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Arthur O'Connell
Actor

Arthur O'Connell

29 Mar 1908Born
18 May 1981Died
73Age at death
112Credits

Biography

Arthur O'Connell (March 29, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in films (starting with a small role in Citizen Kane) in 1941 and television programs (mostly guest appearances). Among his screen appearances were Picnic, Anatomy of a Murder, and as the watch-maker who hides Jews during WWII in The Hiding Place.

A veteran vaudevillian, O'Connell, from New York City, made his legitimate stage debut in the mid 1930s, at which time he fell within the orbit of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre.

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Welles cast O'Connell in the tiny role of a reporter in the closing scenes of Citizen Kane (1941), a film often referred to as O'Connell's film debut, though in fact he had already appeared in Freshman Year (1939) and had costarred in two Leon Errol short subjects as Leon's conniving brother-in-law.

After numerous small movie parts, O'Connell returned to Broadway, where he appeared as the erstwhile middle-aged swain of a spinsterish schoolteacher in Picnic - a role he'd recreate in the 1956 film version, earning an Oscar nomination in the process. Later the jaded looking O'Connell was frequently cast as fortyish losers and alcoholics; in the latter capacity he appeared as James Stewart's boozy attorney mentor in Anatomy of a Murder (1959), and the result was another Oscar nomination. In 1962 O'Connell portrayed the father of Elvis Presley's character in the motion picture Follow That Dream, and in 1964 in the Presley-picture Kissin' Cousins.

O'Connell continued appearing in choice character parts on both TV and films during the 1960s, but avoided a regular television series, holding out until he could be assured top billing. He appeared as Joseph Baylor in the 1964 episode "A Little Anger Is a Good Thing" on the ABC medical drama about psychiatry, Breaking Point. The actor accepted the part of a man who discovers that his 99-year-old father has been frozen in an iceberg on the 1967 sitcom The Second Hundred Years, assuming he'd be billed first per the producers' agreement. Instead, top billing went to newcomer Monte Markham in the dual role of O'Connell's father and his son. O'Connell accepted the demotion to second billing as well as could be expected, but he never again trusted the word of any Hollywood executive.

Ill health forced O'Connell to significantly reduce his acting appearances in the mid '70s, but the actor stayed busy as a commercial spokesman, a friendly pharmacist who was a spokesperson for Crest toothpaste. At the time of his death from Alzheimer's disease in California in May 1981, O'Connell was appearing solely in these commercials, by his own choice.

O'Connell was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Arthur O'Connell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.    

Known for

Filmography

The 80 most recent of 112 credits.

  1. 1991Preminger: Anatomy of a FilmmakerFilm: actor 'Anatomy of a Murder' (archive footage) (uncredited)
  2. 1975Medical StorySeries: Dr. Avery Loomis (1 episode)
  3. 1975The Hiding PlaceFilm: Casper ten Boom, 'Papa'
  4. 1974Huckleberry FinnFilm: Col. Grangerford
  5. 1974Shootout in a One-Dog TownFilm: Henry Gills
  6. 1973Adam's RibSeries: Judge (1 episode)
  7. 1973Wicked, WickedFilm: Mr. Fenley, Hotel Engineer
  8. 1972The Poseidon AdventureFilm: John, the Chaplain
  9. 1972They Only Kill Their MastersFilm: Ernie
  10. 1972Ghost StorySeries: Chief Owen Huston (1 episode)
  11. 1972The Paul Lynde ShowSeries (1 episode)
  12. 1972BenFilm: Bill Hatfield
  13. 1972Emergency!Series (1 episode)
  14. 1971A Taste of EvilFilm: John
  15. 1971CannonSeries (1 episode)
  16. 1971The Last ValleyFilm: Hoffman
  17. 1971Alias Smith and JonesSeries (1 episode)
  18. 1970Night GallerySeries (1 episode)
  19. 1970There Was a Crooked Man...Film: Mr. Lomax
  20. 1970Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?Film: Mr. Kruft
  21. 1970McCloudSeries (1 episode)
  22. 1970Nanny and the ProfessorSeries (1 episode)
  23. 1969Seven in DarknessFilm: Larry Wise
  24. 1969Room 222Series (1 episode)
  25. 1968If He Hollers, Let Him Go!Film: Prosecutor
  26. 1968The Name of the GameSeries: Charlie Sherwin (1 episode)
  27. 1968The PowerFilm: Henry Hallson
  28. 1967The Second Hundred YearsSeries: Edwin Carpenter (26 episodes)
  29. 1967The Reluctant AstronautFilm: Arbuckle "Buck" Fleming
  30. 1967IronsideSeries (1 episode)
  31. 1967A Covenant with DeathFilm: Judge Hockstadter
  32. 1966Fantastic VoyageFilm: Col. Donald Reid
  33. 1966Birds Do ItFilm: Professor Wald
  34. 1966The SilencersFilm: Joe Wigman
  35. 1966Ride Beyond VengeanceFilm: The Narrator
  36. 1965The F.B.I.Series: Smitty (1 episode)
  37. 1965The Wild Wild WestSeries (1 episode)
  38. 1965The Big ValleySeries: Jubal (1 episode)
  39. 1965The Monkey's UncleFilm: Darius Green III
  40. 1965The Third DayFilm: Dr. Wheeler
  41. 1965The Great RaceFilm: Henry Goodbody
  42. 1965Nightmare in the SunFilm: Sam Wilson
  43. 1964Your Cheatin' HeartFilm: Fred Rose
  44. 19647 Faces of Dr. LaoFilm: Clint Stark
  45. 1964Kissin' CousinsFilm: Pappy Tatum
  46. 1963Petticoat JunctionSeries: William Lawrence (1 episode)
  47. 1963Burke's LawSeries: Dr. Stuart Alexander (1 episode)
  48. 1963The FugitiveSeries: Dr. Josephus Harrison Adams, Samuel Cole (1 episode)
  49. 1963The Greatest Show on EarthSeries (1 episode)
  50. 1963Arrest and TrialSeries (1 episode)
  51. 1963MarilynFilm: archive footage
  52. 1962Sam BenedictSeries (1 episode)
  53. 1962Follow That DreamFilm: Pop Kwimper
  54. 1961Pocketful of MiraclesFilm: Count Alfonso Romero
  55. 1961The New BreedSeries: Peter Capples (1 episode)
  56. 1961A Thunder of DrumsFilm: Sgt. Karl Rodermill
  57. 1961MistyFilm: Grandpa Clarence Beebe
  58. 1960The Great ImpostorFilm: Warden J.B. Chandler
  59. 1960CimarronFilm: Tom Wyatt
  60. 1960Special for WomenSeries: Joe Lawson (1 episode)
  61. 1960Route 66Series (1 episode)
  62. 1960My Three SonsSeries (1 episode)
  63. 1959Operation PetticoatFilm: Chief Motor Machinist's Mate Sam Tostin
  64. 1959Hound-Dog ManFilm: Aaron McKinney
  65. 1959BonanzaSeries: Dr. Samuel Hubert (1 episode)
  66. 1959Anatomy of a MurderFilm: Parnell Emmett McCarthy
  67. 1959GidgetFilm: Russell Lawrence
  68. 1958Man of the WestFilm: Sam Beasley
  69. 1958Voice in the MirrorFilm: Bill Tobin
  70. 1957The ViolatorsFilm: Solomon Baumgarten
  71. 1957April LoveFilm: Jed Bruce
  72. 1957Alcoa TheatreSeries (1 episode)
  73. 1957DuPont Show of the MonthSeries (1 episode)
  74. 1957Wagon TrainSeries (1 episode)
  75. 1957Operation Mad BallFilm: Col. Rousch
  76. 1956The Monte Carlo StoryFilm: Mr. Homer Hinkley
  77. 1956Dick Powell's Zane Grey TheatreSeries: Lyman (1 episode)
  78. 1956Bus StopFilm: Virgil Blessing
  79. 1956The Solid Gold CadillacFilm: Mark Jenkins
  80. 1956The Proud OnesFilm: Jim Dexter

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.