George
O'Brien
1899-1985
Silent
Film, Film
George O'Brien made many films in his career
and is remembered mostly for Westerns.
He was born in San Francisco, where his father was Chief of
Police. George enlisted in the Navy in WWI and would remain
with the Naval Reserve - serving in WWII. He achieved Boxing
Championships while in the Navy and retired as a Captain in
1946. After the first war, he tried Hollywood as a stuntman
in the Silent era. John Ford, the noted Irish director, gave
George a supporting role in the film The Iron Horse (1924)
and a contract. His last film some forty years later in 1964,
was another John Ford film Cheyenne Autumn. It is
noted that most of the western films he made were one step
better than grade B films being made in this time period.
George O'Brien was voted among the top five Box Office Cowboy
stars in the years 1936-1940.
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