Robert H. O'Brien (1907–1997) was an American businessman and Hollywood executive who was president of
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
during the 1960s.
O'Brien was a financial officer at
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
for ten years, including treasurer of
United Paramount Theatres and financial vice-president of
American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres. He joined MGM in 1957 as vice-president and treasurer and was promoted to executive vice-president. He took over the position of president in the wake of the debacle of ''
Mutiny on the Bounty
The mutiny on the ''Bounty'' occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship, , from their captain, Lieutenant (navy), Lieutenant William Bli ...
'' (1962). Under O'Brien's regime, in partnership with head of production
Robert M. Weitman, MGM produced its last run of classic films, including ''
Dr Zhivago'' (1965), ''
The Dirty Dozen'' (1967) and ''
2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968).
A series of flop films such as ''
The Shoes of the Fisherman The Shoes of the Fisherman may refer to:
* ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' (novel), a 1963 novel by the writer Morris West
* ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' (film), a 1968 film based on the novel
{{disambiguation ...
'' and ''
Ice Station Zebra'' saw him removed from his position as president in 1969. He was replaced by
Louis F. Polk Jr. and was instead appointed chairman.
In May 1969 as MGM was headed towards a $6 million loss for the first half of the year, O'Brien resigned as chairman and was replaced by
Edgar Bronfman, Sr., the largest shareholder of MGM.
Awards
* 1965 – Pioneer of the Year (Motion Picture Pioneers Assn)
* 1966 – humanitarian awards from both the March of Dimes and the Anti-Defamation League
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Robert
1907 births
1997 deaths
American film studio executives
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executives
20th-century American businesspeople