*** Welcome to piglix ***

Dave O'Brien (actor)

Dave O'Brien
ReeferMadness 09.JPG
O'Brien in Reefer Madness
Born David Poole Fronabarger
(1912-05-31)May 31, 1912
Big Spring, Texas, U.S.
Died November 8, 1969(1969-11-08) (aged 57)
Catalina Island, California, U.S.
Cause of death Heart attack
Years active 1930–1969
Spouse(s) Dorothy Short (1936-1954) (divorced) 2 children
Nancy O Brien (1955-1969) (his death) 3 children
Children Patricia Barclay Fronabarger (b. 1942)
Pamela Fronabarger (b. 1945)

Dave O'Brien (May 31, 1912 – November 8, 1969) was an American film actor, director and writer. Born David Poole Fronabarger in Big Spring, Texas, O'Brien started his film career in bit parts before gradually winning larger roles, mostly in B pictures.

O'Brien was best known to movie audiences in the 1940s as the hero of the famous 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. O'Brien also had a small dancing part with Bebe Daniels in the Busby Berkeley musical 42nd Street (1933).

He also appeared in many low-budget Westerns, often billed as "Tex" O'Brien, alluding to his home state. To modern audiences, he is most likely best to be remembered as a frantic dope addict in the 1936 low-budget exploitation film Tell Your Children (better known under its re-issue title, Reefer Madness), yelling "Play it faster, play it faster!" to a piano-playing girl (Lillian Miles). He appeared in Queen of the Yukon (1940) as Bob Adams. In 1940, he appeared in The Devil Bat as part of a comedy team with Donald Kerr. They also appeared together in Son of the Navy (1940) and The Man Who Walked Alone (1945).

In 1942, O'Brien starred in the movie serial Captain Midnight, and had the lead role in the western Brand of the Devil in 1944.


...
Wikipedia

...