Anecdotes

In 1950 he and Pete Smith received a special award at the White House from President Harry S. Truman for one of their shorts, Wrong Way Butch (1950).

First wife Dorothy Short was a "B" actress in westerns and appeared with him in the cult classic Stupéfiants (1938) (original title "Tell Your Children" but better known as "Reefer Madness"), the serial Captain Midnight (1942) and the Pete Smith shorts, among others. They had two children but divorced in the early 1950s, reportedly because of Dave's complete devotion to sailing and his love of the sea. He subsequently remarried and had three more children.

Will forever be enshrined in the memories of bad-movie lovers everywhere for his role as the marijuana-crazed, wild-eyed dope fiend screaming "Faster! Play it faster!" at his equally marijuana-fried female piano-playing companion in the cult classic Stupéfiants (1938) (original title "Tell Your Children" but better known as "Reefer Madness").

A jack-of-all-trades in the entertainment business, he started off as a dancer and chorus boy in Warner Bros. musicals (42ème rue (1933), among others). He was also a stuntman and villain in westerns, although he did star in a series as a Texas Ranger. He was also a stalwart hero of cliffhangers and rugged adventure (Captain Midnight (1942), The Rangers Take Over (1942)). In addition, he composed songs for some of his western programmers and wrote, directed (as David Barclay) and starred in a popular and long-running series of comedy shorts made by producer Pete Smith at MGM. As if that weren't enough, he turned to TV as a writer for Red Skelton and won an Emmy.

The owner of a 60-foot racing sloop, "The White Cloud," he collapsed and died on board after winning a Marina del Rey-to-Catalina yacht race off California.

Suffered from thinning hair and wore a hairpiece. He incorporated this amusingly into a couple of his Pete Smith shorts.

Was a TV writer from 1955 on, using the alias David Barclay.

During his early days doing movie bits, he supplemented his income by singing in supper clubs like the Hotel Roosevelt, Pyramid Cafe, and Embassy Roof.

Starred in a pilot for a TV series to be called called "Meet the O'Briens'", in which he played a bumbling young husband whose in-laws live with him and his wife. (1954)

Around 1940 he and James Newill became partners in a ranch in Topanga Canyon, CA. It was too far to commute to the studio, so the Newills and O'Briens spent alternating weekends there.

He was an experienced stuntman which served him well in serials and poverty row westerns. This talent also allowed him to do pratfalls and stunts in the "Pete Smith Specialties".

His first movie role was in an Eddie Lambert comedy short whose title is now unknown.