William Joseph Patrick O'Brien (November 11, 1899 â€" October 15,
1983) was an American film actor with more than 100 screen credits. Of
Irish descent, he often played Irish and Irish-American characters and
was referred to as "Hollywood's Irishman in Residence" in the press.
One of the best-known screen actors of the 1930s and 1940s, he played
priests, cops, military figures, pilots, and reporters. He is
especially well-remembered for his roles in Knute Rockne, All American
(1940), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), and Some Like It Hot (1959).
He was frequently paired onscreen with Hollywood legend James Cagney.
O'Brien also appeared on stage and television. O’Brien also appeared
in 1971 as “The General†in an episode of Alias Smith and Jones
called “Shootout at Diablo Station†O'Brien was born in 1899 to an
Irish-American Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All four of
his grandparents had come from Ireland. The O'Briens were originally
from County Cork. His grandfather, Patrick O'Brien, for whom he was
named, was an architect who was killed while trying to break up a
saloon fight in New York City. His mother's parents, the McGoverns,
immigrated from County Galway in the west of Ireland in the mid- to
late-19th century.As a child, O'Brien served as an altar boy at Gesu
Church, while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets in Milwaukee.
He attended Marquette Academy with fellow actor Spencer Tracy, who
became a lifelong friend. During World War I, O'Brien and Tracy joined
the United States Navy. They both attended boot camp at the Great
Lakes Naval Training Center, but they never went to sea, as the war
ended before their training had finished.Jack Benny was also at the
Great Lakes Naval Training Center at the same time as O'Brien and
Tracy. According to his autobiography, Benny performed a number on the
violin at a show one evening, when the sailors started booing and
heckling him. O'Brien walked on stage and whispered in his ear, "For
heaven's sake, Ben, put down the damn fiddle and talk to 'em." Benny
stopped playing his violin and made a series of comments that got
laughs from the audience. In this way, O'Brien indirectly helped to
start Benny's career in comedy.
1983) was an American film actor with more than 100 screen credits. Of
Irish descent, he often played Irish and Irish-American characters and
was referred to as "Hollywood's Irishman in Residence" in the press.
One of the best-known screen actors of the 1930s and 1940s, he played
priests, cops, military figures, pilots, and reporters. He is
especially well-remembered for his roles in Knute Rockne, All American
(1940), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), and Some Like It Hot (1959).
He was frequently paired onscreen with Hollywood legend James Cagney.
O'Brien also appeared on stage and television. O’Brien also appeared
in 1971 as “The General†in an episode of Alias Smith and Jones
called “Shootout at Diablo Station†O'Brien was born in 1899 to an
Irish-American Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All four of
his grandparents had come from Ireland. The O'Briens were originally
from County Cork. His grandfather, Patrick O'Brien, for whom he was
named, was an architect who was killed while trying to break up a
saloon fight in New York City. His mother's parents, the McGoverns,
immigrated from County Galway in the west of Ireland in the mid- to
late-19th century.As a child, O'Brien served as an altar boy at Gesu
Church, while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets in Milwaukee.
He attended Marquette Academy with fellow actor Spencer Tracy, who
became a lifelong friend. During World War I, O'Brien and Tracy joined
the United States Navy. They both attended boot camp at the Great
Lakes Naval Training Center, but they never went to sea, as the war
ended before their training had finished.Jack Benny was also at the
Great Lakes Naval Training Center at the same time as O'Brien and
Tracy. According to his autobiography, Benny performed a number on the
violin at a show one evening, when the sailors started booing and
heckling him. O'Brien walked on stage and whispered in his ear, "For
heaven's sake, Ben, put down the damn fiddle and talk to 'em." Benny
stopped playing his violin and made a series of comments that got
laughs from the audience. In this way, O'Brien indirectly helped to
start Benny's career in comedy.
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