Obituaries

William R. 'Obie' O'BrienBartender, Patent Editor

William R. "Obie" O'Brien, 73, a bartender who once co-owned the popular watering hole Tammany Hall and who spent the past 19 years as a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent editor, died July 18 at his home in Arlington County after a heart attack.

Mr. O'Brien was a Washington area bartender from the 1950s to late 1980s, and his employers included the Georgetown establishments Clyde's and Nathan's.

In the early 1970s, he was an owner of Tammany Hall on Pennsylvania Avenue several blocks from the White House. The bar gained a reputation as a favorite hangout of what The Washington Post called "reporters, federal agents, street freaks, students and professional bar stars."

In the last category fell singer and composer Bill Danoff and his then-partner, Taffy Nivert, who performed under the name Fat City and later became part of the Starland Vocal Band.

William Robert O'Brien was born in Astoria, N.Y., and served in the Marine Corps in the Mediterranean during the Korean War.

He began his bartending career in New York and developed an effective technique for handling incoherent heavy drinkers who entered the bar.

"When a guy came into my joint looking like he was carrying a heavy load, I would give him double talk, and eventually he would agree with the gibberish I was pouring out and leave," he told The Washington Post.

His marriage to Gabriele Borm O'Brien ended in divorce.

Survivors include three daughters, Molly O'Brien of Baltimore, Victoria Scott of Bethesda and Kate O'Brien of Takoma Park; two sisters; and two grandchildren.

-- Adam Bernstein