Erin O'Brien (actress)


Erin O'Brien is an American actress, active during the mid-twentieth century and best known as the leading lady of arguably the first made-for-TV movie, Girl on the Run, which also served as the pilot for the television series 77 Sunset Strip written by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Early years

The oldest of 14 siblings, O'Brien has seven sisters and six brothers. The daughter of a milk delivery man, Vincent O'Brien, and his wife, Betty, she grew up in Long Beach, California, after being born in Hollywood. She is a graduate of St. Anthony High School.

Career

Shortly after finishing high school, O'Brien sang with a choir directed by Walter Schumann.
For three years, O'Brien appeared on a five-day-a-week television show hosted by Al Jarvis in Los Angeles. After that, she toured as a singer and eventually became a winner on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts on television.
O'Brien was the leading lady in episodes of such television shows as Bat Masterson with Gene Barry, Sugarfoot, Cheyenne with Clint Walker, Maverick with James Garner, Colt.45, The Asphalt Jungle, Laramie, Tombstone Territory and Death Valley Days.
O'Brien was a singer on The Frank Sinatra Show on CBS-TV, The Eddie Fisher Show on NBC-TV, and the syndicated The Liberace Show.
According to the Internet Movie Database, O'Brien was a featured solo singer on The Steve Allen Show from 1956 to 1958. Her films include Onionhead and John Paul Jones.
In 1958, O'Brien released an album, Songs From the Heart of Erin O'Brien on Coral Records.

Personal life

On June 16, 1951, O'Brien married public relations practitioner James Fitzgerald. They had three sons and divorced on January 17, 1963. She has two children by her current husband, Kanan Awni, whom she has married twice.