Arthur O'Connell
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Birthplace:
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A veteran vaudevillian, American actor Arthur O'Connell made his legitimate stage debut in the mid '30s, at which time he fell within the orbit of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. 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. The somewhat downtrodden-looking O'Connell was frequently cast as fortyish losers and alcoholics; in the latter capacity he appeared as Jimmy Stewart's boozy attorney mentor in Anatomy of a Murder (1959), and the result was another Oscar nomination. O'Connell continued appearing in choice character parts on both TV and films during the '60s (he'd graduated to villainy in a few of these roles), but avoided a regular television series, holding out until he could be assured top billing. 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 Monty Markham in the dual role of O'Connell's father (the ice had preserved his youthfulness) 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. Illness forced O'Connell to cut down on his appearances in the mid '70s, but the actor stayed busy as a commercial spokesman for a popular toothpaste. At the time of his death, O'Connell was appearing solely in these commercials -- by his own choice. For a mere few hours' work each year, Arthur O'Connell remained financially solvent 'til the end of his days.
Highest Rated Movies
Filmography
MOVIES
RATING | TITLE | CREDIT | BOX OFFICE | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | The Hiding Place |
|
— | 1975 |
No Score Yet | Huckleberry Finn |
|
— | 1974 |
No Score Yet | Wicked, Wicked |
|
— | 1973 |
80% | The Poseidon Adventure |
|
— | 1972 |
No Score Yet | They Only Kill Their Masters |
|
— | 1972 |
67% | Ben |
|
— | 1972 |
No Score Yet | The Last Valley |
|
— | 1971 |
No Score Yet | Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? |
|
— | 1970 |
80% | There Was a Crooked Man |
|
— | 1970 |
No Score Yet | The Power |
|
— | 1968 |
No Score Yet | If He Hollers, Let Him Go! |
|
— | 1968 |
No Score Yet | The Reluctant Astronaut |
|
— | 1967 |
91% | Fantastic Voyage |
|
— | 1966 |
No Score Yet | Ride Beyond Vengeance |
|
— | 1966 |
No Score Yet | The Silencers |
|
— | 1966 |
No Score Yet | A Covenant with Death |
|
— | 1966 |
74% | The Great Race |
|
— | 1965 |
No Score Yet | The Monkey's Uncle |
|
— | 1965 |
No Score Yet | The Third Day |
|
— | 1965 |
No Score Yet | Your Cheatin' Heart |
|
— | 1964 |
83% | Seven Faces of Dr. Lao |
|
— | 1964 |
No Score Yet | Kissin' Cousins |
|
— | 1964 |
No Score Yet | Follow that Dream |
|
— | 1962 |
50% | Pocketful of Miracles |
|
— | 1961 |
No Score Yet | Misty |
|
— | 1961 |
No Score Yet | The Great Imposter |
|
— | 1961 |
No Score Yet | A Thunder of Drums (1961) |
|
— | 1961 |
No Score Yet | Cimarron |
|
— | 1960 |
100% | Anatomy of a Murder |
|
— | 1959 |
50% | Gidget |
|
— | 1959 |
81% | Operation Petticoat |
|
— | 1959 |
93% | Man of the West |
|
— | 1958 |
No Score Yet | April Love |
|
— | 1957 |
No Score Yet | The Montecarlo Story (Montecarlo) |
|
— | 1957 |
No Score Yet | Operation Mad Ball |
|
— | 1957 |
100% | The Solid Gold Cadillac |
|
— | 1956 |
No Score Yet | The Proud Ones |
|
— | 1956 |
75% | The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit |
|
— | 1956 |
79% | Bus Stop |
|
— | 1956 |
44% | Picnic |
|
— | 1955 |
100% | Force of Evil |
|
— | 1948 |
No Score Yet | One Touch of Venus |
|
— | 1948 |
80% | State of the Union |
|
— | 1948 |
No Score Yet | Homecoming |
|
— | 1948 |
88% | The Naked City |
|
— | 1948 |
No Score Yet | Open Secret |
|
— | 1948 |
No Score Yet | Law of the Jungle |
|
— | 1942 |
No Score Yet | Man from Headquarters |
|
— | 1942 |
No Score Yet | Blondie's Blessed Event |
|
— | 1942 |
99% | Citizen Kane |
|
— | 1941 |
No Score Yet | Doctor Kildare Goes Home |
|
— | 1940 |
No Score Yet | Murder in the Night |
|
— | 1940 |
No Score Yet | Two Girls on Broadway |
|
— | 1940 |
TV
RATING | TITLE | CREDIT | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet |
Bonanza
1959-1973
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Night Gallery
1970-1973
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Ironside
1967-1975
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Wild Wild West
1965-1969
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Fugitive
1963-1967
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Father Knows Best
1954-1960
|
|
|
Quotes from Arthur O'Connell's Characters
Pamell McCarthy: | The lieutenant goes to Quill's place and plugs Mr. Quill about five times, which causes Mr. Quill to promptly die of lead poisoning. |
Pamell McCarthy: | Gin!... I knew there was something wrong with that guy. I never met a gin drinker yet that you could trust |
Pamell McCarthy: | Gin!... I knew there was something wrong with that guy. I never met a gin drinker yet that you could trust. |
Pamell McCarthy: | Twelve people go off into a room. Twelve different minds,twelve different hearts and twelve different walks of life. Twelve sets of eyes, ears, shapes and sizes and these twelve people are asked to judge another human being as different from them as they are from each other and in their judgment,they must become of one mind. Unanimous. That's one of the miracles of man's disorganized soul that they can do it and most instances, do it right well.God bless juries. |
Pamell McCarthy: | Twelve people go off into a room. Twelve different minds,twelve different hearts and twelve different walks of life. Twelve sets of eyes, ears, shapes and sizes and these twelve people are asked to judge another human being as different from them as they are from each other and in their judgment,they must become of one mind. Unanimous. That's one of the miracles of man's disorganized soul that they can do it and most instances, do it right well. God bless juries. |