Darcy O'Brien (July 16, 1939, in Los Angeles – March 2, 1998, in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

) was an award-winning American author of fiction and literary criticism, most well known for his work in the genre of

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...

. His first novel, ''A Way of Life, Like Any Other'', was a fictionalized account of his childhood in Hollywood. In 1985, he wrote a book about the

Hillside Stranglers The Hillside Strangler, later the Hillside Stranglers, is the media epithet for one, later discovered to be two, American serial killers who terrorized Los Angeles, California, between October 1977 and February 1978, with the nicknames originating ...

entitled ''Two of a Kind: The Hillside Stranglers'', which was adapted into a made-for-television film called ''The Case of the Hillside Stranglers'', starring

Richard Crenna Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American film, television and radio actor. Crenna starred in such motion pictures as ''The Sand Pebbles'', ''Wait Until Dark'', ''Un Flic'', ''Body Heat'', the first three ' ...

Biography

Darcy O'Brien was born in Los Angeles, the son of Hollywood

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

actor George O'Brien and actress

Marguerite Churchill Marguerite Churchill (December 26, 1910 – January 9, 2000) was an American stage and film actress whose career lasted 30 years, from 1922 to 1952. She was John Wayne's first leading lady, in '' The Big Trail'' (1930). Early years She was ...

, a frequent co-star of John Wayne. O'Brien attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

and

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, and received a master's degree and doctorate from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. From 1965 to 1978 he was a professor of English at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...

. In 1978 he moved to Tulsa, and taught at the University of Tulsa until 1995. O'Brien was married three times and had one daughter named Molly O'Brien. His sister is

Orin O'Brien Orin O'Brien (born 1935) is an American double bassist. She has been a member of the New York Philharmonic since joining in 1966 under the direction of Leonard Bernstein; she was the first woman to join the orchestra. She was on the faculty at the ...

, a double bassist and member of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

. O'Brien died of a heart attack in Tulsa on March 2, 1998.

Awards

* 1978: Ernest Hemingway Award for best first novel, ''A Way of Life, Like Any Other'' * 1997:

Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

, ''Power to Hurt'' O'Brien was inducted into the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame in 1997.

Selected works

* ''A Way of Life, Like Any Other'' (1977 & 2001). New York: Norton. . * ''

Moment by Moment ''Moment by Moment'' is a 1978 American romantic drama film written and directed by Jane Wagner and starring Lily Tomlin and John Travolta. It was produced by Robert Stigwood and released by Universal Pictures on December 22, 1978. The film was ...

'', novelization of screenplay by

Jane Wagner Jane Wagner (born February 26, 1935) is an American writer, director and producer. She is Lily Tomlin's comedy writer, collaborator and wife. She is the author of '' The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe'', ''The Incredible S ...

(1979) * ''The Silver Spooner'' (1981) * ''Two of a Kind: The Story of the Hillside Stranglers'' (1985) * ''Murder in Little Egypt'' (1989) * ''Margaret in Hollywood'' (1991) * ''A Dark and Bloody Ground'' (1993) * ''Power to Hurt'' (1996) * ''The Hidden Pope'' (1998) * ''The Conscience of James Joyce'' (2016)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Darcy 1939 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American non-fiction crime writers American academics of English literature Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award winners 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Pomona College faculty