Pat O'brien...Marquette University, Hollywood, John Litel, Knute and the Gipper

That's Milwaukee's very own Pat O'brien playing Notre Dame's legendary football coach (and my Grandfather's cousin), Knute Rockne, in Knute Rockne All American.
In the 1800's, a large number of the settlers in my hometown, the Deerfield/Christiana area of Dane County, were from Voss, Norway. Rockne was born in Voss, but his family settled in Chicago. In the eyes of a few Deerfield Vossings (people from Voss, all Lutherans), he commited his soul to eternal hell when he became a full fledged Roman Catholic while at Notre Dame. He certainly was the first great college football coach. That he is credited as being the father of the forward pass is complete crap. The father of the forward pass is Sturgeon Bay native Eddie Cochems, and the first forward pass was thrown in a game played at Carrol College in Waukesha(click here).
Pat O'Brien was born and raised in Milwaukee. He served as an altar boy at Gesu Church while growing up near 13th & Clybourn streets and attended Marquette Academy with fellow actor Spencer Tracy. He later attended Marquette University. A prolific actor during Hollywood's golden age, he is best remembered for playing Rockne in the film that gave Ronald Reagan his nickname, "The Gipper." In a little known political backlash movement that occured during during the McCarthy era (so named for class of '35 Marquette Law alumnus,Joe McCarthy), O'Brien was quietly blacklisted in Hollywood for being an outspoken conservative. Unable to find enough work, his old friend, Spencer Tracy, stuck his neck out for him and got him back on the "A" list. Wisconsin unloaded some major talent on Hollywood during the 30's - Don Ameche, Fred MacMurray, Orson Welles, Spencer Tracy, Frederick March, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson and Carol Landis are just a few of the many names from this state that would grace theater marquees around the world. Many years later, Marquette University would unleash the late, great Chris Farley on the entertainment world.
I would like to note another Wisconsinite who appeared in Knute Rockne, All American. His name is John Litel. He was born in Albany, Wisconsin and would become familiar to millions of movie goers in the 30's and 40's as part of the "Warner Bros. Stock Company". He would appear in over 200 films, usually playing cops, prison wardens and attorneys. A veteran of World War I, Litel was twice decorated for bravery while fighting as a volunteer in the French Army.

Gesu Church, Pat O'brien's boyhood church, is a Jesuit parish founded in 1849. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a Milwaukee Landmark in 1975.