"With All Your Might"

Persistence Pays Off


There was a man by the name of Pat who had determined in his heart at a young age to make it in show business in New York City. It was back in 1930, when he was in a play called "The Up and Up". The role he had to play was a very demanding scene in which he was contending with two angry people at once,one on the phone and another siting at his desk. Playing that scene was like trying to fight through Notre Dame's football line while singing Danny Boy.

When the play opened, it got mixed reviews. They moved to a smaller theater and everyone took a salary cut, hoping the show would survive. But the prospects were dim.
Many nights Pat was tempted to let down, just coast through his part. After all, he thought, why knock himself out on something with no future?

But a Bible verse he remembered from the teaching he received as a young man in the church echoed in his memory. It seemed he could hear his old priest saying it again: "Whatever task lies to your hand, do it with all your might." (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

And so every day, matinee and evening, Pat would put his all into that scene and wound up wringing wet from the effort it took. Sometimes he felt foolish. In a few months the show finally closed. He went on to other parts in other plays, not making much of a name for himself. Then one gray December day he got a phone call from a man representing Howard Hughes, who was then making movies.

"Mr. Hughes is filming the play "The Front Page" and wants you in it," he said.
Pat was dumbfounded. But the offer was no joke. And in a few days pat was on the Twentieth Century Limited, heading to Hollywood.

Later he found out how it all came about. Lewis Milestone, who directed "The Front Page", told Pat what had happened.

While visiting New York, he and a group of friends had a block of seats for a hit show. But they found they were one seat short. Lewis volunteered to go across the street to watch another play. It was "The Up and Up" and, of course, plenty of seats were available.

"One scene in that play really impressed me," Lewis told Pat.

I don't need to tell you which one it was. The upshot was that Lewis recommended Pat for a role with a similar scene in the movie version of "The Front Page" and that was the start of Pat O'Brian's Hollywood Film career. The career that put him in the limelight of some of the most historical moments of our lives performing in movies for over fifty years. And it all started in a small theater with plenty of empty seats while playing an exhausting part in a play that had not been rated well by the public opinion.

You never know, do you?

What ever You do today, do it with all of your might!

The following is a list of plays and movies in which Pat O'Brien performed during his career.

1981 Ragtime /1980 Scout's Honor /1978 The End /1978 WKRP in Cincinnati (TV)/1977 Billy Jack Goes to Washington/1976 Kiss Me, Kill Me/1975 The Sky's the Limit/ 1974 Happy Days (TV)/1972 Adventures of Nick Carter/1972 Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol/1971 Alias Smith (TV)/1970 The Phynx/1969 The Over-the-Hill Gang/1965 Town Tamer/1965 Branded (TV)/1962 The Virginian (TV)/1960 "Harrigan and Son" (TV)/1959 Some Like It Hot/1958 The Last Hurrah/ 1957 Kill Me Tomorrow /1955 Inside Detroit/1955 Front Row Center (TV)/1954 Jubilee Trail/1954 Ring of Fear/1952 Okinawa/1951 The People Against O'Hara/1951 Criminal Lawyer/1950 The Fireballaka The Challenge/1950 Johnny One-Eye /1949 A Dangerous Profession/1948 The Boy with Green Hair/1948 Fighting Father Dunne/1947 Riffraff (S)/1946 Crack-Up/1946 Perilous Holiday/1945 Having Wonderful Crime/1945 Man Alive/ 1944 Marine Raiders/1944 Secret Command/1943 Bombardier/ 1943 His Butler's Sister/1943 The Iron Major/1942 Broadway/1942 Flight Lieutenant/1942 The Navy Comes Through/1942 Two Yanks in Trinidad/1941 Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie/1940 Flowing Gold/1940 'Til We Meet Again/1940 Castle on the Hudson aka Years Without Days (UK)/1940 The Fighting 69th (J, P)/1940 Slightly Honorable/1940 Escape to Gloryaka Submarine Zone/1940 Knute Rockne, All Americanaka Knockoutaka A Modern Hero1940 Torrid Zone (J)/1939 Indianapolis Speedway/1939 The Kid From Kokomoaka Orphan of the Ring (UK)/ 1939 The Night of Nights/ 1939 Off the Record/1938 Angels with Dirty Faces (J)aka Battle of City Hall/ 1938 Garden of the Moon/1938 Boy Meets Girl (F, R, J)/1938 The Cowboy from Brooklyn/1938 Bar 20 Justiceaka Justice/1938 Hawaiian Buckaroo/1938 Panamint's Bad Man/ 1938 Swingtime in the Movies(himself)/ 1938 Women Are Like That/1937 Back in Circulation/1937 San Quentin/1937 The Great O'Malley/1937 Slim /1937 Submarine D-1/1937 Tim Tyler's Luck/1936 China Clipper/1936 I Married a Doctor/1936 Public Enemy's Wifeaka G-Man's Wife/1936 Stars on Parade (himself)/1935 Page Miss Glory (J)/1935 The Irish in Us (F, J)/1935 Ceiling Zero (J)/1935 Devil Dogs of the Air (J)/1935 A Dream Comes True(himself)/ 1935 The Great Air Mysteryaka Tailspin Tommy in the Great Air Mystery/1935 In Caliente/1935 Oil for the Lamps of China/1935 The Roaring West/1935 Stars Over Broadway/1934 Twenty Million Sweethearts/1934 Here Comes the Navy (J, P)/1934 Flirtation Walk/1934 Gambling Lady/1934 I Sell Anythingaka I Sell Everything /1934 I've Got Your Number/1934 The Personality Kid/1933 Laughter in Hell /1933 College Coachaka Football Coach /1933 Flaming Gold/1933 Bureau of Missing Persons/1933 Bombshellaka Blonde Bombshell (UK)/1933 Destination Unknown /1933 The Public Be Hanged/1932 Air Mailaka Airmail/1932 Virtue/1932 American Madness/1932 Scandal for Saleaka Ambition/1932 Hell's Houseaka Juvenile Court/1932 Final Edition/1932 Hollywood Speaks/1932 The Strange Case of Clara Deane /1931 Consolation Marriageaka Married in Haste/1931 The Front Page (F)/1931 Flying High aka George White'sFlying Highaka Happy Landing/1931 Honor Among Lovers/1931 Personal Maid1930 Compliments of theSeason/1929 Fury of the Wild /1929 The Freckled Rascal