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IMDbPro

Edmond O'Brien(1915-1985)

  • Actor
  • Director
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Edmond O'Brien
Abner Audubon Peacock is the publisher of a bird-watcher's magazine which is converted into a girlie mag by an unscrupulous operator Osborn Tremaine.
Play trailer2:26
The Love God? (1969)
28 Videos
99+ Photos
Oscar-winner Edmond O'Brien was one of the most respected character actors in American cinema, from his heyday of the mid-1940s through the late 1960s. Born on September 10, 1915, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, O'Brien learned the craft of performance as a magician, reportedly tutored by neighbor Harry Houdini. He took part in student theatrics in high school and majored in drama at Fordham University, dropping out after six months. He made his Broadway debut at the age of 21 in 1936 and, later that year, played "The Gravedigger" in the great Shakespearean actor John Gielgud's legendary production of "Hamlet". Four years later, he would play 'Mercutio' to the 'Romeo' of another legendary Shakespearean, Laurence Olivier, in Olivier's 1940 Brodway production of "Romeo & Juliet".

O'Brien worked with another magician, Orson Welles, in the Mercury Theater's production of "Julius Caesar", appearing as 'Mark Antony'. He would later play 'Casca' in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's film of the play, Julius Caesar (1953).

Although it has been stated that he made his debut as an uncredited extra in the 1938 film, Prison Break (1938), the truth is that his stage work impressed RKO boss Pandro S. Berman, who brought him to Hollywood to appear in the plum supporting part of 'Gringoire' in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), which starred Charles Laughton in the title role. After returning from his wartime service with the Army Air Force, O'Brien built up a distinguished career as a supporting actor in A-list films, and as an occasional character lead, such as in D.O.A. (1949).

O'Brien won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Barefoot Contessa (1954) and also received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role as a drunken senator who ferrets out an attempted coup d'etat in Seven Days in May (1964). He also appeared as crusty old-timer 'Freddy Sykes', who antagonizes Ben Johnson's character 'Tector Gorch' in director Sam Peckinpah's classic Western, The Wild Bunch (1969). Increasingly, O'Brien appeared on television in the 1960s and '70s, but managed a turn in his old boss Welles' unfinished film, The Other Side of the Wind (2018).

He married and divorced actresses Nancy Kelly and Olga San Juan, the latter being the mother of his three children, including actors Maria O'Brien and Brendan O'Brien. He died in May of 1985 in Inglewood, California, of Alzheimer's Disease and was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
BornSeptember 10, 1915
DiedMay 9, 1985(69)
BornSeptember 10, 1915
DiedMay 9, 1985(69)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Won 1 Oscar

Photos228

Steve Brodie, Richard Erdman, Wanda Hendrix, Edmond O'Brien, and Johnny Sands in The Admiral Was a Lady (1950)
Edmond O'Brien in The Turning Point (1952)
Viveca Lindfors and Edmond O'Brien in Backfire (1950)
Natalie Wood, Richard Anderson, and Edmond O'Brien in A Cry in the Night (1956)
Edmond O'Brien in Sylvia (1965)
Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, Edmond O'Brien, and Fredd Wayne in Seven Days in May (1964)
Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Richard Anderson, George Macready, and Edmond O'Brien in Seven Days in May (1964)
Edmond O'Brien in Seven Days in May (1964)
George Macready and Edmond O'Brien in Seven Days in May (1964)
George Macready, Fredric March, and Edmond O'Brien in Seven Days in May (1964)
George Macready, Fredric March, and Edmond O'Brien in Seven Days in May (1964)
Andrew Duggan and Edmond O'Brien in Seven Days in May (1964)

Known for

James Stewart, John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Andy Devine, Vera Miles, and Edmond O'Brien in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
8.1
  • Dutton Peabody
  • 1962
Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner in The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
The Barefoot Contessa
6.9
  • Oscar Muldoon
  • 1954
Seven Days in May (1964)
Seven Days in May
7.8
  • Sen. Raymond Clark
  • 1964
James Cagney in White Heat (1949)
White Heat
8.1
  • Hank Fallon aka Vic Pardo
  • 1949

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Peter Bogdanovich, John Huston, and Susan Strasberg in The Other Side of the Wind (2018)
    The Other Side of the Wind
  • Juicio de Socrates
  • Richard Harris in 99 and 44/100% Dead! (1974)
    99 and 44/100% Dead!
  • Robert Forster, David Birney, and Richard E. Kalk in Police Story (1973)
    Police Story
  • Lucky Luciano (1973)
    Lucky Luciano
    • (as Edmund O'Brien)
  • Isn't It Shocking? (1973)
    Isn't It Shocking?
  • Cleavon Little, Joan Van Ark, Nancy Fox, Reva Rose, and James Whitmore in The New Temperatures Rising Show (1972)
    The New Temperatures Rising Show
  • They Only Kill Their Masters (1972)
    They Only Kill Their Masters
  • Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James in McMillan & Wife (1971)
    McMillan & Wife
  • The Streets of San Francisco (1972)
    The Streets of San Francisco
  • James Wainwright in Jigsaw (1972)
    Jigsaw
  • Glenn Ford, Edgar Buchanan, Victor Campos, Sandra Ego, Peter Ford, and Taylor Lacher in Cade's County (1971)
    Cade's County
  • What's a Nice Girl Like You...? (1971)
    What's a Nice Girl Like You...?
  • River of Mystery
  • Leif Erickson, Linda Cristal, Henry Darrow, Cameron Mitchell, and Mark Slade in The High Chaparral (1967)
    The High Chaparral

Director

  • Man-Trap (1961)
    Man-Trap
  • The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial (1955)
    The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial
  • Hal Baylor, Hans Conried, and Chuck Hicks in Schlitz Playhouse (1951)
    Schlitz Playhouse
  • John Agar, Marla English, Carolyn Jones, and Edmond O'Brien in Shield for Murder (1954)
    Shield for Murder

Producer

  • Man-Trap (1961)
    Man-Trap

Videos28

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Paramount Centennial Collection
Clip 0:33
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Paramount Centennial Collection
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Paramount Centennial Collection
Clip 0:44
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Paramount Centennial Collection
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Paramount Centennial Collection
Clip 1:17
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Paramount Centennial Collection
Moon Pilot
Clip 1:49
Moon Pilot
Moon Pilot
Clip 1:41
Moon Pilot
Trailer
Trailer 1:45
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:40
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:26
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:26
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Trailer
Trailer 1:34
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Trailer 0:46
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:06
Official Trailer

Personal details

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    • September 10, 1915
    • New York City, New York, USA
    • May 9, 1985
    • St. Erne's Sanatorium, Inglewood, California, USA(Alzheimer's disease)
    • Olga San JuanSeptember 26, 1948 - 1976 (divorced, 3 children)
    • Maria O'Brien
  • Other works
    (1949-55) Radio: Played insurance investigator "Johnny Dollar" in the series "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar."
  • Publicity listings
    • 5 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    At the age of 10 he learned conjuring tricks from his neighbor, Harry Houdini.
  • Quotes
    Versatility is a dangerous thing. It's very satisfying to portray many types of roles, but often your own identity gets lost. Seldom does a producer say, "This is an Eddie O'Brien part." On the other hand, while the rewards may be great in fame and financially for stars, the work becomes monotonous. No actor who plays himself is a happy person.
    • Deep, rich voice
    • A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob
      (1941)
      $11,500

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