McNamara's Blog
On this day in 1983, movie star Pat O’Brien died. Born William Joseph Patrick O’Brien in Milwaukee in 1899, he served as an altar boy at the Gesu Church while growing up near 13th and Clybourn Streets. He attended the Jesuits’ Marquette Academy with fellow actor Spencer Tracy before they both enlisted in the Navy during World War I. After the war he enrolled at Marquette University. As a young man, he considered the priesthood. And some of the roles for which he is most remembered are priests: Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)), The Fighting 69th (1940), and Fighting Father Dunne (1948). Besides priests, O’Brien played Irish-American characters throughout his career: cops, politicians, coaches. And of course we can’t forget his turn in the title role of The Knute Rockne Story (1940). Here’s the final scene from Angels With Dirty Faces:
(From Wikipedia)
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