Hugh O'Brian Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family

May 2024 ยท 3 minute read

Handsome, square-jawed and athletically fit, the dark-haired Hugh O'Brian appeared in a string of films and television anthology series in the years before he became a star portraying the real-life most celebrated peace officer and lawman of the Old West - "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp," which ran on ABC Television from 1955-1961. Until "The life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" debuted in September 1955, most TV Westerns - "The Lone Ranger," "Hopalong Cassidy," the singing cowboys' series - were aimed at adolescent boys. "Wyatt Earp," on the other hand, was based on a real-life Western hero, and some of it's stories were authentic. The real Earp lived from 1848 to 1929. TV's first adult western, "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" became a top-20-rated television network (ABC) hit series until 1960, but it was canceled the following year after being supplanted by the avalanche of other adult Westerns. Critics quickly praised it making O'Brian a household name. Portraying what the show's theme song described as the "brave, courageous and bold" frontier lawman, O'Brian wore a black frock coat, a gold brocade vest, a string black tie and a flat-brimmed black hat - and he kept the peace with the help of a "Buntline Special"; a .45 revolver with an extra-long barrel. In portraying the sheriff Wyatt Earp, O'Brian at age 30, became known for his quick draw. "I didn't want to force the cinema photographer and the director into having to cut away whenever that happened; I wanted it to be realistic," O'Brian reported in a 2005 "EMMY Archive of American Television" interview. O'Brian spent hundreds of hours practicing the draw, the result of which, he said, "became a very big promotional tool ... and everybody talked about my quick draw." During the series' run, O'Brian separated from Earp. He did it by doing a lot of out-side acting - on anthology television series such as "Playhouse 90" and "Desilu Playhouse." O'Brian continued to work frequently in movies, television and theater through the 1990s, although he never again achieved the prominence he enjoyed as Wyatt Earp. A stint on Broadway, replacing the original star Andy Griffith for Griffith's one week vacation from the musical, (01/04/1960-to-01/10/1960) performing the lead role of "Destry" (at his age of 35) opposite Dolores Gray as "Frenchy" starring in the stage musical comedy "Destry Rides Again" (04/23/1959-06/18/1960; 472 performances). Opening on December 25, 1961 in an extremely short run, closing after 24 performances on January 13, 1962, O'Brian was the lead role performing as "Romain" in the Broadway play "First Love." Decades later, O'Brian showed up as Wyatt Earp in two 1989 television episodes of the TV western "Paradise." He also appeared as Earp in the 1991 Kenny Rogers TV miniseries "The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw." And he starred in "Wyatt Earp: Return to Tombstone," a 1994 TV movie that included flash-backs to scenes from his original filmed ABC television series. As O'Brian once said of the TV western that made him a star: "It's been a great horse, and she keeps coming around the corral." Among his post-"Wyatt Earp" film credits were "Come Fly With Me," "Africa - Texas Style," "The Shootist" and "Twins." He also starred in the 1972-73 NBC adventure series "Search," did more stage work and made guest appearances on television series such as Irwin Allen's "Fantasy Island" and Aaron Spelling's "The Love Boat".

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmsmZeaxKq3yGeaqKVfncKotIyoZJuqmZa7