Hugh O’Brian was born Hugh Charles Krampe on April 19, 1925, in Rochester, New York, to United States Marine Corps officer Hugh John Krampe and his wife, Edith. Hugh’s interests and talents were always myriad–from being a multisport athlete in football, basketball, wrestling, and track, to pursuing a career in law, to becoming the youngest drill instructor in Marine Corps history–Hugh was one of a kind.

Hugh O’Brian’s acting career began inadvertently in 1947 while he was attending a play. The leading actor fell ill and O’Brian agreed to take his place on stage. Inspired by great reviews, he decided to pursue a career on stage, which led to his first contract with Universal Studios. Hugh’s breakthrough came in 1955 when he was chosen to portray lawman Wyatt Earp in The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. O’Brian’s charisma and talent brought the lawman to life and sustained the show for seven consecutive years as one of the nation’s most-watched television programs.

At the peak of his acting career, Mr. O’Brian journeyed to Lambaréné, Gabon to spend nine days with Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize winner. Dr. Schweitzer instilled in Hugh a simple belief: “The most important thing in education is to teach young people to think for themselves.” Before Hugh left Africa, Dr. Schweitzer grabbed his hand and asked him about his experience: “What are you going to do with all of this?”

O’Brian returned to the United States resolved to put Dr. Schweitzer’s words into action. In 1958, he founded Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY). The format was simple: bring a group of high school sophomores with leadership potential together with a group of distinguished leaders in business, education, and government and let the two interact and grow together in a university environment. These young leaders got a realistic look at what it takes to positively impact a community, better enabling them “to think for themselves.”

Hugh O’Brian believed in the potential of every human being and was committed to helping young people of the world become major contributors to society. His legacy lives on today, with more than 500,000 HOBY alumni making a difference in the lives of others, thanks to the vision and passion of HOBY’s founder.