Dave O'Brien

Dave O'Brien

Known for: Acting

Born: May 30, 1912 in Big Spring, Texas, USA - Died: November 7, 1969

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.

Known for

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Welcome Home

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Welcome Home

Stanley Phillips

1935 Comedy
The Devil Bat

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5.3
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The Devil Bat

Johnny Layton

1940 Horror
Million Dollar Racket

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6.0
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Million Dollar Racket

Johnny Henessey

1937 Drama
Spooks Run Wild

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4.9
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Spooks Run Wild

Jeff Dixon

1941 Comedy
Song of the Buckaroo

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Song of the Buckaroo

Tex Alden

1938 Western
Tell Your Children

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4.3
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Tell Your Children

Ralph

1938 Drama
Those Good Old Days

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Those Good Old Days

1949 Comedy
Man's Country

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Man's Country

Bat

1938 Western
Bowery at Midnight

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5.0
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Bowery at Midnight

Det. Pete Crawford

1942 Crime
Born to Be Wild

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Born to Be Wild

Trucker (uncredited)

1938 Action
The Sign of the Cross

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6.2
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The Sign of the Cross

Christian on Stairway (uncredited)

1932 Drama
Neighbor Pests

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Neighbor Pests

1947 Comedy
The Secret of Treasure Island

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3.7
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The Secret of Treasure Island

Det. Jameson [Chs. 4-7]

1938 Sci-Fi
Let's Cogitate

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Let's Cogitate

Oliver T. Aseltafel

1948 Comedy
Trigger Smith

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Trigger Smith

Duke

1939 Western
The Kettles in the Ozarks

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7.1
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The Kettles in the Ozarks

Conductor

1956 Comedy
Flying Wild

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Flying Wild

Tom Lawson

1941 Thriller
On the Spot

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On the Spot

Charlie

1940 Mystery
Forbidden Trails

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Forbidden Trails

Jim Cramer

1941 Action
Frontier Scout

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Frontier Scout

Steve Norris

1938 Action
Riders of the Sage

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5.0
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Riders of the Sage

Tom Martin

1939 Western
Whirlwind Horseman

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4.0
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Whirlwind Horseman

Henchman Slade

1938 Western
Wonder Bar

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5.9
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Wonder Bar

Chorus Boy (uncredited)

1934 Crime
Crashing Thru

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6.0
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Crashing Thru

Fred Chambers

1939 Western