Arthur O'Connell

Actor

About

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Birth Place

New York City, New York, USA

Born

March 29, 1908

Died

May 18, 1981

Biography

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Citybred actor Arthur O'Connell had the corn-fed look of a born and bred farm boy. His looks and good-natured demeanor garnered him a stage debut in the '30s with the acclaimed Mercury Theatre, founded by Orson Welles. His work there led to a bit part in Welles's drama "Citizen Kane" in 1941. Despite a number of small roles, O'Connell grew frustrated with film, and returned to theater, a...

Filmography

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The Hiding Place (1975)

Huckleberry Finn (1974)

Wicked, Wicked (1973)

Shootout In A One Dog Town (1973)

They Only Kill Their Masters (1972)

Photos & Videos

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Operation Mad Ball (1957) -- (Movie Clip) Punishable By Death

Anatomy Of A Murder (1959) -- (Movie Clip) I've Seen Him In Action

Biography

Citybred actor Arthur O'Connell had the corn-fed look of a born and bred farm boy. His looks and good-natured demeanor garnered him a stage debut in the '30s with the acclaimed Mercury Theatre, founded by Orson Welles. His work there led to a bit part in Welles's drama "Citizen Kane" in 1941. Despite a number of small roles, O'Connell grew frustrated with film, and returned to theater, appearing on Broadway as Polonius in "Hamlet." In 1953, his performance as Howard Bevans in "Picnic" earned him attention from theater-goers and Hollywood alike. In 1955, he reprised his role in the film adaptation, and earned his first Oscar nomination. His second would come five years later for his work in Otto Preminger's legal drama "Anatomy of a Murder." With his acclaimed status, O'Connell had more opportunities, and could be selective about the roles he'd take. By the '70s, O'Connell had become a popular guest star on television. However, the progression of Alzheimer's caused him to take on less and less work. By the time of his death at age 73, he was only appearing in the occasional commercial. Having appeared in over 130 films and television shows, O'Connell left behind a legacy few could surpass.

Filmography

Cast (Feature Film)

The Hiding Place (1975)

Huckleberry Finn (1974)

Wicked, Wicked (1973)

Shootout In A One Dog Town (1973)

They Only Kill Their Masters (1972)

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

The Last Valley (1971)

A Taste Of Evil (1971)

Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came (1970)

There Was a Crooked Man ... (1970)

The Power (1968)

If He Hollers, Let Him Go! (1968)

The Reluctant Astronaut (1967)

A Covenant With Death (1967)

Judge Hochstadter

Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Col. Donald Reid

Ride Beyond Vengeance (1966)

Birds Do It (1966)

The Silencers (1966)

The Great Race (1965)

The Third Day (1965)

The Monkey's Uncle (1965)

Darius Green III

Kissin' Cousins (1964)

7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)

Your Cheatin' Heart (1964)

Nightmare in the Sun (1964)

Follow That Dream (1962)

A Thunder of Drums (1961)

Sergeant Rodermill

Pocketful of Miracles (1961)

Count Alphonse Romero

The Great Impostor (1961)

Warden Chandler

Cimarron (1960)

Hound-Dog Man (1959)

Operation Petticoat (1959)

Russell Lawrence

Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

Parnell McCarthy

Voice in the Mirror (1958)

Man of the West (1958)

April Love (1957)

The Monte Carlo Story (1957)

Operation Mad Ball (1957)

The Violators (1957)

Solomon Baumgarden

Bus Stop (1956)

The Proud Ones (1956)

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956)

The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956)

The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951)

Love That Brute (1950)

Force of Evil (1949)

The Countess of Monte Cristo (1948)

Assistant director [Jensen]

Open Secret (1948)

One Touch of Venus (1948)

State of the Union (1948)

The Naked City (1948)

Homecoming (1948)

Fingers at the Window (1942)

Man from Headquarters (1942)

Canal Zone (1942)

Law of the Jungle (1942)

Blondie's Blessed Event (1942)

Hello Annapolis (1942)

Pharmacist mate

Yokel Boy (1942)

Second assistant director

Shepherd of the Ozarks (1942)

Lucky Devils (1941)

Citizen Kane (1941)

Reporter at Xanadu

Two Girls on Broadway (1940)

The Golden Fleecing (1940)

Hullabaloo (1940)

And One Was Beautiful (1940)

Dr. Kildare Goes Home (1940)

Freshman Year (1938)

Cast (Special)

The Secret Life of John Monroe (1959)

Cast (Short)

'Taint Legal (1940)

Life Events

Photo Collections

7 Faces of Dr. Lao - British Front-of-House Stills

7 Faces of Dr. Lao - British Front-of-House Stills

The Poseidon Adventure - Movie Posters

The Poseidon Adventure - Movie Posters

Your Cheatin' Heart - Pressbook

Here is the campaign book (pressbook) for Your Cheatin' Heart (1964). Pressbooks were sent to exhibitors and theater owners to aid them in publicizing the film's run in their theater.

7 Faces of Dr. Lao - Pressbook

Here is the original campaign book (pressbook) for MGM's 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), starring Tony Randall and Barbara Eden, and produced and directed by George Pal. Pressbooks were sent to exhibitors and theater owners to aid them in publicizing the film's run in their theater.

Videos

Operation Mad Ball (1957) -- (Movie Clip) Punishable By Death Vindictive Captain Lock (Ernie Kovacs) is determined to have crafty Private Hogan (Jack Lemmon) disciplined for minor violations that derailed his attempt to seduce a pretty nurse, Arthur O'Connell as his perplexed superior Col. Rousch, in post WWII France, in director Richard Quine's B>Operation Mad Ball, 1957.

Anatomy Of A Murder (1959) -- (Movie Clip) I've Seen Him In Action Hot-shot prosecutor Dancer (George C. Scott) entering the courthouse as the judge (Joseph N. Welch) briefs the jury, the local DA (Brooks West) and his defense attorney opponent Biegler (James Stewart) taking his measure, in Otto Preminger's Anatomy Of A Murder, 1959.

Ben (1972) -- (Movie Clip) I Never Saw People Look Like That A stand-alone incident, as the title (rat!) character leads his band to attack a grocery truck driver (Bern Hoffman), who is rightly panicked, then the crusty local newsman (Arthur O’Connell), spectators, and cops (Kaz Garas, Joseph Campanella) try to process things, in Ben, 1972, sequel to Willard, 1971.

Ben (1972) -- (Movie Clip) How Do I Play It Down? Dovetailing with the original (Willard, 1971) the crowd outside the house where the title character was killed by rats includes the Garrisons (Lee Harcourt Montgomery, Meredith Baxter and Rosemary Murphy), while the cop (Joseph Campanella) and editor (Arthur O’Connell) tangle inside, in the sequel Ben, 1972.

Power, The (1968) -- (Movie Clip) He Won't Expose Himself! Nordlund (Michael Rennie), supervisor from the Pentagon, is intrigued because Hallson (Arthur O’Connell) claims that someone on the committee (including Earl Holliman, Richard Carlson, Suzanne Pleshette, Nehemiah Persoff and George Hamilton as Tanner), has the power to take over using mind-control, in The Power, 1968.

Power, The (1968) -- (Movie Clip) Something Light And Bubbly Scientist Tanner (George Hamilton) disagrees but Margery (Suzanne Pleshette) insists that they follow-up when the wife of Hallson (Arthur O’Connell), colleague in their pain-tolerance research project, whom we know has been killed via mind-control, calls to say he hasn’t come home, in The Power, 1968.

Bus Stop (1956) -- (Movie Clip) Ignorant Hillbilly Virgil (Arthur O'Connell) is just arriving at the Blue Dragon, as Cherie (Marilyn Monroe, her first scene) shares her story with waitress friend Vera (Eileen Heckart), in Bus Stop, 1956, Joshua Logan directing, from the William Inge play.

Naked City, The (1948) -- (Movie Clip) Who Moved The Body? Cranky Lieutenant Muldoon (Barry Fitzgerald) works the crime scene with help from Halloran (Don Taylor) and Schaefer (Arthur O'Connell) in an early scene from The Naked City, 1948.

Man In The Gray Flannel Suit, The (1956) -- (Movie Clip) Strictly A Split The Difference Man The potential new P-R guy Rath (Gregory Peck) interviews with broadcast network boss Hopkins (Fredric March) and aides Walker (Arthur O'Connell) and Ogden (Henry Daniell), in Nunnally Johnson's The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit, 1956.

Fantastic Voyage (1966) -- (Movie Clip) There Should Be A Tremendous Surge Knocked off course by an undetected medical condition, supervised by military brass Arthur O’Connell and Edmond O’Brien, the crew of the miniaturized submarine (Arthur Kennedy, Stephen Boyd, Donald Pleasence, Raquel Welch, William Redfield) attempt to shoot through the temporarily stopped heart of their Cold War defector patient in Fantastic Voyage, 1966.

Fantastic Voyage (1966) -- (Movie Clip) Opening, Benes After a dramatic jet landing, joining director Richard Fleischer’s artful opening, briefly introducing Stephen Boyd, and Jean Del Val as the defector Benes, from Fantastic Voyage, 1966, also starring Raquel Welch, Edmond O’Brien, Arthur Kennedy and Donald Pleasence.

Fantastic Voyage (1966) -- (Movie Clip) An Ocean Of Life The big moment as the miniaturized submarine is injected into the bloodstream of the ailing Cold War defector, William Redfield the pilot, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Pleasence and Raquel Welch the medical crew, Stephen Boyd the CIA man along for security reasons, in director Richard Fleischer’s Fantastic Voyage, 1966.

Bibliography

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