Last Known Activity:
O'Brian was born as Hugh Charles Krampe on April 19, 1925, in Rochester, New York, actor Hugh O'Brian had the term "beefcake" written about him during his nascent film years in the early 1950s, but he chose to avoid the obvious typecast as he set up his career. He first attended school at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, then Kemper Military School in Booneville, Missouri. Moving from place to place growing up, he managed to show off his athletic prowess quite early. By the time he graduated from high school, he had lettered in football, basketball, wrestling and track. Originally pursuing law, he dropped out of the University of Cincinnati in 1942 (age 19) and enlisted in the Marine Corps. Upon his discharge he ended up in Los Angeles.
Hugh joined a little theater group and a Santa Barbara stock company where he developed his acting chops and slowly built up his résumé. He was discovered for TV by director/actress Ida Lupino which opened the door to his signing with Universal Studios for films. Hugh's gentlemanly ruggedness, similar to a James Garner or a Gene Barry, was ideal for pictures, and his lean physique and exceptionally photographic mug had the modest, brown-eyed, curly-haired looker plastered all over the movie magazines. He rebelled against the image for the most part and, as a result, his years with Universal were not as fruitful as they could have been. For the duration, he was pretty much confined as a secondary player to standard action pictures such as Red Ball Express (1952), Son of Ali Baba (1952) and Seminole (1953). It was Rock Hudson who earned all of the Universal glamour guy roles and the out-and-out stardom that could easily have been Hugh's.
In 1954, he left Universal to freelance but did not fare any better until offered the starring role in "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" (1955) on TV, a year later. It became a mainstay hit and Hugh an "overnight" star. During his six-year run on the western classic, he managed to show off his singing talents on variety shows and appeared on Broadway. The handsome bachelor remained a durable talent throughout the 60s and 70s with plentiful work on the summer stock stage and on TV, including the series "Search" (1972), but never got the one role to earn the critical attention he merited.
A sports enthusiast, his hobbies have included sailing, tennis, swimming and long-distance bicycling and his many philanthropic efforts have not gone unrecognized. His proudest achievement is the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY), which he founded in 1958 after spending considerable time with Dr. Albert Schweitzer and his clinic in Africa. Struck by the impassioned work being done by Schweitzer, O'Brian set up his own program to help develop young people into future leaders. O'Brian has since been awarded honorary degrees by several prestigious institutions of higher learning. The perennial bachelor finally "settled down" and tied the knot at age 81 with long-time companion Virginia Barber who is close to three decades his junior. They live in his Benedict Canyon home. He is at this time working on an autobiography
IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
Spouse
| Virginia Barber |
(25 June 2006 - present) |
Trivia
Brother of Don Krampe
According to an article on TV westerns in Time Magazine (March 30, 1959), O'Brian stood 6 feet tall, weighed 170 lbs, and had chest-waist-hips measurements of 44-32-36
Was the youngest Drill Instructor in Marine Corps history - Age 17.
Was once a soda-jerk at Schwab's drug store on Sunset Boulevard
One of the first celebrities to frontline tours of Vietnam at the request of the State Department, Hugh once staged and directed a company of "Guys and Dolls" which toured Vietnam, Thailand and Japan for the troops.
The Hugh O'Brian Acting Awards Competition was developed in 1964 at UCLA with cash awards going to acting talents.
Was awarded one of the space community's highest honors with the 1972 Freedom Award for his variety of space-oriented projects, including the Hugh O'Brien Youth Foundation seminars at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Once recorded an album of popular songs and sang on the Ed Sullivan, Dinah Shore and Jackie Gleason variety shows.
Hugh's vast investments over the years have been wise and fruitful with dividends paying well in stocks and bonds, real estate, bowling alleys, a building equipment firm, a theatre-in-the-round, an oil syndicate and his own TV production company.
Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1992.
Hugh O'Brian and teacher Virginia Barber had dated for 18 years before their marriage on June 25, 2006, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif. It was his first marriage; her second. She was 54; he was 83. The Rev. Robert Schuller, pastor of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, officiated, and the couple was serenaded by close friend Debbie Reynolds. Dubbed "A Wedding to Die For", the ceremony concluded with a cocktail reception.
Was the last person killed on screen by John Wayne, in The Shootist (1976).
Elected Freshman Class president at Los Angeles City College.
He became the youngest drill instructor in the Marine Corps' history, and during his four years of service won a coveted Fleet appointment to The Naval Academy, which he declined. In 1972, O'Brian was awarded one of the nation's highest honors, the Freedom Through Knowledge Award, sponsored by the National Space Club in association with NASA. In 1974, he was awarded the George Washington Honor Medal, highest award of the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge, as well as the Globe and Anchor Award from the Marine Corps. In 1976, the Veterans of Foreign Wars also honored him with an award.
Broke into acting by happenstance. Dating an actress in Los Angeles at the time, he visited her at a couple of her rehearsals for a play. The director asked Hugh to step in after the leading man dropped out of the show. An L.A. Times reporter saw the production and gave Hugh excellent reviews.
Developed a friendship with Marilyn Monroe after the two co-starred in There's No Business Like Show Business (1954).
One of the few actors who has appeared in a Bruce Lee movie ("Game of Death"), a John Wayne movie ("The Shootist") and an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie ("Twins").
He was a guest at the 2012 Memphis Film Festival's "A Gathering of Guns 4: A TV Western Reunion" at the Whispering Woods Hotel and Conference Center in Olive Branch, Mississippi.
Guest starred on the first episode of "The Virginian" (1962).
He is a staunch Republican and conservative.
Personal Quotes
I believe every person is created as the steward of his or her own destiny with great power for a specific purpose: To share with others, through service, a reverence for life in a spirit of love.
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