Robert Emmett O'Connor

Stalwart Irish-American character actor Robert Emmett O'Connor was born on March 18, 1885, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He made his bones performing in circuses and in vaudeville. He made his Broadway debut in the musical "Fritz in Tammany Hall" at the Herald Square Theatre on October 16, 1905, ultimately appearing in 13 musical comedies and operettas on the Great White Way through 1930 (he also appeared in four straight plays during that period, mostly comedies such as "The Old Soak" during the 1922-23 season). After 1930, he never appeared on Broadway again, focusing instead on his movie career. He made his movie debut in 1920 in the Harold Lloyd comedy short His Royal Slyness (1920), directed by Hal Roach. He made six comedies for the Hal Roach Studios in the years 1920-21, including one more Harold Lloyd vehicle, Never Weaken (1921), before taking a five-year hiatus from films. He returned in the Thomas Meighan drama Tin Gods (1926), directed by Allan Dwan, then spent the next 24 year