Denis O'Brien is an American attorney, and former business manager of George Harrison of The Beatles. O'Brien grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Ruth O'Brien and Albert James O'Brien. Albert was Vice Chairman of the Board at Ralston Purina and was also Chairman of the Board of Union Bank of Illinois, Union Illinois Company, and the State Bank of Jerseyville, Illinois, a bank that he gained control of in 1974. O'Brien became President and CEO of the bank in 1997, but was ousted two years later by the bank's board "after his business strategy proved too aggressive for the board of directors". O'Brien attended Northwestern University and earned a JD from Washington University in St. Louis. He lived in Paris from 1968 through 1970, where he worked for the prestigious law firm Coudert Frères/Coudert Brothers. He then moved to London for a position with the Rothschild banking group. His two daughters by his first wife, Kristen and Laura O'Brien, were born in London. O'Brien was introduced to Harrison by Peter Sellers, one of the financial clients O'Brien successfully helped by turning around his flailing career in 1974 when Sellers signed on to make The Return of the Pink Panther. O'Brien helped the former Beatle sort out his mounting tax issues after becoming his manager in 1973. Harrison and O'Brien founded the film production company HandMade Films in 1978 to finance the completion of Monty Python'sLife of Brian after EMI Films, the original backers, pulled out at the last moment. O'Brien ran Handmade Films, as well as acting as executive producer for Life of Brian, and later productions such as The Long Good Friday, Time Bandits, The Missionary, Mona Lisa, Withnail and I and Nuns on the Run. The company ceased operations in 1991 and was sold three years later to Paragon Entertainment, a Canadian corporation. Harrison brought a lawsuit against O'Brien in Los Angeles in January 1995, claiming O'Brien had deprived him of £16 million over a 12-year period. O'Brien was instructed to pay Harrison £6.7 million in damages. O'Brien filed for bankruptcy, while an ailing Harrison sued O'Brien in bankruptcy court without success after the case was thrown out in multiple states. Finally, the judge dismissed the case because Harrison failed to appear for a deposition. O'Brien currently resides in the United Kingdom.
