Maria O’Brien, the actress and long-time acting coach best known for her 15 years in days of our lives and appearances in films including Protocol and SmileHe has died at the age of 75.
He died on February 24, although the cause of his death was not revealed.
Born on August 14, 1950 in Los Angeles, O’Brien came from true Hollywood royalty.
His father, Edmond O’Brien, won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in 1954. The Barefoot Countesswhile his mother, Olga San Juan, was a musical comedy star who appeared in a number of films including Are you with that? and A touch of Venus.
Maria followed them into the industry and earned her first on-screen credit in 1963 in the television series. Sam Benedict.
Throughout a career spanning six decades, he developed an impressive body of work in both film and television.
His screen credits included The Incredible Shrinking Woman, Table for fiveand the 1984 Goldie Hawn comedy Protocoland made guest appearances in some of the most popular series of the 1980s and 1990s, including Magnum P.I., Murder she wrote, Los Angeles Law, Matlock, French friesand The love boat.
Along the way he shared scenes with Angela Lansbury, Lily Tomlin, Tom Selleck, Melanie Griffith and Goldie Hawn.
He also won a Drama-Logue Award in 1990 for his performance in Jean Genet. the maids at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.
In the late 1990s, O’Brien moved into coaching and joined daytime dramas. sunset beach and Passions before taking on her long-term position as an acting coach at days of our livesposition he held until his retirement in 2022.
Off screen, she was a passionate advocate for Alzheimer’s research.
His father was among the first celebrities to be publicly diagnosed with the disease, and in 1983 O’Brien testified before Congress about its devastating impact.
His advocacy played a significant role in securing government funding for research into this disease.
He is survived by his three children, Thomas, Danica and Sean Anderson, and his sister Bridget O’Brien Adelman.
