FILM DIRECTOR

Willis H. O'Brien

1886 - 1962

Photo of Willis H. O'Brien

Icon of person Willis H. O'Brien

Willis Harold O'Brien (March 2, 1886 – November 8, 1962), known as Obie O'Brien, was an American motion picture special effects and stop-motion animation pioneer, who according to ASIFA-Hollywood "was responsible for some of the best-known images in cinema history," and is best remembered for his work on The Lost World (1925), King Kong (1933), The Last Days of Pompeii (1935) and Mighty Joe Young (1949), for which he won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Willis H. O'Brien has received more than 206,159 page views. His biography is available in 18 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 17 in 2019). Willis H. O'Brien is the 1,108th most popular film director (down from 958th in 2019), the 7,176th most popular biography from United States (down from 6,318th in 2019) and the 273rd most popular American Film Director.

Memorability Metrics

  • 210k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 47.30

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 18

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.41

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.71

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among FILM DIRECTORS

Among film directors, Willis H. O'Brien ranks 1,108 out of 2,041. Before him are Joe Wright, Elvira Notari, David Twohy, Jonas Åkerlund, Pavel Lungin, and Peter Del Monte. After him are Agustí Villaronga, Monte Hellman, Edgar Wright, Caleb Deschanel, Vladimir Naumov, and Ali Hatami.

Most Popular Film Directors in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1886, Willis H. O'Brien ranks 238. Before him are Francis Biddle, Kōsaku Yamada, Reinhold Schünzel, Henry Lehrman, Arvid Holmberg, and Boris Grigoriev. After him are Frank Heller, Alfred Felber, Edward Everett Horton, May Sutton, Pierre Prüm, and Phyllis Johnson. Among people deceased in 1962, Willis H. O'Brien ranks 164. Before him are Arseny Golovko, Per Thorén, Miklós Szabados, Karen Lachmann, George Preca, and Frederick Schule. After him are Ramón Pérez de Ayala, Mykolas Biržiška, Menen Asfaw, Zdeněk Nejedlý, Erik Granfelt, and Axel Nordlander.

Others Born in 1886

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Others Deceased in 1962

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Willis H. O'Brien ranks 7,176 out of 20,380. Before him are Timothy B. Schmit (1947), Rachel Chagall (1952), Ellen S. Baker (1953), Robert Goulet (1933), Rudy Rucker (1946), and Peter Del Monte (1943). After him are K. Eric Drexler (1955), A Martinez (1948), Calvin Smith (1961), Sgt. Slaughter (1948), Oliver Hazard Perry (1785), and John Geiger (1873).

Others born in United States

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Among FILM DIRECTORS In United States

Among film directors born in United States, Willis H. O'Brien ranks 273. Before him are Harold Becker (1928), Lloyd Kaufman (1945), Gregory La Cava (1892), Alan Crosland (1894), David Twohy (1955), and Peter Del Monte (1943). After him are Monte Hellman (1932), Caleb Deschanel (1944), Andrew Stanton (1965), James Foley (1953), James Algar (1912), and Alan Taylor (1959).

American born Film Directors

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Filmography

The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy
Director
Two cavemen, The Duke and Stonejaw Steve, call on Miss Araminta Rockface. The hated rivals fight, and Steve wins when he throws The Duke into a pot of boiling water. A title card introduces a third rival, "our unassuming hero, Theophilus Ivoryhead." Miss Rockface invites the three men into her father's drawing room/cave, apologizing for not offering tea, since it has not been discovered yet. The Duke and Steve fight again, and everyone rushes out of the cave. Mr. Rockface notices his pot of food is empty; earlier, Wild Willie the Missing Link had eaten it. Mr. Rockface tells the three suitors they will have to procure their own dinner. Steve locates a desert quail and shoots an arrow at it, but the arrow misses the quail and happily (for Steve) hits The Duke's behind. Meanwhile, Wild Willie is still hungry and goes hunting for snakes. He finds a dinosaur's tail instead...
Jan 1st 19156.1 / 10
The Ghost of Slumber Mountain
Director
In a dream Uncle Jack looks through a magic telescope owned by the ghost of a hermit and sees what life was like millions of years ago, including a battle between prehistoric monsters.
Nov 17th 19186 / 10
R.F.D., 10,000 B.C.
Director
Set in prehistoric times, this short film was created for the Edison Company by Willis H. O'Brien, a pioneer of American stop-motion animation.
Jan 1st 19175.8 / 10