George O'Hara (born George Bolger, February 22, 1899 – October 16, 1966) was an American motion picture

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and screenwriter of the

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) ...

era.

Biography

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and raised in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, George O'Hara began his acting career under contract as a performer for early Hollywood director

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

. Sennett was immediately charmed by the handsome, cleft-chinned young actor and saw O'Hara as a potentially popular matinee idol. O'Hara's acting career received an early boost when Sennett cast the young actor in the commercially successful 1920 romantic film ''Love, Honor, and Behave'' opposite the popular silent film actress

Marie Prevost Marie Prevost (born Marie Bickford Dunn; November 8, 1896 – January 21, 1937) was a Canadian-born film actress. During her 20-year career, she made 121 silent and sound films. Prevost began her career during the silent film era. She was d ...

. In 1921, O'Hara began working behind the camera with Sennett's tutelage. He was credited as an associate producer in the Ben Turpin film ''

A Small Town Idol ''A Small Town Idol'' is a 1921 American silent feature comedy film produced by Mack Sennett and released through Associated First National. The film stars Ben Turpin and was made and acted by many of the same Sennett personnel from his previo ...

'' and later worked as a continuity and title writer throughout the 1920s in the film industry as well as continuing his successful acting career. George O'Hara was most popular with the public when starring in two-reel action and adventure serials of the 1920s, such as ''The Pacemakers'' and ''

Casey of the Coast Guard ''Casey of the Coast Guard'' was a 1926 American silent action film serial released in ten chapters, directed by William Nigh and written by Lewis Allen Browne. The film is now presumed lost. Plot John Casey ( George O'Hara) is a Coast Guard ...

''. In his most popular serial, ''Fighting Blood'', O'Hara was cast as a boxer; a role well-suited to O'Hara, who in his free time was a boxing aficionado and moderately successful in the amateur lightweight division of the sport. Throughout the 1920s, O'Hara continued working as an actor and became a quite popular matinee idol. He costarred with

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

and

Dolores Costello Dolores Costello (September 17, 1903Costello's obituary in ''The New York Times'' says that she was born on September 17, 1905. – March 1, 1979) was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. ...

in a silent film adaptation of ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whi ...

'' called '' The Sea Beast'' playing Barrymore's evil half-brother; O'Hara was aptly cast as he bore a resemblance to the legendary actor. With the advent of sound films however, the film studios began to heavily promote a new crop of actors and many of the formerly popular actors of the silent era (including O'Hara) found it increasingly difficult to find work. O'Hara quietly faded into an early retirement in the early 1930s but began trying to rebuild his career later in the decade by taking bit parts, most notably as the role of a clerk in the 1940

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

directed film adaptation of John Steinbeck's ''

The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Priz ...

''. O'Hara never again achieved the success he had attained in his early career and spent the next several decades playing as an extra in often uncredited roles. O'Hara died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1966.

Partial filmography

* ''

Love, Honor and Behave ''Love, Honor and Behave'' is a 1938 American drama film directed by Stanley Logan and starring Wayne Morris and Priscilla Lane. The supporting cast includes John Litel, Thomas Mitchell, Dick Foran and Dickie Moore. " Bei Mir Bist Du Sc ...

'' (1920) - Newlywed Groom *''

'' (1921) - Cameraman * '' Queenie'' (1921) - Vivian Van Winkle *''

The Crossroads of New York ''The Crossroads of New York'' is a lost 1922 American silent comedy film directed by F. Richard Jones and an all-star cast of silent comedians. It was produced by Mack Sennett and released through First National Distributors. Plot As descri ...

'' (1922) - Michael Flint *''

Shirley of the Circus ''Shirley of the Circus'' is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Rowland V. Lee, and starring Shirley Mason, George O'Hara, Crauford Kent, Alan Hale Sr., and Lule Warrenton. The film was released by Fox Film Corporation on November 1 ...

'' (1922) - Pierre *''Fighting Blood'' (1923) - Gale Galen aka Six Second Smith *''A Midsummer Night's Scream'' (1923) *'' Listen Lester'' (1924) - Jack Griffin *'' Darwin Was Right'' (1924) - Robert Lee *'' The Sea Beast'' (1926) - Derek Ceeley *''

'' (1926) - Ensign John Casey *'' Why Girls Go Back Home'' (1926) - John Ross *'' Bigger Than Barnum's'' (1926) - Robert Blandim * '' Going the Limit'' (1926) - Gordon Emery *''

The False Alarm ''The False Alarm'' is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Frank O'Connor and starring Ralph Lewis, Dorothy Revier and John Harron.Munden p.227 Cast * Ralph Lewis as Fighting John Casey * Dorothy Revier as Mary Doyle * John Harron ...

'' (1926) - Tim Casey *''The Timid Terror'' (1926) - Talbot Trent *''Is That Nice?'' (1926) - Ralph Tanner *'' California or Bust'' (1927) - Jeff Daggett *''

Burnt Fingers ''Burnt Fingers'' is a 1927 American mystery film directed by Maurice S. Campbell and starring Eileen Percy, Ivan Doline and Edna Murphy.Wlaschin p.41 A young woman working as a dancer at a nightclub goes to confront a man who is blackmailing ...

'' (1927) - Dick *'' Yours to Command'' (1927) - Robert Duane * ''

Ladies Beware ''Ladies Beware'' is a 1927 American silent crime film directed by Charles Giblyn and starring George O'Hara, Nola Luxford and Kathleen Myers.Munden p.412 Synopsis Jack, a jewel thief, is advised to leave town by the police. Before he does so ...

'' (1927) - Jack O'Diamonds *'' Pirates of the Pines'' (1928) - John Markham *''

A Single Man ''A Single Man'' is a 2009 American period romantic drama film based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. The directorial debut of fashion designer Tom Ford, the film stars Colin Firth, who was nominated for the Academy ...

'' (1929, writer) *''

Side Street A side road is a minor highway typically leading off a main road.Main road — definition

'' (1929, writer) *'' Jesse James'' (1939) - Teller (uncredited) *'' News Is Made at Night'' (1939) - Usher (uncredited) *'' The Honeymoon's Over'' (1939) - Elevator Operator (uncredited) *''

'' (1940) - Clerk (uncredited) *'' The Cowboy and the Blonde'' (1941) - Melvyn *'' Cadet Girl'' (1941) - Waiter (uncredited) *'' Remember the Day'' (1941) - Photographer (uncredited) *'' The Dolly Sisters'' (1945) - Frank Tinny (uncredited) *'' When My Baby Smiles at Me'' (1948) - Stagehand (uncredited) (final film role)

References

External links

*
George O'Hara
at Silent Ladies & Gents {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohara, George 1899 births 1966 deaths Male actors from New York City American male film actors American male silent film actors American male screenwriters Deaths from cancer in California Male actors from Hollywood, Los Angeles 20th-century American male actors Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from California 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters