Louise O'Brien (1928–2016) was an American vocalist. The 1950

Miss Oklahoma The Miss Oklahoma competition selects a winner to compete on behalf of Oklahoma in the Miss America pageant. Miss Oklahoma has won the Miss America crown on five occasions. Also, in the years when city representatives were common, Norma Smallwo ...

(and 4th runner-up in the subsequent

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

pageant), she is best known for her many television performances on talk and variety shows of the 1950s and 1960s, most notably during the

Jack Paar Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, author, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of ''The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time'' magazine's obituary of Paar repo ...

era of ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

''.

Early life

O'Brien was born 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 ...

, the daughter of

Oklahoma State Penitentiary The Oklahoma State Penitentiary, nicknamed "Big Mac", is a prison of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections located in McAlester, Oklahoma, on . Opened in 1908 with 50 inmates in makeshift facilities, today the prison holds more than 750 male off ...

warden Edward Patrick O'Brien. Her earliest performances were for the inmates there. She also had her own local radio and TV shows while in high school. After winning Miss Oklahoma, she attended

Tulsa University The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

and shuttled back and forth to Hollywood to appear on several early shows before becoming a regular on ''

The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' and

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

's brief daytime show.

Death

According to family members, O'Brien died January 25, 2016 in New York City at age 87, and is survived by children Christopher and Maureen Lane, brother Harold O'Brien and sister Mildred O'Brien.

Filmography

All dates from

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

, except as noted below. * ''

The Red Skelton Hour ''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his televis ...

'' (1955) * ''

'' (1957-1960 as a series regular) * ''

The Jimmy Dean Show ''The Jimmy Dean Show'' is the name of several similar music and variety series on American local and network television between 1963 and 1975. Each starred country music singer Jimmy Dean as host. Daytime ''The Jimmy Dean Show'', initially cal ...

'' (1958) * ''

The Garry Moore Show ''The Garry Moore Show'' is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talent ...

'' (1958, 1960) * ''

'' (1958-1962, 27 total appearances) * ''

Sing Along with Mitch Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

'' (1962 as a series regular) * ''

The Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, May 10, 1965 to July 4, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 a ...

'' (1962-1963, 3 total appearances) * ''

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'' (November 17, 1963) * ''

The Jack Paar Program Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, author, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of ''The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time'' magazine's obituary of Paar repo ...

'' (1964) * '' That Regis Philbin Show'' (1965) * ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'' (May 4, 1965) * '' The Joey Bishop Show'' (1968, 2 appearances)

References

* https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0972545/ * http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/66433/red-skelton-show-the-early-years-1951-1955/ * https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19591227&id=7cQwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bVUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5239,5018269 * https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19620304&id=XGscAAAAIBAJ&sjid=t04EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4975,1305049 * http://www.tulsaworld.com/obituaries/localobituaries/obituary-louise-o-brien-noted-vocalist-and-entertainer-from-tulsa/article_97a632e2-c3fb-523b-9945-741f77bbe10c.html {{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Louise 1928 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women