Hollywood Went to War

Fifty-fifth in our series Hollywood Went to War is Wyatt Earp himself, Hugh O'Brian.

O'Brian was born Hugh Charles Krampe in Rochester, New York, son of Hugh John Krampe, a United States Marine Corps officer, and Edith Lillian (Marks) Krampe. His paternal grandparents were German immigrants; his mother was half German-Jewish and half English and Scots ancestry. O'Brian first attended school at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, then the (now defunct) Kemper Military School in Booneville, Missouri. He lettered in football, basketball, wrestling, and track. O'Brian dropped out of the University of Cincinnati after one semester to enlist in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. At seventeen, he became the youngest Marine drill instructor

As a lad, I remember sending away for and building a full scale plastic model of Wyatt Earp's long barreled Buntline Special. O'Brian helped create the Golden Age of TV Westerns.


Mr. O'Brian, we thank you for your service to our country. Rest in peace.


Hugh O’Brian passes