Walter D. "Spec" O'Donnell (April 9, 1911 – October 14, 1986) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 190 films between 1923 and 1978. He worked frequently for producer

Hal Roach Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter, ...

, often appearing in silent comedies as the bratty son of

Max Davidson Max Davidson (May 23, 1875 – September 4, 1950) was a German-American film actor known for his comedic Jewish persona during the silent film era. With a career spanning over thirty years, Davidson appeared in over 180 films. Career Born i ...

Charley Chase Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with pro ...

. His sound-era roles were mostly uncredited bits, often as bellhops, newsboys, and pages; he was playing adolescent roles well into his twenties. He has the unusual distinction of playing the same role (a newsboy) in both an original film and its remake: '' Princess O'Hara'' and '' It Ain't Hay''.

Early life

O'Donnell was born in

Madera, California Madera (Spanish language, Spanish for "Lumber") is a city in and the county seat of Madera County, California, Madera County, located in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Founded in 1876 as a timber town at the terminus of a major logging f ...

. His father, John O'Donnell, was a lumber mill labourer originally from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. His mother and older siblings (Jack and Minnie) were born in California.

Career

In February 1924, O'Donnell signed with Julius and

Abe Stern Abe Stern (March 8, 1888 – July 12, 1951) was an American film producer. He produced 542 films between 1917 and 1929. He was a co-founder of Universal Studios. He was born in Fulda, Germany, and died in Los Angeles County, California. ...

's Century Film Corporation. In 1924, O'Donnell starred in

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

's ''

Alice Comedies The ''Alice Comedies'' are a series of Live-action animated film, live-action animated shorts created by Walt Disney in the 1920s, in which a live action little girl named Alice (originally played by Virginia Davis) and an animated cat named Ju ...

''. The first of these was '' Alice's Spooky Adventure'', where he features as one of several children playing baseball in a field. The film also starred

Virginia Davis Virginia Davis (December 31, 1918 – August 15, 2009) was an American child actress in films. She is best known for working with Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks on the animated short series ''Alice Comedies'', in which she portrayed the protagonist ...

(as Alice) and

Leon Holmes Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

, with whom O'Donnell featured alongside in ''Alice the Peacemaker'' during the same year. He also had parts in ''Alice Gets in Dutch'' and ''Alice is Stage Struck'', which was released the following year. O'Donnell appeared as

's son in a series of short films made by producer

in the late 1920s. He also appeared in the Pathe comedy short Traffic Tangle, this time as Nat Carr's son, in 1930.

Personal life

O'Donnell died in 1986 in

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. History The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans in the United States, ...

Selected filmography

References

External links

* 1911 births 1986 deaths American male film actors American male silent film actors Male actors from Fresno, California American male child actors 20th-century American male actors {{US-film-actor-1910s-stub