Dave O'Brien
ActingFrom 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
Kiss Me Kate
Ralph
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
Music in the Air
Karl Roder (singing voice) (uncredited)
Madam Satan
Zeppelin Reveler
College Coach
Student on Tennis Court (uncredited)
Rasputin and the Empress
Soldier (uncredited)
The Sign of the Cross
Christian on Stairway (uncredited)
The Kettles in the Ozarks
Conductor
Tell Your Children
Ralph
Hot Saturday
Party Guest (Uncredited)
Filmography — Acting
Kiss Me Kate
Ralph
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
Music in the Air
Karl Roder (singing voice) (uncredited)
Madam Satan
Zeppelin Reveler
College Coach
Student on Tennis Court (uncredited)
Rasputin and the Empress
Soldier (uncredited)
The Sign of the Cross
Christian on Stairway (uncredited)
The Kettles in the Ozarks
Conductor
Tell Your Children
Ralph
Hot Saturday
Party Guest (Uncredited)
Wonder Bar
Chorus Boy (uncredited)
The Devil Bat
Johnny Layton
Tomorrow's Children
Interne (uncredited)
Spooks Run Wild
Jeff Dixon
The Phantom of 42nd Street
Tony Woolrich
She Married Her Boss
Shopper
Flying Wild
Tom Lawson
Roar of the Dragon
Submarine Crewman
Queen of the Yukon
Bob Adams
Pick-up
Party Boy (uncredited)
I Love My Wife BUT!
The Husband
70,000 Witnesses
Football Player (uncredited)
Bowery at Midnight
Det. Pete Crawford
New Frontier
Jason Braddock
The World Changes
Otto Peterson (uncredited)
College Humor
Student
The Big Parade of Comedy
Actor in the Pete Smith Shorts (archive footage)
Devil and the Deep
Submarine Crewman (uncredited)
Fighting Mad
Constable Kelly
Murder at the Vanities
Chorus Boy (uncredited)
Code of the Cactus
Bob Swane
Is My Face Red?
Chorus Boy (uncredited)
Hold That Woman!
Miles Hanover
The Gunman From Bodie
Joe Martin
Ship Cafe
Young Man (uncredited)
Mutiny in the Big House
Daniels
Woman Wanted
Steve - Tap Dancer at Baxter's Party (uncredited)
Spook Town
Tex Wyatt
Gun Packer
Red Baker - Henchman
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
George Baldwin
Whirlwind Horseman
Henchman Slade
Buried Alive
Carson
Gift of Gab
Dancer (uncredited)
Sky Bandits
Constable Kelly
Good News
Student
On Your Toes
Man in Audience
The Desperados Are in Town
Dock Lapman / Mr. Brown
East Side Kids
Knuckles Dolan
The Fighting Renegade
Dr. Jerry Leonard
Down Texas Way
Dave Dodge
No More Ladies
Party Guest (uncredited)
Forbidden Trails
Jim Cramer
The Man Who Walked Alone
Marion Scott
The Texas Marshal
Buzz Weston
Wyoming Outlaw
Acacia Park Game Warden
Murder by Invitation
Michael, the chauffeur
I Love My Mother-In-Law But...
The Son-In-Law / Husband
Undercover Agent
Billiards Player
The Cowboy from Sundown
Steve Davis
Tennessee Champ
Luke MacWade
Tahiti Nights
Jack
The Dawn Patrol
Pilot (uncredited)
Flying High
Dancer (uncredited)
Student Tour
Student
That Gang of Mine
Knuckles Dolan
One Man's Journey
Dance Extra (uncredited)
The Secret of Treasure Island
Det. Jameson [Chs. 4-7]
Million Dollar Racket
Johnny Henessey
Gun Code
Henchman Gale
Bad Men of Thunder Gap
Tex Wyatt
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
Self (archive footage)
Son of the Navy
Nelson
Fighting Valley
Tex Wyatt
Danger Ahead
Corporal Kelly
Born to Be Wild
Trucker (uncredited)
Enemy of the Law
Dave Wyatt
Flaming Lead
Frank Gordon
Crashing Thru
Fred Chambers
Rollin' Westward
Ranch hand Red
Doubting Thomas
Member of Audience
Yukon Flight
Constable Kelly
Frontier Fugitives
Dave Wyatt
On the Spot
Charlie
Equestrian Quiz: What's Your I.Q.? No. 11
Horace
'Neath Brooklyn Bridge
Sgt. Phil Lyons
The Rangers Take Over
Tex Wyatt
The Singing Cowgirl
Dick Williams
The Yanks Are Coming
Sgt. Callahan
Brothers of the West
Bart
The Spider Returns
Jackson, Wentworth's Aide
Marked for Murder
Dave Wyatt
Texas Wildcats
Ed Arden
Starlight Over Texas
Henchman
The Girl on the Front Page
Nightclub Patron
Did'ja Know?
Expectant Father / Greeting Card Shopper / Hospital Patient / Job Applicant
Lightnin' Crandall
Tommy Shannon
Sheriff of Sage Valley
Jeff
Consolation Marriage
Man Picking Up Stack of Newspapers (uncredited)
Wrong Way Butch
Butch
Boys of the City
Knuckles Dolan
Billy the Kid in Santa Fe
Texas Joe
Billy the Kid Wanted
Jeff
Boss of Rawhide
Tex Wyatt
Billy the Kid's Smoking Guns
Jeff
The Black Coin
Terry Navarro
Murder on the Yukon
Constable Kelly
Outlaws' Paradise
Henchman Meggs
Riders of the Sage
Tom Martin
I Love My Husband, But!
The Husband
Sitting Pretty
Assistant Cameraman (uncredited)
Phantom Rancher
Henchman Lucke
Isle Of Destiny
Whitey - Navy Radio Man
T.V. of Tomorrow
Man on TV
Water Rustlers
Bob Lawson
Outlaw Roundup
Tex Wyatt
We're Rich Again
Pete (uncredited)
Double Trouble
Sparky Barton
Wanted - A Master
Dog's Master (uncredited)
The Arizona Kid
Soldier
Calling All Pa's
Joe Thunderstruck
Search for Beauty
Talent Contestant (uncredited)
Border Buckaroos
Tex Wyatt
Song of the Buckaroo
Tex Alden
Welcome Home
Stanley Phillips
Daughter of the Tong
Jerry Morgan
Frontier Scout
Steve Norris
West of Texas
Tex Wyatt
Reducing
Man on Bench (uncredited)
Brand of the Devil
Tex Wyatt
The Pinto Bandit
Tex Wyatt
Dead or Alive
Dave Wyatt
Sure Cures
Xavier T. Schneckendorf
Flaming Bullets
Dave Wyatt / Steve Carson
Law and Order
Jeff Travis
Movie Pests
Feet-in-the-Aisle Pest
Cash Stashers
A Shmoe Named Joe
Just Suppose
Husband (uncredited)
Captain Midnight
Captain Albright / Captain Midnight
Utah Trail
Mason - Bookkeeper
The Man Around the House
Hugo Hightonsil (uncredited)
Studio Visit
O'Brien
What About Daddy?
The Husband
A Wife's Life
George T. Hardnose (uncredited)
The Fall Guy
Himself as Various Characters (archive footage)
Ain't It Aggravatin'
Parking Space Hog / Apartment House Manager / Frugal Man / Harry Hollowhead
Lover Come Back
Pool Party Boy (uncredited)
The Deadly Game
Ralph Spencer
Carry Harry
Arthur - Harry's Friend
Guns of the Law
Tex Wyatt
Where the Buffalo Roam
Jeff Gray
You Can't Win
Harried Homeowner
Three in the Saddle
Dave Wyatt
King of the Stallions
Prisoner of Japan
U. S. Marine
Rough Riding Rhythm
Detective Waters
Trigger Smith
Duke
Trail of Terror
Tex Wyatt / Curly Wyatt
Drifting Westward
Henchman Trigger
Do Someone a Favor!
George Dibson
Seventh Column
Falstaff Pratt the Indestructible Man
The Return of the Rangers
Tex Wyatt
Gangsters of the Frontier
Dave Wyatt
Man's Country
Bat
The Whispering Skull
Dave Wyatt
Gunsmoke Mesa
Tex Wyatt
Just What I Needed
Harry Horseknuckle
Have You Ever Wondered?
Husband / Driver / Man at Gumball Machine / Toupee Wearer
Things We Can Do Without
Thaddeus E. Thud III
Safety Sleuth
Careless Man
Sportsman's Memories
Fabian Tecumseh 'Joe' Funk (uncredited)
Let's Cogitate
Oliver T. Aseltafel
Victory Quiz
Buzzy and the Phantom Pinto
Jim Dana
Meet the O'Briens
Dave
I Love Children, But!
The Daddy
Neighbor Pests
Treasures from Trash
Alonzo T. Mousebrain
Pest Control
Cruising Wolf
Those Good Old Days
Out for Fun
Businessman Seeking Relaxation
Filmography — Crew
I Love My Wife BUT!
Director
I Love My Mother-In-Law But...
Screenplay
Camera Sleuth
Writer
Equestrian Quiz: What's Your I.Q.? No. 11
Writer
Did'ja Know?
Director
Wrong Way Butch
Director
Diamond Demon
Writer
I Love My Husband, But!
Director
Reducing
Screenplay
Musiquiz
Director
Sure Cures
Writer
Cash Stashers
Director
Just Suppose
Director
The Man Around the House
Director
A Wife's Life
Director
The Fall Guy
Director
Ain't It Aggravatin'
Director
You Can't Win
Director
Bargain Madness
Writer
Dogs 'n Ducks
Screenplay
Do Someone a Favor!
Director
Early Sports Quiz: What's Your I.Q. No. 13
Director
Just What I Needed
Screenplay
Super Cue Men
Director
Crashing the Movies
Director
Have You Ever Wondered?
Director
Ice Aces
Writer
Things We Can Do Without
Screenplay
Bowling Tricks
Director
Let's Cogitate
Director
Meet the O'Briens
Producer
I Love Children, But!
Director
Film Antics
Director
Neighbor Pests
Director
We Can Dream, Can't We?
Director
Treasures from Trash
Screenplay
Pest Control
Director
The Mosconi Story
Director
Those Good Old Days
Director
Football Thrills No. 10
Director
Surfboard Rhythm
Director
Out for Fun
Director