Joan O'Brien is an American actress and singer. She made a name for herself acting in television shows in the 1950's and 1960's, and as a film co-star with Cary Grant

Cary Grant

Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...

, Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

, John Wayne

John Wayne

Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...

 and Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...

.

Early life

Joan Marie O'Brien was born to David and Rita O'Brien on February 14, 1936, in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

. The family moved to California when O'Brien was a child, and enrolled O'Brien in dance classes when she was eight years old. She graduated from Chaffey Union High School in Ontario, California

Ontario, California

Ontario is a city located in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire region, it lies just east of the Los Angeles county line and is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area...

.

Career

O'Brien's singing abilities came to the attention of entertainer and Country Music Hall of Fame

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum identifies and preserves the evolving history and traditions of country music and educates its audiences...

 member Cliffie Stone

Cliffie Stone

Cliffie Stone , born Clifford Gilpin Snyder, was an American country singer, musician, record producer, music publisher, and radio and TV personality who was pivotal in the development of California’s thriving country music scene after World War II during a career that lasted six decades...

, who hired her as a regular performer on his television show Hometown Jamboree

Hometown Jamboree

Hometown Jamboree was an American country music radio and television show broadcast each Saturday night by KXLA radio, Pasadena, California and KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Cliffie Stone and first held at the American Legion Stadium in El Monte, California, and later at...

before her high school graduation. In 1954, she became a regular on The Bob Crosby Show, and stayed until the show's cancellation in 1958. She co-starred with Cary Grant

Cary Grant

Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...

 and Tony Curtis

Tony Curtis

Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...

 in the 1959 movie Operation Petticoat

Operation Petticoat

Operation Petticoat is a 1959 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards, and starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. It was the basis for a television series in 1977 starring John Astin in Grant's role...

.

Lawrence Welk

Lawrence Welk

Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...

 hired O'Brien as a one-week replacement for his champagne lady Alice Lon in July 1959. O'Brien had come to Welk's attention years earlier when she was a singer on Bob Crosby

Bob Crosby

George Robert "Bob" Crosby was an American dixieland bandleader and vocalist, best known for his group the Bob-Cats.-Family:...

's show, but Welk decided not to hire her at that time because she was still a teenager.

O'Brien was cast as Alamo survivor Susanna Dickinson in John Wayne's

John Wayne

Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...

 1960 epic The Alamo

The Alamo (1960 film)

The Alamo is a 1960 American historical epic released by United Artists. The film was directed by John Wayne, who also starred as Davy Crockett. The cast also includes Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie and Laurence Harvey as William B...

. That same year, O'Brien performed as a soloist for composer Buddy Bregman

Buddy Bregman

Buddy Bregman is an American musical arranger, record producer and composer.He has worked with many of the greatest musical artists of 20th Century popular music including; Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Matt Monro, and Frank Sinatra.Born in Chicago, he studied...

 at the Moulin Rouge night club in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. In 1961, O'Brien again co-starred with John Wayne, as his love interest in The Comancheros

The Comancheros

The Comancheros is a 1961 western Deluxe CinemaScope color film directed by Michael Curtiz and John Wayne based on a 1952 novel by Paul Wellman starring John Wayne and Stuart Whitman. When health troubles prevented Curtiz from finishing the film, Wayne directed the remainder of the movie, though...

.

Actresses Sheree North

Sheree North

Sheree North was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She was known for being 20th Century Fox's answer to Marilyn Monroe from 1954 to 1956...

, Sabrina

Sabrina (actress)

Norma Ann Sykes , better known as Sabrina, was a 1950s English glamour model who progressed to a minor movie career. Her main claim to fame was her hourglass figure of prodigious breasts coupled with a tiny 17" waist...

 and Sue Carson joined O'Brien in a tour of Playgirls in 1961, appearing at the Riverside Hotel

Riverside Hotel (Reno)

The Riverside Hotel is a former hotel in Reno, Nevada, that sits on the exact location where Reno began in 1859. The building now houses apartments and studios for artists, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.-Early history:C.W...

 in Reno, Nevada

Reno, Nevada

Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...

.

O'Brien played Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

's girlfriend in the 1963 vehicle It Happened at the World's Fair

It Happened at the World's Fair

It Happened at the World's Fair is a 1963 musical film starring Elvis Presley as a cropdusting pilot.The motion picture was filmed in Seattle, Washington, site of the Century 21 Exposition, the 1962 World's Fair. The governor of Washington at the time, Albert Rosellini, suggested the setting to...

.

Her most frequent acting performances were in television during the 1960's. In 1964, O'Brien guest starred in an episode of The Man from UNCLE. Series star Robert Vaughn

Robert Vaughn

Robert Francis Vaughn, , is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work. His best known roles include the suave spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., wealthy detective Harry Rule in the 1970s television series The Protectors, Albert Stroller in...

, subsequently cast her as Ophelia

Ophelia

Ophelia is a fictional character in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and potential wife of Prince Hamlet.-Plot:...

 in Hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

at the Pasadena Playhouse

Pasadena Playhouse

The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...

.

After her acting career ended, O'Brien sang with the Harry James

Harry James

Henry Haag “Harry” James was a trumpeter who led a jazz swing band during the Big Band Era of the 1930s and 1940s. He was especially known among musicians for his astonishing technical proficiency as well as his superior tone.-Biography:He was born in Albany, Georgia, the son of a bandleader of a...

 band in 1968.

Television

>

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1949	Hometown Jamboree Hometown Jamboree Hometown Jamboree was an American country music radio and television show broadcast each Saturday night by KXLA radio, Pasadena, California and KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Cliffie Stone and first held at the American Legion Stadium in El Monte, California, and later at...	Self	as Joanie O'Brien
1954		Self	Regular performer
1955		Self	as Joanie O'Brien, singer
1957	Shower of Stars Shower of Stars Shower of Stars is an American variety television series broadcast in the United States from 1954 to 1958 by CBS. The series was also known as Chrysler Shower of Stars. Unusually at the time for CBS, the series was telecast in color.-Overview:...	Self	as Joanie O'Brien
1958	M Squad M Squad M Squad is an American police drama television series that ran from 1957 to 1960 on NBC. Its format would later inspire the creation of spoof TV show Police Squad! Its sponsor was the Pall Mall cigarette brand; Lee Marvin, the program's star, appeared in its commercials during the...	Marla Ross	The Take Over
1959	Riverboat Riverboat (TV series) Riverboat is a western television series starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds that was broadcast on the NBC television network from September 13, 1959 until January 2, 1961....	Sonja Torgin	The Fight Back
1959	Markham	Julia Conrad	We Are All Suspect
1959	Man Without a Gun Man Without a Gun Man Without a Gun is a western television series produced by 20th Century Fox television and presented in first-run syndication in the United States from 1957 to 1959...	Ellen Duncan	Face of the Moon
1959	Bat Masterson Bat Masterson (TV series) Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry and the half-hour black and white shows ran on NBC from 1958 to 1961...	Dolores Clark	One Bullet from Broken Bow
1959	Bat Masterson	Dora Miller	Shakedown at St. Joe
1960	Bat Masterson	Eileen McDermott	High Card Loses
1960	Wagon Train Wagon Train Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...	Candy O'Hara	The Candy O'Hara Story
1960	Cheyenne Cheyenne Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...	Selma Dawson	Incident at Dawson Flats
1960	Wagon Train	Victoria	The Luke Grant Story
1960		Libby	The Courting of Libby
1960		Ann Brenner	The Terrified Blonde
1960	Lock-Up Lock-Up (TV series) Lock-Up is an American legal drama series that premiered in syndication in September 1959 and concluded in June 1961. The half-hour episodes had little time for character development or subplots and presented a compact story without embellishment....	Claudia Scott	Flying High
1960		Emily Price	Meet Sergeant Tasker
1960	The Chevy Mystery Show	Susan Hudson	Enough Rope
1960	Bronco Bronco (TV series) Bronco is a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West, meeting such well-known individuals as Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, Jesse James,...	Judith Castle	La Rubia
1960		Fay Campbell	Kangaroo Court
1960	Perry Mason Perry Mason (TV series) Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...	Betty Roberts	The Case of the Singing Skirt
1960	Bachelor Father	Janice McCleery	Kelly, the Matchmaker
1960	Bachelor Father	Janice McCleery	Dear Bentley
1961	Bachelor Father	Janice McCleery	Kelly's Graduation
1961	Surfside 6 Surfside 6 Surfside 6 was an ABC television series which aired from 1960 to 1962. The show centered around a Miami Beach detective agency set on a houseboat and featured Troy Donahue as Sandy Winfield, II; Van Williams as Kenny Madison ; and Lee Patterson as Dave Thorne...	Linda Faris	Jonathan Wembley Is Missing
1961		Mona Fenton	No Exit
1961	Whispering Smith Whispering Smith (TV series) Whispering Smith is a short-lived American Western series that aired on NBC. Based on a 1948 movie, the series stars Audie Murphy as Tom "Whispering" Smith, a police detective in Denver, Colorado...	Marilyn Manning	The Idol
1961	Adventures in Paradise Adventures in Paradise Adventures in Paradise is an American television series which ran on ABC from 1959 until 1962. It starred Gardner McKay as Adam Troy, the captain of the schooner Tiki III which sailed the South Pacific looking for passengers and adventure. The show was created by James Michener...	Lila Simmons	Wild Mangoes
1961	Bringing Up Buddy Bringing Up Buddy Bringing Up Buddy is a 39-episode situation comedy television series which aired on CBS during the 1960–1961 season. In the story line, Frank Aletter, a native of Queens, New York, plays the orphaned Buddy Flower, a bachelor stockbroker, who is reared by his overprotective and meticulous aunts,...	Ruth Grayson	The Singer
1961	Cheyenne	Selma Dawson	Incident at Dawson Flats
1961	G.E. True	Meryle	Tippy-Top
1962	Rawhide Rawhide (TV series) Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...	Melinda Stimson	The Pitchwagon
1962	Bus Stop Bus Stop (TV series) Bus Stop is a 26-episode drama which aired on ABC from October 1, 1961, until March 25, 1962, starring Marilyn Maxwell as Grace Sherwood, the owner of a bus station and diner in the fictitious town of Sunrise in the Colorado Rockies...	Julie	The Ordeal of Kevin Brooke
1962	Follow the Sun Follow the Sun (TV series) Follow the Sun is an American drama series which ran for thirty episodes on the ABC television network from September 17, 1961, through April 8, 1962.-Synopsis:...	Nita Parker	Annie Beeler's Place
1962			The Impatient Brides
1962	Outlaws	Laurie	A Bit of Glory
1963		Jane Leighton	The Foul Weather Girl
1964		Chris Brinel	The Green Opal Affair
1964		Joan	The Dark Challenge
1964		Ruth	Lament for a Dead Goldbrick
1965	Perry Mason	Jill Fenwick	The Case of the Lover's Gamble

Films

Films

Year	Title	Role
1958	Handle with Care	Mary Judson
1959	Operation Petticoat Operation Petticoat Operation Petticoat is a 1959 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards, and starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. It was the basis for a television series in 1977 starring John Astin in Grant's role...	Lt. Dolores Crandall RN
1960		Susanna Dickinson
1961		Melinda Marshall
1962	Samar	Cecile Salazar
1962	Six Black Horses	Kelly
1962	It's Only Money It's Only Money It's Only Money is a comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Jerry Lewis. It was filmed from October 9 to December 17, 1961 and was released on November 21, 1962 by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:...	Wanda Paxton
1963	It Happened at the World's Fair It Happened at the World's Fair It Happened at the World's Fair is a 1963 musical film starring Elvis Presley as a cropdusting pilot.The motion picture was filmed in Seattle, Washington, site of the Century 21 Exposition, the 1962 World's Fair. The governor of Washington at the time, Albert Rosellini, suggested the setting to...	Diane Warren
1963	We Joined the Navy We Joined the Navy We Joined the Navy is a 1962 British CinemaScope comedy film based on the novel of the same name by John Winton, directed by Wendy Toye and starring Kenneth More, Lloyd Nolan, Joan O'Brien, Derek Fowlds, Graham Crowden, Esma Cannon and John Le Mesurier....	Lt. Carol Blair
1964	Get Yourself a College Girl Get Yourself a College Girl Get Yourself a College Girl is a 1964 Metrocolor film comedy in the style of a beach party movie. The plot involves a college co-ed who tries to balance her time writing songs and dealing with her publisher who tries to pursue her. It was directed by Sidney Miller and written by Robert E...	Marge Endicott

External links