The Wind at My Back
The Life and Times of Pat O'Brien
Description:... Pat O'Brien is the actor whose movies roles of the '30's and '40's left an untold number of fans with the idea that he really was a priest with a football team. This autobiography is long on sentiment and short on insight, long on anecdote. He looks like a nice guy and nothing in his book contradicts the impression. His rise from a working-class Milwaukee, Wisconsin background was not always easy but, as he tells it, free from tragic trauma. After beginning on the Broadway stage, in 1931 he joined Howard Hughes' movie production of "The Front Page" as Hildy Johnson, which along with his portrayal of Knute Rockne he considers his best roles. His memories of Hollywood during his heyday are limited to personal anecdotes and brief encounters with fellow stars; he was a convivial man, but a family man, a few removes from the sources of scandal. Hollywood ran out of roles in the '50's and, bewildered but game, he took to the nightclub and straw-hat circuit and eventually, television. His fellow Americans will find Pat O'Brien's book a warm, amusing read.
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