Dave O'Brien (born David Poole Fronabarger, May 31, 1912 â€" November
8, 1969) was an American film actor, director, and writer.Born in Big
Spring, Texas, O'Brien started his film career performing in choruses
and working as a stunt double before gradually winning larger roles,
mostly in B pictures.O'Brien was best known to movie audiences in the
1940s as the hero of the famous 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.
O'Brien also had a small dancing part with Bebe Daniels in the Busby
Berkeley musical 42nd Street (1933).He also appeared in many
low-budget Westerns, often billed as "Tex" O'Brien, alluding to his
home state. To modern audiences, he is most likely best to be
remembered as a frantic dope addict in the 1936 low-budget
exploitation film Tell Your Children (better known under its reissue
title, Reefer Madness), yelling "Play it faster, play it faster!" to a
piano-playing girl (Lillian Miles). He appeared in Queen of the Yukon
(1940) as Bob Adams. In 1940, he appeared in The Devil Bat as part of
a comedy team with Donald Kerr. They also appeared together in Son of
the Navy (1940) and The Man Who Walked Alone (1945).
8, 1969) was an American film actor, director, and writer.Born in Big
Spring, Texas, O'Brien started his film career performing in choruses
and working as a stunt double before gradually winning larger roles,
mostly in B pictures.O'Brien was best known to movie audiences in the
1940s as the hero of the famous 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.
O'Brien also had a small dancing part with Bebe Daniels in the Busby
Berkeley musical 42nd Street (1933).He also appeared in many
low-budget Westerns, often billed as "Tex" O'Brien, alluding to his
home state. To modern audiences, he is most likely best to be
remembered as a frantic dope addict in the 1936 low-budget
exploitation film Tell Your Children (better known under its reissue
title, Reefer Madness), yelling "Play it faster, play it faster!" to a
piano-playing girl (Lillian Miles). He appeared in Queen of the Yukon
(1940) as Bob Adams. In 1940, he appeared in The Devil Bat as part of
a comedy team with Donald Kerr. They also appeared together in Son of
the Navy (1940) and The Man Who Walked Alone (1945).
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