William Joseph Patrick "Pat" O'Brien

 William Joseph Patrick "Pat" O'Brien (November 11, 1899 – October 15, 1983)

Of Irish descent, he often played Irish and Irish-American characters and was referred to as "Hollywood's Irishman in Residence" in the press. One of the best-known screen actors of the 1930s and 1940s, he played priests, cops, military figures, pilots, and reporters. He is especially well-remembered for his roles in Knute Rockne, All American (1940), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), and Some Like It Hot (1959). He was frequently paired onscreen with Hollywood legend, James Cagney. O'Brien also appeared on stage and television. After a decade in plays on Broadway and in the New York City area, O'Brien began appearing in movies in 1930. His first starring role was as ace reporter Hildy Johnson in the original 1931 version of The Front Page with Adolphe Menjou. He appeared with James Cagney, also under contract to Warner Brothers, in nine feature films, including Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) and Cagney's last film, Ragtime (1981). The two originally met in 1926 and remained friends for almost six decades. O'Brien's movie career slowed considerably by the early 1950s, although he still managed to get work in television. In his autobiography, The Wind At My Back, he professed to being completely flummoxed about the decline of his career.

His close friend, Spencer Tracy, fought with his studio, MGM, to get roles for O'Brien in his films, The People Against O'Hara (1951) and The Last Hurrah (1958). Towards the end of his career, O'Brien made numerous TV appearances , on shows such as The Virginian, The Ed Sullivan Show, The David Frost Show, The Tonight Show, The Merv Griffin Show, and The Joey Bishop Show, among others. His last filmed performance was on an episode of Happy Days in 1982. Pat O'Brien died on October 15, 1983 from a heart attack at age 83, and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.