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Dave O'Brien

Dave O'Brien

Birthday: 1912-05-31 | Place of Birth: Big Spring, Texas, USA

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.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1956
The Kettles in the Ozarks

as    Conductor

1953
T.V. of Tomorrow

as    Man on TV

1945
Enemy of the Law

as    Dave Wyatt

1945
Marked for Murder

as    Dave Wyatt

1945
The Phantom of 42nd Street

as    Tony Woolrich

1943
Trail of Terror

as    Tex Wyatt / Curly Wyatt

1942
Captain Midnight

as    Captain Albright / Captain Midnight

1942
Down Texas Way

as    Dave Dodge

1942
Bowery at Midnight

as    Det. Pete Crawford

1942
Law and Order

as    Jeff Travis

1942
'Neath Brooklyn Bridge

as    Sgt. Phil Lyons

1942
The Rangers Take Over

as    Tex Wyatt

1941
Billy the Kid Wanted

as    Jeff

1941
Spooks Run Wild

as    Jeff Dixon

1941
Forbidden Trails

as    Jim Cramer

1940
Yukon Flight

as    Constable Kelly

1940
Phantom Rancher

as    Henchman Lucke

1940
The Devil Bat

as    Johnny Layton

1940
Boys of the City

as    Knuckles Dolan

1939
Water Rustlers

as    Bob Lawson

1939
Code of the Cactus

as    Bob Swane

1939
The Fighting Renegade

as    Dr. Jerry Leonard

1939
Texas Wildcats

as    Ed Arden

1939
Flaming Lead

as    Frank Gordon

1938
Tell Your Children

as    Ralph

1938
Frontier Scout

as    Steve Norris

1937
Brothers of the West

as    Bart, Tracy Henchman

1937
Rough Riding Rhythm

as    Detective Waters

1936
The Black Coin

as    Terry Navarro