Who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor at the 27th Academy Awards?

"On the Waterfront" (1954) received twelve Academy Awards nominations in ten categories and won in eight of the categories. It won key Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), Best Supporting Actress (Eve Saint Marie) and Best Director (Elia Kazan). This picture however did not win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The three actors: Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb, and Karl Malden each gave an exceptional performance. The three failed to win. The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor went to Edmond O'Brien for his supporting role in "The Barefoot Contessa" (1954).

Oscar-winner Edmond O'Brien was very well respected as a character actor. His professional career covered the mid-1940s through the late 1960s. Born in September 1915, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, O'Brien lived for 69 years. He died in May 1985 in Inglewood, California. He learned how to perform before a group of people by being a magician; he was tutored by Harry Houdini. In high school, he participated in student acting programs. At Fordham University, he majored in drama. He dropped out after 6 months.

O'Brien made his Broadway debut at the age of 21 in 1936. Later that year, he was 'The Gravedigger' in John Gielgud's legendary production of "Hamlet". Four years later, he played 'Mercutio' to the 'Romeo' in another Shakespearean play. It was Laurence Olivier's 1940 Broadway production of "Romeo & Juliet".

O'Brien film career as an actor had him appearing in at least 12 major films.