Liam O'Brien (March 7, 1913 – March 24, 1996) was an American

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...

best known for writing the movie '' Here Comes the Groom''."Here Comes the Groom (1951)"
/ref>

Life and career

O'Brien was educated at Fordham and

Manhattan College Manhattan College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university in the Bronx, New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Christian Brothers) as an academy for day students, it was la ...

. He had been a poet, a cartoonist and labor organizer before World War II, when he served in the Signal Corps. After the war, he headed to Hollywood, where his younger brother Edmond O'Brien was already an established star. He became an overnight success six years later when his first screenplay, the romantic comedy ''Here Comes the Groom'', with

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

and Jane Wyman, earned him an Oscar nomination in 1951."Liam O'Brien (IV)"
/ref> The following year, his play ''The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker'' became a Broadway hit featuring Burgess Meredith. This romantic comedy was filmed by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

in 1959 with

Clifton Webb Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck (November 19, 1889 – October 13, 1966), known professionally as Clifton Webb, was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He worked extensively and was known for his stage appearances in the plays of Noël Coward, i ...

in the title role."The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959)"
/ref> The play remains popular in amateur theatres, partly because there are so many roles to be filled: the industrialist Mr. Pennypacker is a loveable bigamist with 17 children. His widow, Claudette O'Brien, claimed Pennypacker was based on the actual double life of an O'Brien relative – one who "laughed louder than anyone on opening night". O'Brien collapsed in his wife's arms and died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at his

Los Angeles 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 ...

home at age 83. His son, Devin Liam O' Brien, has been an associate producer of the Academy Award television broadcast.

Filmography

Writer

* '' Chain Lightning'' (1950) * ''Of Men and Music'' (1951) * ''

The Redhead and the Cowboy ''The Redhead and the Cowboy'' is a 1951 American Western film directed by Leslie Fenton and starring Glenn Ford and Rhonda Fleming. Plot Late in the American Civil War, the New Mexico Territory is full of spies and guerrillas for both side ...

'' (1951) * '' Here Comes the Groom'' (1951) * ''

Diplomatic Courier A diplomatic courier is an official who transports diplomatic bags as sanctioned under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Couriers are granted diplomatic immunity and are thereby protected by the receiving state from arrest and d ...

'' (1952) * '' The Stars Are Singing'' (1953) * '' Young at Heart'' (1955) * ''

Lux Video Theatre ''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays. Overview The ''Lux Vid ...

'' (1 episode, 1956) * ''

Trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...

'' (1956) * ''

The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker ''The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker'' is a 1959 DeLuxe Color film starring Clifton Webb and Dorothy McGuire directed by Henry Levin in CinemaScope. The film is based on the 1953 Broadway play of the same, which ran for 221 performances: Burgess Mer ...

'' (1959) * ''

The Great Impostor ''The Great Impostor'' is a 1961 American comedy-drama film movie based on the true story of an impostor named Ferdinand Waldo Demara. The film is loosely based on Robert Crichton's 1959 biography of the same name, it stars Tony Curtis in the ...

'' (1961) * '' The Devil at 4 O'Clock'' (1961) * '' Rex Harrison Presents Stories of Love'' (1974) * '' Gibbsville'' (1 episode, 1976) * '' Police Story'' (1 episode, 1977) * ''

The Awakening Land ''The Awakening Land'' is a 1978 television miniseries based on Conrad Richter's trilogy of novels: '' The Trees''; '' The Fields''; and '' The Town,'' published from 1940 to 1950. The series originally aired on NBC in three installments from F ...

'' (1974)

Producer

* ''Police Story'' (Unknown episodes) * ''

The Mississippi The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

'' (Unknown episodes) * ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

'' (4 episodes, 1985–1986)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Liam 1913 births 1996 deaths Writers from Manhattan American male screenwriters American television writers Television producers from New York City Manhattan College alumni American male television writers 20th-century American businesspeople Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters