing in choice character parts on
both television and films during the 1960s, but avoided a regular
television series, holding out until he could be assured top billing.
American stage and film actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award
for Best Supporting Actor for both Picnic (1955) and Anatomy of a
Murder (1959). He made his final film appearance in The Hiding Place
(1975), portraying a watch-maker who hides Jews during World War II.
O'Connell bore a physical resemblance to actor Jack Albertson. The two
were cast together in The Poseidon Adventure.O'Connell was born on
March 29, 1908 in Manhattan, New York. He made his legitimate stage
debut in the middle 1930s, at which time he fell within the orbit of
Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. Welles cast O'Connell in the tiny role
of a reporter in the closing scenes of Citizen Kane (1941), a film
often referred to as O'Connell's film debut, though in fact he already
had appeared in Freshman Year (1938) and had costarred in two Leon
Errol short subjects as Errol's conniving brother-in-law.After
numerous small movie parts, O'Connell returned to Broadway, where he
appeared as the middle-aged swain of a spinsterish schoolteacher in
Picnic - a role he played in the 1956 film version, earning an Oscar
nomination in the process. Later, the jaded looking O'Connell
frequently was cast as 40ish losers and alcoholics; in the latter
capacity he appeared as James Stewart's boozy attorney mentor in
Anatomy of a Murder (1959), and the result was a second Oscar
nomination.In 1959, O'Connell also played the part of Chief Petty
Officer Sam Tostin, engine room chief of the fictional World War II
submarine USS Sea Tiger, opposite Cary Grant and Tony Curtis in
Operation Petticoat. In 1961, O'Connell played the role of Grandpa
Clarence Beebe in the children's film Misty, the screen adaptation of
Marguerite Henry's story of Misty of Chincoteague. In 1962, he
portrayed the father of Elvis Presley's character in the motion
picture Follow That Dream, and in 1964 in the Presley-picture Kissin'
Cousins. In the same year, O'Connell portrayed the
idealist-turned-antagonist Clint Stark in The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao,
which has become a cult classic, and in which O'Connell's is the only
character other than star Tony Randall to appear as one of the "7
faces." O'Connell continued appearing in choice character parts on
both television and films during the 1960s, but avoided a regular
television series, holding out until he could be assured top billing.
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