HUGH O’BRIAN

Written by Michael Darvell
 

(19 April 1925 - 5 September 2016)

Hugh O'Brien

If for nothing else the American actor Hugh O’Brian will be remembered for one particular part, the title role in the TV series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. He was allegedly the first television sex symbol, having been an all-round athlete, and he fitted easily into the role of the western Marshal and all the other action movie roles he played. He was in, among many others, Vengeance Valley, Buckaroo Sheriff of Texas, Cave of Outlaws, Red Ball Express, Son of Ali Baba, The Raiders, The Lawless Breed, Seminole, The Man from the Alamo, etc, and even in the musicals Meet Me at the Fair and There’s No Business Like Show Business (both 1954). Then came television and many shows before Wyatt Earp rode into town for 227 episodes from 1955 to 1961, cementing O’Brian’s status as a star. More television and the odd film – Come Fly With Me, Love Has Many Faces, Ten Little Indians, Africa: Texas Style and John Wayne’s last film The Shootist. He was in Twins with Arnie, did Murder, She Wrote, and reprised his most famous role in TV movies about Wyatt Earp. His last film, Old Soldiers, is in pre-production for release later in 2016. As a philanthropist, Hugh O’Brian was impressed by Dr Albert Schweitzer to set up Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership, which helps inspire young people around the world into team leadership programmes.

MICHAEL DARVELL

 
Michael Darvell

Michael Darvell trained as a librarian at Watford and in Surrey before joining Ealing Libraries where he became Music Librarian for the borough. He edited Masthead, the magazine of the University of North London School of Librarianship, The Surrealist, the staff magazine of Surrey County Library, and contributed to the Assistant Librarian and London Librarian professional journals. A freelance film reviewer since 1970, he has written for Film, Films Illustrated, Film Review, Movie Maker and Radio Times, as well as editing Montage, the London film societies magazine, for ten years. A change of career saw him joining What’s On in London as Features Editor and he eventually stepped into the shoes of the late F. Maurice Speed (founding father of Film Review annual) as the magazine’s Editor. From 2007 to 2015, he was co-editor of the Film Review annual with Mansel Stimpson. As well as writing about films, Michael has reviewed theatre for The Stage newspaper, and has written about music theatre and cabaret for the Classical Source and Musical Theatre Review websites. He is also a former restaurant critic for the ViewLondon website. Michael has been a member of the London Film Critics’ Circle since 2005.

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