Arthur O'Connell

Arthur O'Connell

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. 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.    

Place of Birth: Not available

Birthday: March 29, 1908

Deathday: May 18, 1981

Popularity:

8.627

Known For

Anatomy of a Murder
Anatomy of a Murder

1959-07-01

Pocketful of Miracles
Pocketful of Miracles

1961-12-18

Fantastic Voyage
Fantastic Voyage

1966-08-24

Blondie's Blessed Event
Blondie's Blessed Event

1942-04-09

The Great Race
The Great Race

1965-07-01

The Silencers
The Silencers

1966-02-18

Bus Stop
Bus Stop

1956-08-31

Misty
Misty

1961-06-04

There Was a Crooked Man...
There Was a Crooked Man...

1970-09-18

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

1956-04-12

7 Faces of Dr. Lao
7 Faces of Dr. Lao

1964-03-18

Ben
Ben

1972-06-23

The Last Valley
The Last Valley

1971-01-28

Man of the West
Man of the West

1958-06-20

The Reluctant Astronaut
The Reluctant Astronaut

1967-09-05

Kissin' Cousins
Kissin' Cousins

1964-03-06

Gidget
Gidget

1959-04-09

The Hiding Place
The Hiding Place

1975-05-04

They Only Kill Their Masters
They Only Kill Their Masters

1972-11-22

The Great Impostor
The Great Impostor

1960-12-23

The Power
The Power

1968-02-21

Cimarron
Cimarron

1960-12-01

Picnic
Picnic

1955-11-18

Follow That Dream
Follow That Dream

1962-04-11

Open Secret
Open Secret

1948-02-14

Huckleberry Finn
Huckleberry Finn

1974-05-24

Dr. Kildare Goes Home
Dr. Kildare Goes Home

1940-09-06

Your Cheatin' Heart
Your Cheatin' Heart

1964-11-04

The Solid Gold Cadillac
The Solid Gold Cadillac

1956-08-22

Wicked, Wicked
Wicked, Wicked

1973-06-13

A Thunder of Drums
A Thunder of Drums

1961-09-26

Ride Beyond Vengeance
Ride Beyond Vengeance

1966-01-01

The Countess of Monte Cristo
The Countess of Monte Cristo

1948-10-31

The Proud Ones
The Proud Ones

1956-05-15

Nightmare in the Sun
Nightmare in the Sun

1965-03-06

The Third Day
The Third Day

1965-08-04

The Monte Carlo Story
The Monte Carlo Story

1956-12-19

Murder in Soho
Murder in Soho

1939-02-01

A Taste of Evil
A Taste of Evil

1971-10-11

Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend

1986-04-19

A Covenant with Death
A Covenant with Death

1967-02-15

Pericles on 31st Street
Pericles on 31st Street

1962-04-12

Man From Headquarters
Man From Headquarters

1942-01-23

If He Hollers, Let Him Go!
If He Hollers, Let Him Go!

1968-10-08

The Monkey's Uncle
The Monkey's Uncle

1965-08-18

Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?

1970-09-11

Voice in the Mirror
Voice in the Mirror

1958-08-13

Seven in Darkness
Seven in Darkness

1969-09-23

The Naked City
The Naked City

1948-03-04

April Love
April Love

1957-11-27

The Poseidon Adventure
The Poseidon Adventure

1972-12-01

Law of the Jungle
Law of the Jungle

1942-02-06

Operation Petticoat
Operation Petticoat

1959-12-05

Homecoming
Homecoming

1948-04-29

Force of Evil
Force of Evil

1950-08-24

Two Girls on Broadway
Two Girls on Broadway

1940-04-19

I Take This Oath
I Take This Oath

1940-05-20

Hound-Dog Man
Hound-Dog Man

1959-11-11

One Touch of Venus
One Touch of Venus

1948-08-01

Canal Zone
Canal Zone

1942-03-19

Hullabaloo
Hullabaloo

1940-10-25

The Golden Fleecing
The Golden Fleecing

1940-08-16

And One Was Beautiful
And One Was Beautiful

1940-04-05

State of the Union
State of the Union

1948-04-30

Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane

1941-04-17

Hello, Annapolis
Hello, Annapolis

1942-04-23

The Violators
The Violators

1957-11-30

Birds Do It
Birds Do It

1966-08-13

'Taint Legal
'Taint Legal

1940-05-25

Shootout in a One-Dog Town
Shootout in a One-Dog Town

1974-01-09

The Whistle at Eaton Falls
The Whistle at Eaton Falls

1951-08-02

Marilyn
Marilyn

1963-04-18

Bested by a Beard
Bested by a Beard

1940-07-16

Fingers at the Window
Fingers at the Window

1942-04-22

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

1991-10-28

Operation Mad Ball
Operation Mad Ball

1957-08-17