Eugene O'Brien (born Louis O'Brien; November 14, 1880 – April 29, 1966) was an American
silent film
A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
star and
stage
Stage, stages, or staging may refer to:
Arts and media Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...
actor.
Biography
O'Brien was born on November 14, 1880, in
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...
.
He studied
medicine
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
at the
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...
but was keener on the
stage
Stage, stages, or staging may refer to:
Arts and media Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...
than becoming a
doctor
Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to:
Titles and occupations
* Physician, a medical practitioner
* Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree
** Doctorate
** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...
. O'Brien switched to
civil engineering
Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...
under his family's guidance, but his heart was still set on becoming an actor. He moved to New York City and was "discovered" by theatrical
impresario
An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...
Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Frohman produced over 700 shows, and among his biggest hits was '' Peter Pan'', both ...
who signed O'Brien to a three-year contract and put him in ''The Builder of Bridges'', which opened on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
at the
Hudson Theatre
The Hudson Theatre is a Broadway theater at 139–141 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the ...
on October 26, 1909, after he had appeared on Broadway in ''The Rollicking Girl'' (1905).
O'Brien made his name playing opposite
Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...
, in a revival of Sir
Arthur Wing Pinero
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (24 May 1855 – 23 November 1934) was an English playwright and, early in his career, actor.
Pinero was drawn to the theatre from an early age, and became a professional actor at the age of 19. He gained experience as a ...
's play ''
Trelawny of the 'Wells'
Trelawny or Trelawney may refer to:
Places
* Trelawny (electoral division), an electoral division of Cornwall
* Trelawny, Black Hill, Ballarat, a heritage house in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
* Trelawny, Jamaica, a parish of Cornwall County, Ja ...
'', which opened on New Year's Day, 1911, at the Empire Theatre.
O'Brien's other Broadway credits included ''
The Country Cousin
''The Country Cousin'' is a Walt Disney animated short film released on October 31, 1936, by United Artists. The winner of an Oscar at the 9th Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film, the film was produced by Walt Disney, directed by Wilfred ...
'' (1917), ''Her Husband's Wife'' (1917), ''The Angel in the House'' (1915), ''The Bargain'' (1915), ''A Celebrated Case'' (1915), ''The Money Makers'' (1914), ''A Woman Killed with Kindness / Granny Maumee'' (1914), ''Kitty Mackay'' (1914), ''Tainted Philanthropy'' (1912), ''The Case of Becky'' (1912), and ''The Million'' (1911).
O'Brien's first film, Essanay Film's ''The Lieutenant Governor'', in which he had the starring role, played in Boulder's Curran Theater in February 1915, giving his family its first opportunity to see him act. World Film Corp.
chief executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
Lewis J. Selznick
Lewis J. Selznick (born Lewis Zeleznick; May 2, 1870 or 1869 – January 25, 1933) was an American producer in the early years of the film industry. After initial involvement with World Film at Fort Lee, New Jersey, he established Selznick Pic ...
made O'Brien a screen star, putting him in an
adaptation
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...
of
Wilkie Collins
William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for ''The Woman in White (novel), The Woman in White'' (1860), a mystery novel and early sensation novel, and for ''The Moonsto ...
' ''
The Moonstone
''The Moonstone: A Romance'' by Wilkie Collins is an 1868 British epistolary novel. It is an early example of the modern detective novel, and established many of the ground rules of the modern genre. Its publication was started on 4 January 18 ...
''. Subsequently, he was
leading man
A leading actor, leading actress, or leading man or lady or simply lead (), plays a main role in a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person w ...
opposite some of the
leading
In typography, leading ( ) is the space between adjacent lines of type; the exact definition varies.
In hand typesetting, leading is the thin strips of lead (or aluminium) that were inserted between lines of type in the composing stick to incre ...
female stars of the day, including
Mary Pickford
Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...
,
Norma Talmadge
Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was an American actress and film producer of the silent film, silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among ...
and
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for h ...
and became a silent screen
matinée idol
Matinée idol is a term used mainly to describe film or theatre stars who are adored to the point of adulation by their fans. The term almost exclusively refers to adult male actors.
Matinée idols often tend to play romantic and dramatic ...
.
He retired from acting when sound films came in, making his last film, ''Faithless Lover'', in 1928 at age 47. He died on April 29, 1966, in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Forest Lawn may refer to:
Cemeteries
California
* Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of cemeteries in southern California
* Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City), California
* Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), California
* Fore ...
.
Legacy
For his contributions to the motion pictures industry, O'Brien received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...
at 1620
Vine Street
Vine Street is a street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, that runs north–south between Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, and Melrose Avenue. The intersection of Hollywood and Vine being symbolic of Hollywood itself. The intersection has be ...
The Rise of Susan
''The Rise of Susan'' is a 1916 American silent film, silent film made by the Peerless Film Company and distributed by World Film which starred Clara Kimball Young. Remnants of a print survive in the Library of Congress missing several reels. A f ...
'' (1916)
*''
Poppy
A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...
'' (1917)
*''
The Moth
The Moth is a nonprofit group based in New York City, dedicated to the craft of storytelling. Founded in 1997, the organization presents a wide range of theme-based storytelling events across the United States and abroad, often featuring promine ...
The Safety Curtain
''The Safety Curtain'' is a 1918 American silent melodrama film directed by Sidney Franklin and starring Norma Talmadge. Talmadge and her husband Joe Schenck produced the film and distributed through Select Pictures.
Cast
*Norma Talmadge as ...
Under the Greenwood Tree
''Under the Greenwood Tree: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School'' is the second published novel by English author Thomas Hardy, published anonymously in 1872. It was Hardy's second published novel, and the first of what was to become his seri ...
'' (1918)
*''
Come Out of the Kitchen
''Come Out of the Kitchen'' is a 1919 American silent film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by John S. Robertson and starred Marguerite Clark. The film is based on A. E. Thomas's 1916 Bro ...
The Perfect Lover
''The Perfect Lover'' is a lost 1919 American silent drama film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Eugene O'Brien. It was produced and distributed by Selznick Pictures Corporation.The Wonderful Chance'' (1920)
* '' His Wife's Money'' (1920)
* ''
Broadway and Home
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
Chivalrous Charley
''Chivalrous Charley'' is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by Robert Ellis and starring Eugene O'Brien, George Fawcett and Nancy Deaver.Munden p.126
Plot
Cast
* Eugene O'Brien as Charles Riley
* George Fawcett as His Uncle
* N ...
Graustark
Graustark is a fictional country in Eastern Europe used as a setting for several novels by George Barr McCutcheon. Graustark's neighbors, which also figure in the stories, are Axphain to the north and Dawsbergen to the south.
Description
Gra ...
'' (1925)
*''
Siege
A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...
Flames
A flame () is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction made in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density, they are then considered plasma. ...