During the 1940s, movie stuntman and actor Dave O'Brien became the primary actor of "Pete Smith Specialties". The hapless O'Brien would personify everyday nuisances: dealing with pests at the movies, demonstrating pet peeves, tackling hazardous home-improvement projects, and other problems with which the audience could identify. O'Brien's scenes were silent, compelling O'Brien to express his satisfaction or frustration entirely in visual terms as narrator Smith offered commentary. O'Brien knew the format so well that he also directed many of the short movies, using the name "David Barclay." He staged many of the sight gags himself, taking stupendous pratfalls for the camera.