George O'Brien

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George O'Brien (born April 19, 1899 in San Francisco , California , † September 4, 1985 in Tulsa , Oklahoma ) was an American actor, who was mainly known for his leading role in Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's silent film Sunrise - A Song of Two People and his longstanding collaboration with director John Ford is known.

Life

Early life and career

George O'Brien was born the son of the San Francisco Police Chief into a wealthy family. He was a successful college athletes before in the United States Navy in World War I served. There, O'Brien became the Pacific Fleet heavyweight boxing champion. He reached Hollywood in the early 1920s, where he began his film career as a stuntman . But a short time later, the muscular and handsome O'Brien got his first roles as an actor, including in George Melford's drama Moran of the Lady Letty from 1922. Director John Ford , who played the relatively unknown O ' Brien in the lead role of his silent film - Westerns the iron horse occupied. He later shot four more times with John Ford. In addition to Janet Gaynor , the actor, who had since advanced to a star, played the male lead in The Blue Eagle (1926) and in the first US film by German director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau , Sunrise - A Song of Two Humans (1927), which won a total of three Oscars and is often listed by film critics as one of the best films of all time. In Sunrise , O'Brien played a simple farmer who is almost tricked into murdering his wife by an attractive but depraved vamp .

In the late 1920s, he appeared alongside stars of his time such as Alma Rubens , Anita Stewart , Madge Bellamy and again with Janet Gaynor. He was mainly seen in adventure films. The beginning of the sound film era around 1930 destroyed the careers of many silent film stars, and George O'Brien's career was also damaged, so that he was only cast in inexpensive films. He finally found a niche as the leading actor in numerous B-Westerns of the 1930s, after which he was consistently one of the ten most cash-rich western actors. However, his b-westerns have largely been forgotten today. During World War II , O'Brien again served in the Pacific Navy and received many honors. After the war, O'Brien only appeared sporadically in films, including in John Ford's cavalry westerns To the Last Man and in The Devil's Captain , each in the role of an honorable officer. His last film Cheyenne (1964) was also directed by Ford. Mainly O'Brien continued to work for the Navy, where he was also active in the wars in Korea and Vietnam. At the end of his military career, he reached the rank of captain and had been proposed four times for the office of admiral.

Personal life and late years

In 1933 George O'Brien married the actress Marguerite Churchill (1910-2000), the marriage was divorced in 1948. Their daughter Orin O'Brien (* 1935) worked as a musician with the New York Philharmonic , their son Darcy O'Brien (1939–1998) was an award-winning writer. Later O'Brien ran a cattle ranch and was occasionally seen at film festivals. After being bedridden for the last years of his life due to a heart attack, he died of another heart attack in 1985 at the age of 86. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (6201 Hollywood Blvd.) for his contribution to the film industry .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME O'Brien, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH April 19, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH San Francisco , California
DATE OF DEATH 4th September 1985
Place of death Tulsa , Oklahoma