Hugh O’Brian

Hugh O’Brian ____________ Not your average Cowboy Pt 3 The Shootist

I hadn’t intended to do a post on The Shootist until I reached it via my series on John Wayne’s Filmography. But Hugh O’Brian’s passing and his role in the important Western Classic moved it up the ladder. I won’t do a full posting on it here, but there’s some interesting things about this movie and O’Brian’s involvement.

I have to confess I’m puzzled why all these posters are different in coloration?

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
– origin unknown – Often attributed to Mark Twain

Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) says this:

“Contrary to popular belief, John Wayne did not have cancer when he made this film. His entire left lung and several ribs had been removed in surgery on 17 September 1964, and in 1969 he was declared cancer-free. It was not until 12 January 1979, almost three years after this movie had been filmed, that the disease was found to have returned. According to a 2014 biography “John Wayne: the Life and Legend” by Scott Eyman, Wayne had been found to have stomach cancer in 1975 but it had gone into remission before filming began on this movie.”

MFW: The contention here, of course, is that John didn’t know this was his last film/Western. I’m no detective, but I do know that almost the entire cast of The Shootist – including Director Don Siegel – were handpicked and invited by Wayne to be in this movie. Does that sound like somebody that doesn’t know this is the end of line?

Hugh O’Brian’s role in The Shootist is interesting. He seems to get a bit of preferential treatment. His role basically reprizes his previous portrayal of Wyatt Earp from his popular TV series “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp” (1955–1961). Also, in The Shootist, Hugh’s character is a Faro dealer in the saloon. This was Earp’s real life side occupation when he was a Marshall in Tombstone.

Hugh also wears the gentleman’s garb of vest and tie vest – almost identical to O’Brian’s portrayal of Earp in his popular TV series.

Next, when John goes to the bar at the start of the final shootout scene, he pours himself a drink – and salutes only one of the three patrons in the bar: Hugh O’Brian. Ignoring Richard Boone and Bill McKinney. I’d say that’s a hell of a compliment – from the Dean of Western Heroes.

Hugh salutes back. ‘See ya John’.

When the final shootout takes place, Hugh – a true gentleman – doesn’t enter the fray until Boone and McKinney are dispatched.

Epic stuff … all the way around.

So long Hugh.

Hugh O’Brian __________ Not your average Cowboy Pt 2

pale rider / the heavy horses

Between 1950 and 1956 Hugh O’Brian had work in about 20 Westerns. Though these are from the Golden Age of Westerns I confess that I haven’t seen most of them. I recognize Vengeance Valley (1951) and Broken Lance ( 1954). Colin – over at Riding the High Country blog (https://livius1.wordpress.com/) is an expert on Westerns from the 40’s and 50’s and could likely have some information on some of them.

Amazingly, except for TV work, Hugh made next to NO Western films
between 1954 and 1990!

Except for one:
The Western Classic:
The Shootist

But Hugh’s big break came in 1955 when he was offered the role of
Wyatt Earp in:

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
TV Series (1955–1961)

Hugh O’Brian ____________ Not your average Cowboy Part 1

The Legend of Wyatt Earp / Hugh O’Brian

“I believe every person is created as the steward of his or her own destiny with great power for a specific purpose: To share with others, through service, a reverence for life in a spirit of love.” – Hugh O’Brian

Hugh Charles Krampe (April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016)

Not Your Average Cowboy

By the time he graduated from high school, he had lettered in football, basketball, wrestling and track. Originally pursuing law, he dropped out of the University of Cincinnati in 1942 (age 19) and enlisted in the Marine Corps. Was one of the youngest drill instructors in the Marine Corps’ history, and during his four years of service won a coveted Fleet appointment to the Naval Academy, which he declined. Upon his discharge he ended up in Los Angeles. Hugh joined a little theater group and a Santa Barbara stock company.
1954, he left Universal to freelance but did not fare any better until offered the starring role in The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955) on TV, a year later. During his six-year run on the western classic, he managed to show off his singing talents on variety shows and appeared on Broadway.
Founded Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Foundation (HOBY), in 1958 a non-profit youth leadership development program for high school scholars, after spending considerable time with Dr. Albert Schweitzer and his clinic in Africa. O’Brian dedicated much of his life to HOBY, which sponsers 10,000 high school sophomores annually through its over 70 leadership programs in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its inception, over 435,000 young people have participated in HOBY-related programs.

Recorded an album of popular songs and sang on the The Nat King Cole Show, Ed Sullivan, Dinah Shore and Jackie Gleason variety shows.

One of the first celebrities to frontline tours of Vietnam at the request of the State Department, Hugh once staged and directed a company of “Guys and Dolls” which toured Vietnam, Thailand and Japan for the troops.

Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1992.

hugh-obrian-western-heritage-museum

Developed The Hugh O’Brian Acting Awards Competition in 1964 at the University of California, Los Angeles with cash awards going to acting talents.
In 1972, was awarded one of the nation’s highest honors, the Freedom Through Knowledge Award, sponsored by the National Space Club in association with NASA.
In 1974, he was awarded the George Washington Honor Medal, highest award of the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge, as well as the Globe and Anchor Award from the Marine Corps.
Was a successful investor over the years with dividends paying well in stocks and bonds, real estate, bowling alleys, a building equipment firm, a theatre-in-the-round, an oil syndicate and his own television production company.