Acting
Arthur O'Connell
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.
Filmography
Way of Tomorrow: The Evolution of Science Fiction Movies
Film · 2022
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Film · 1991
The Hiding Place
Film · 1975
Medical Story
Series · 1975
Huckleberry Finn
Film · 1974
Shootout in a One-Dog Town
Film · 1974
Wicked, Wicked
Film · 1973
Adam's Rib
Series · 1973
Ben
Film · 1972
They Only Kill Their Masters
Film · 1972
The Poseidon Adventure
Film · 1972
Emergency!
Series · 1972
The Paul Lynde Show
Series · 1972
Ghost Story
Series · 1972
The Last Valley
Film · 1971
A Taste of Evil
Film · 1971
Alias Smith and Jones
Series · 1971
Cannon
Series · 1971
There Was a Crooked Man...
Film · 1970
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?
Film · 1970
Night Gallery
Series · 1970
Nanny and the Professor
Series · 1970
McCloud
Series · 1970
Seven in Darkness
Film · 1969
Room 222
Series · 1969
The Power
Film · 1968
If He Hollers, Let Him Go!
Film · 1968
The Name of the Game
Series · 1968
The Reluctant Astronaut
Film · 1967
A Covenant with Death
Film · 1967
Ironside
Series · 1967
The Second Hundred Years
Series · 1967
Fantastic Voyage
Film · 1966
The Silencers
Film · 1966
Ride Beyond Vengeance
Film · 1966
Birds Do It
Film · 1966
The Great Race
Film · 1965
Nightmare in the Sun
Film · 1965
The Third Day
Film · 1965
The Monkey's Uncle
Film · 1965
The F.B.I.
Series · 1965
The Wild Wild West
Series · 1965
The Big Valley
Series · 1965
7 Faces of Dr. Lao
Film · 1964
Kissin' Cousins
Film · 1964
Your Cheatin' Heart
Film · 1964
Marilyn
Film · 1963
Burke's Law
Series · 1963
Petticoat Junction
Series · 1963
Arrest and Trial
Series · 1963
The Fugitive
Series · 1963
The Greatest Show on Earth
Series · 1963
The Fugitive
Series · 1963
Follow That Dream
Film · 1962
Sam Benedict
Series · 1962
Pocketful of Miracles
Film · 1961
Misty
Film · 1961
A Thunder of Drums
Film · 1961
The New Breed
Series · 1961
The Great Impostor
Film · 1960
Cimarron
Film · 1960
My Three Sons
Series · 1960
Route 66
Series · 1960
Special for Women
Series · 1960
Anatomy of a Murder
Film · 1959
Gidget
Film · 1959
Operation Petticoat
Film · 1959
Hound-Dog Man
Film · 1959
Bonanza
Series · 1959
Startime
Series · 1959
Man of the West
Film · 1958
Voice in the Mirror
Film · 1958
April Love
Film · 1957
The Violators
Film · 1957
Operation Mad Ball
Film · 1957
Alcoa Theatre
Series · 1957
DuPont Show of the Month
Series · 1957
Wagon Train
Series · 1957
Bus Stop
Film · 1956
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
Film · 1956
The Solid Gold Cadillac
Film · 1956
The Proud Ones
Film · 1956
The Monte Carlo Story
Film · 1956
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Series · 1956
Picnic
Film · 1955
Matinee Theater
Series · 1955
Summer Playhouse
Series · 1954
The Oscars
Series · 1953
Omnibus
Series · 1952
The Whistle at Eaton Falls
Film · 1951
Force of Evil
Film · 1950
The Taming of the Shrew
Film · 1950
Open Secret
Film · 1948
The Countess of Monte Cristo
Film · 1948
The Naked City
Film · 1948
Homecoming
Film · 1948
One Touch of Venus
Film · 1948
State of the Union
Film · 1948
Studio One
Series · 1948
The Philco Television Playhouse
Series · 1948
Studio One
Series · 1948
The Philco Television Playhouse
Series · 1948
The Philco Television Playhouse
Series · 1948
Blondie's Blessed Event
Film · 1942
Man From Headquarters
Film · 1942
Law of the Jungle
Film · 1942
Canal Zone
Film · 1942
Hello, Annapolis
Film · 1942
Fingers at the Window
Film · 1942
Citizen Kane
Film · 1941
Dr. Kildare Goes Home
Film · 1940
Two Girls on Broadway
Film · 1940
I Take This Oath
Film · 1940
Hullabaloo
Film · 1940
The Golden Fleecing
Film · 1940
And One Was Beautiful
Film · 1940
'Taint Legal
Film · 1940
Bested by a Beard
Film · 1940
He Asked for It
Film · 1940
Murder in Soho
Film · 1939