Vincent J. O'Brien (January 11, 1919 – June 19, 2010) was an American

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

, who appeared as a doctor in

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

's film ''

Annie Hall ''Annie Hall'' is a 1977 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay written by Allen and Marshall Brickman, and produced by Allen's manager, Charles H. Joffe. The film stars Allen as Alvy Singer ...

'' (1977) and appeared on television and in print ads as the Shell Answer Man. O'Brien grew up in

New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol ...

and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He attended

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, where he was awarded a bachelor's degree in 1949 with a major in drama. In 1950 he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he started his acting career. O'Brien's balding, mature look helped gain him roles as authority figures, with his son recalling that "he always had that older look" even in his early acting days. In the 1950s, he appeared on 23 episodes of the television series ''

Westinghouse Studio One ''Studio One'' is an American anthology drama television series that was adapted from a radio series. It was created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. It premiered on November 7, 1948, and ended on Se ...

'', including an episode with

Walter Matthau Walter John Matthau ( Matthow; ; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, known for his "hangdog face" and for playing world-weary characters. He starred in 10 films alongside his real-life friend Jack Lemmon, including '' The Od ...

. During the 1960s, O'Brien appeared on the soap operas ''

Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American Gothic fiction, Gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulatio ...

'', ''

The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American mystery crime drama soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network for most of its ...

'' and twice, as two different characters in two different decades, on ''

The Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

'' as Colonel Grove Mason (1969–1970) and Dante "Pops Cooper" Kouperakis (1987–1990). In the late 1960s and through much of the 1970s, O'Brien appeared on television and print advertisements as the Shell Answer Man, a job that he felt was "like hitting the state lottery". During the 1970s he appeared on ''

Ryan's Hope ''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in ...

'' and played a hotel doctor in Woody Allen's 1977 comedy ''

''. In the 1990s he had a recurring role as a judge on ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

''. His final film appearances were in the movies ''

Quiz Show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating and narrating whe ...

'' and ''

Six Degrees of Separation Six degrees of separation is the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. As a result, a chain of "friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps. It is al ...

''. He appeared on Broadway in the musical '' Promises, Promises''. He also appeared on stage in local productions of ''

Advise and Consent ''Advise and Consent'' is a 1959 political fiction novel by Allen Drury that explores the United States Senate confirmation of controversial Secretary of State nominee Robert Leffingwell, whose promotion is endangered due to growing evidence ...

'', ''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by the American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a ...

'' and ''

The Fantasticks ''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two ne ...

''. A resident of

Haworth, New Jersey Haworth ( ) is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 3,343, a decrease of 39 (−1.2%) from the 2010 census count of 3,382, which in turn reflected a decl ...

, O'Brien died at age 91 of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

on June 19, 2010. He was buried in the George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey. He was survived by his wife Kate (born Delphine Force), a daughter, four sons, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. His son

Conal O'Brien Conal O'Brien (born July 18, 1956) has worked as an United States, American television Television director, director for nearly 30 years, and is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. He is the author of ''Birth of the Angel: The COVID Murders M ...

was a director of the soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

'' from 1987 to 2009, and is now a director for the soap opera ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

''.Potter, Beth
"Haworth's Notable Characters"

. Accessed June 22, 2010.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Vince 1919 births 2010 deaths American male film actors United States Army personnel of World War II American male stage actors American male soap opera actors Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni People from Haworth, New Jersey People from New Britain, Connecticut United States Army soldiers Male actors from Connecticut Burials at George Washington Memorial Park (Paramus, New Jersey) Actors from Hartford County, Connecticut Actors from Bergen County, New Jersey