William T. Orr
Known For
Production
Born
1917-09-27 in New York City, New York, USA
Died
2002-12-25
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William T. Orr (September 27, 1917 – December 25, 2002) was an American television producer associated with a series of western and detective programs of the 1950s-1970s. On most of his Warner Bros. series, he was billed as "Wm. T. Orr". Orr began his career as an actor; his film credits include The Mortal Storm, The Gay Sisters, and The Big Street. As the first head of Warner Bros. Television department, Orr forged a fruitful alliance with ABC, which resulted in the network having a number of prime time hits, such as Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, and F Troop. At the height of this relationship in the early 1960s, Orr had nine programs in prime time simultaneously. Of these, no program was more significant than one of his earliest, Cheyenne. It was a groundbreaking series that was both the first hour-long western and the first series of any kind made by a major Hollywood film studio consisting entirely of content wholly exclusive to television. A curator at The Paley Center for Media (previously named The Museum of Television and Radio) once encapsulated Orr's importance to Warner Bros. by saying, "Television began as a step-child. But because of Orr, it became equal with film in creating revenue and jobs for the studio." One of the key reforms he made to effect this change was to move Warner's nascent television department from cramped quarters in New York City to Los Angeles studios separate from the film division. His impact on the genre of western fiction was recognized with a Golden Boot Award upon the announcement of his death.
Most Known For
The Lucy Show
as Mr. Frink
This Is Your Life
as Self
The Big Street
as Decatur Reed (As William Orr)
The Mortal Storm
as Erich Von Rohn
The Gay Sisters
as Dick Tone
Honeymoon for Three
as Arthur Westlake
Unholy Partners
as Tommy Jarvis
Brother Rat
as Member of the Guard
Invitation to Happiness
as Bellboy (uncredited)
Three Cadets
as Young Flier
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
as Self
My Love Came Back
as Paul Malette
Navy Blues
as 'Mac'
The Hardys Ride High
as Dick Bannersly
Soldiers in White
as Johnny Allison
Land and Live in the Desert
as Phil
Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul
as Self
He Hired the Boss
as Don Bates
Three Sons o' Guns
as Kenneth Patterson
Meet the Fleet
as Kansas Potter