Hugh O’Brian Net Worth

Hugh O’Brian's 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.
• I think, quite frankly, an active mind is as important as an active body. Fortunately, my lady's a teacher and she puts up with me.

Interesting Facts about Hugh O’Brian

1. Was once a soda-jerk at Schwab's drug store on Sunset Boulevard.
2. Attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, but did not graduate.
3. Attended the (now closed) Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri.
4. He was 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.
5. The Hugh O'Brian Acting Awards Competition was developed in 1964 at the University of California, Los Angeles with cash awards going to acting talents.
6. 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'Brian Youth Foundation seminars at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
7. Once recorded an album of popular songs and sang on the Ed Sullivan, Dinah Shore and Jackie Gleason variety shows.
8. 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 television production company.
9. Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1992.
10. 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, California. This was his first and only marriage; her second. She was 54; he was 81. The Rev. Robert H. 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.
11. Had played the last character killed on screen by John Wayne, in The Shootist (1976).
12. Elected Freshman Class president at Los Angeles City College.
13. He became the youngest drill instructor in the Marine Corps, and during his four years of service received 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.
14. 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 Los Angeles Times reporter saw the production and gave Hugh excellent reviews.
15. Developed a friendship with Marilyn Monroe after the two co-starred in There's No Business Like Show Business (1954).
16. He was one of the few actors who has appeared in a Bruce Lee movie (Game of Death (1978)), a John Wayne movie (The Shootist (1976)) and an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie (Twins (1988)).
17. 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.
18. Had appeared with Julie Adams four films: The Lawless Breed (1952), The Man from the Alamo (1953), The Stand at Apache River (1953) and The Diamond Mercenaries (1976).
19. He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6613 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.
20. Dedicated much of his life working for the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY), a non-profit development program for high school scholars.