Danny O’Neil, 81, a Chicago entertainer and Irish tenor in the 1940s and ’50s who produced three gold records and appeared in seven television shows and on more than a dozen network radio programs, died of heart failure Monday, May 20, in an Indianapolis rehabilitation center. Mr. O’Neil was 7 when he started singing on a local radio station in Alabama. He attended college briefly before enlisting in the U.S. Navy, where he performed with the military choir. He was discharged after he was knocked overboard while stationed in Pearl Harbor, breaking his back. Following his recovery from partial paralysis, he performed in nightclubs and on radio shows in Chicago, Las Vegas and New York. He settled in Oak Park and was starring in the television variety series “The Danny O’Neil Show” when he hired and fell in love with the station’s weather girl, Pati Geraghty. They married in 1953 and later starred together on the radio talk program “The Pati and Danny O’Neil Show.” He earned television fame from programs such as the made-for-TV musical “Paradise Island”; the instructional golf program “Pars, Birdies, and Eagles”; and for guest appearances on Art Linkletter’s “House Party.” In addition to singing, Mr. O’Neil produced 74 singles, five albums and was best known in Chicago for his rendition of “Danny Boy.” He devoted his career to marketing, particularly of golf. Mr. O’Neil’s wife died in 1994, and his son William died in 1985. Survivors include three daughters, Katie O’Neil, Danna Frazier, and Patricia O’Neil; a son, Thomas; 10 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. June 1, in the House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn St., Chicago.
