Between 1950 and 1956 Hugh O’Brian had work in about 20 Westerns. Though these are from the Golden Age of WesternsI confess that I haven’t seen most of them. I recognize Vengeance Valley(1951) and Broken Lance( 1954). Colin – over at Riding the High Countryblog (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)
Next:
Hugh O’Brian – Not your average Cowboy Pt 3 The Shootist / 1976
“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 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 Shoreand Jackie Gleasonvariety 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.
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.
In 1976, the Veterans of Foreign Wars honored him with an award.
Entertainment Awards
1953 Won The Man from the Alamo –Golden Globefor Most Promising Newcomer
1956 Nominated The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp –Primetime Emmy for Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Series
1960 Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame—Television
1973 Golden Plate Award— Television Honored
1991 Golden Boot Award
Hugh O’Brian Youth Foundation Albert Schweitzer Award to the Hestons – James Stewart helping out
Next:
Hugh OBrian – Not your average Cowboy Part 2
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2 responses to “Hugh O’Brian __________ Not your average Cowboy Pt 2”
Firstly, thanks for the name check and the compliment – not sure I deserve such praise but I’ll take it anyway. 🙂
O’Brian did make a few more westerns between ’54 and the end of the decade of course, including a few very impressive ones, but his output in the genre certainly did slow down considerably, and then essentially dried up altogether for a time. One reason is undoubtedly the time he was spending playing Wyatt Earp (obviously a western character) on television. He concentrated primarily on TV work in those years anyway and made fewer films generally. I think it’s also a reflection of the general trend of the era; the blossoming of the western on TV and its subsequent, and some might add consequent, decline in the cinema.
Thank you for that. Yes you deserve the praise because you keep these Westerns alive – and for the information about them. Many are in danger of being lost and a lot of them definitely worth watching.
I know Hugh did some TV work in that span – mainly non-Western. I figure there’s a couple of Classic Westerns in his early work, but I haven’t seen most of them so I can’t say …
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