Dave O'Brien

Dave O'Brien (born David Poole Fronabarger; May 31, 1912 – November 8, 1969) was an American film actor, stunt man, film director, and Emmy awarded comedy writer. He was well known for his portrayal, in the 1942 serial films of the title character in Captain Midnight, performer and comedy writer in the Pete Smith Specialties and as one of Red Skelton's comedy writers.

Life and career Born in Big Spring, Texas, to Mike Fronabarger and his wife, Mary Edith, he started his film career performing in choruses and working as a stunt double, then graduating into larger roles, mostly in B pictures. He adopted "O'Brien" as his acting pseudonym. He had roles in early Western movies such as Lightnin' Crandall (1937). In 1933, O'Brien also had a small dancing part with Bebe Daniels in the Busby Berkeley musical 42nd Street. O'Brien portrayed a frantic drug abuser in the 1936 anti-drug film Tell Your Children (better known under its reissue title, Reefer Madness).

He appeared in several of the East Side Kids films. He appeared in low-budget Westerns, such as Producers Releasing Corporation's Texas Rangers series, billed as "Tex O'Brien".

In 1940, he appeared in Queen of the Yukon, The Devil Bat with Bela Lugosi, and Son of the Navy. In 1942, he starred in the fifteen episode movie serial Captain Midnight. In 1944, were roles in a series of Westerns, some of which were the Billy the Kid serials, and serials The Texas Rangers, a lead role in Brand of the Devil. In 1945, he appeared in The Man Who Walked Alone. By 1953, he was in the MGM musical Kiss Me, Kate.

Recognition and writing career, death As a comedy writer for The Red Skelton Show, O'Brien shared an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 1961. Then, shared a nomination for the same award in 1963. At the time of his death in 1969, O'Brien was still writing for the Red Skelton Hour.

Selected filmography

Consolation Marriage (1931) The World Changes (1933) as Otto Peterson (uncredited) Bright Eyes (1934) as Bill The Black Coin (1936, serial) Reefer Madness (1936) Rough Riding Rhythm (1937) Gun Packer (1938) Frontier Scout (1938) as Steven Norris Fighting Mad (1939) as Constable Kelly Flaming Lead (1939) Crashing Thru (1939) Main Street Lawyer (1939) (uncredited) East Side Kids (1940) as 'Knuckles' Dolan Boys of the City (1940) as 'Knuckles' Dolan That Gang of Mine (1940) as 'Knuckles' Dolan Gun Code (1940) as Gale The Devil Bat (1940) as Johnny Layton Isle of Destiny (1940) Navy Radio Man (uncredited) Phantom Rancher (1940) as Henchman Luke Son of the Navy (1940) as Chief Machinist's Mate Hold That Woman (1940) as Miles Hanover Sky Bandits (1940) as Constable Kelly Buzzy Rides the Range (1940) as Ken Blair Queen of the Yukon Flying Wild (1941) as Tom Lawson Buzzy and the Phantom Pinto (1941) The Spider Returns (1941) Murder by Invitation (1941) as Michael, the Chauffeur Billy the Kid in Santa Fe (1941) as Texas Joe Billy the Kid Wanted (1941) as Jeff Spooks Run Wild (1941) as Jeff Dixon Double Trouble (1941) as Sparky Marshall Forbidden Trails (1941) as Jim Cramer Bowery at Midnight (1942) as Peter Crawford 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge (1942) as Sergeant Lyons Billy the Kid's Smoking Guns (1942) as Jeff Travis The Yanks Are Coming (1942) as Sgt. Callahan The Rangers Take Over (1942) as Tex Wyatt Bad Men of Thunder Gap (1943) as Tex Wyatt West of Texas (1943) as Tex Wyatt Border Buckaroos (1943) as Tex Wyatt Fighting Valley (1943) as Tex Wyatt Trail of Terror (1943) as Tex Wyatt The Return of the Rangers (1943) as Tex Wyatt Boss of Rawhide (1943) as Tex Wyatt Tahiti Nights (1944) Outlaw Roundup (1944) as Tex Wyatt Guns of the Law (1944) as Tex Wyatt The Pinto Bandit (1944) as Tex Wyatt Spook Town (1944) as Tex Wyatt Brand of the Devil (1944) as Tex Wyatt Gunsmoke Mesa (1944) as Tex Wyatt Gangsters of the Frontier (1944) as Tex Wyatt Dead or Alive (1944) as Tex Wyatt The Whispering Skull (1944) as Tex Wyatt Marked for Murder (1945) as Tex Wyatt The Phantom of 42nd Street (1945) as Tony Woolrich Enemy of the Law (1945) as Tex Wyatt Three in the Saddle (1945) as Tex Wyatt Frontier Fugitives (1945) as Tex Wyatt Flaming Bullets (1945) as Tex Wyatt The Man Who Walked Alone (1945) Kiss Me, Kate (1953) T.V. of Tomorrow (1953) Himself (in the TV screen) The Kettles in the Ozarks (1956) Conductor

Selected short subjects