Cornelius J. O'Brien (1869 - January 14, 1954) was known professionally as Neil O'Brien. He was a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

performer and a

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of portraying racial stereotypes of Afr ...

performer. He worked with

Lew Dockstader Lew Dockstader (born George Alfred Clapp; August 7, 1856 – October 26, 1924) was an American singer, comedian, and vaudeville star, best known as a blackface minstrel show performer. Dockstader performed as a solo act and in his own popula ...

Biography

He was born in 1869 in

Port Dickinson, New York Port Dickinson is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 1,641 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village lies within the town of Dickinson and is north of Bin ...

. He joined a

and later appeared with

for a few years. He next performed in

then he started the Neil O'Brien Minstrel Company in 1913. He toured from 1913 to 1925. He next teamed up with

James J. Corbett James John Corbett (September 1, 1866 – February 18, 1933) was an Americans, American professional Boxing, boxer and a World Heavyweight Champion, best known as the only man who ever defeated John L. Sullivan (hence the "man who beat the man" ...

, the boxer to tour as a vaudeville comedy act. He retired in 1929. He died on January 14, 1954, at

Mount Vernon Hospital Mount Vernon Hospital is a hospital located in Northwood, London, Northwood in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It is one of two hospitals run by The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the other being Hillingdon Hospital. History ...

Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Moun ...

, at age 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Cornelius J. American vaudeville performers Blackface minstrel performers People from Broome County, New York People from Mount Vernon, New York 1869 births 1954 deaths