Actress-singer Joan O’Brien, who starred with Cary Grant and Tony Curtis in “Operation Petticoat” and was Elvis Presley’s love interest in “It Happened at the World’s Fair,” has died. She was 89.
O’Brien’s death was confirmed on May 14 by her daughter, Melissa, in a brief telephone call with The Hollywood Reporter. She declined to provide any details.
O’Brien also appeared alongside John Wayne as Sue Dickinson in The Alamo (1960) and as Melinda Marshall in The Comancheros (1961). During 1962, she appeared in four films: “It’s Only Money,” “Six Black Horses,” “We Joined the Navy” and “Samar.”
#RIP Joan O’Brien. A welcome sight in the 1950s and ’60s, the singer-actress stood out opposite Cary Grant in Blake Edwards’ ‘Operation Petticoat,’ @ElvisPresley in ‘It Happened at the World’s Fair’ and John Wayne in ‘The Alamo’ and ‘The Comancheros.’ https://t.co/ckBWM7VIhR
— Mike Barnes (@MikeBarnes4) May 15, 2025
O’Brien was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Feb. 14, 1936. Her parents moved the family to California while O’Brien was a child and enrolled her in dance classes.
After graduating from Chaffey High School in Ontario, California, O’Brien sang for four years on “The Bob Crosby Show.” She also played an opera singer during three episodes of “Bat Masterson” in 1959-60.
After making her film debut as the girlfriend of Dean Jones in the 1958 drama “Handle With Care,” O’Brien played the clumsy Lt. Dolores Crandall in 1959’s “Operation Petticoat,” a World War II comedy directed by Blake Edwards.
In 1963’s “It Happened at the World’s Fair,” O’Brien portrayed a nurse at the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle who attends to pilot Mike Edwards (Presley) after he suffered an injury. The couple wound up having dinner at the top of the Space Needle and fell in love.
On television, O’Brien landed roles on “The Alaskans,” “Bronco,” “Cheyenne,” “The Roaring 20’s,” “Surfside 6,” “Perry Mason,” “M Squad,” “Markham” “Wagon Train” and “The Virginian.”
After appearing on the television spy show “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” in 1964, O’Brien had a relationship with series star Robert Vaughn.
O’Brien was married to guitarist Billy Strange, NBC executive John Meyers, actor-dancer Harvey Allen and artist Dino Kotopoulis. All four ended in divorce.
She married Malcolm Bernard Campbell, a retired U.S. military officer, in 1979 and remained together until his death in 2004.
© 2025 Cox Media Group
Sign Up
