CineScope
William T. Orr picture

William T. Orr

Production
Known For

85 Years Old

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.

Born

New York City, New York, USA on 27th September 1917

Died

25th December 2002

All Credits

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This Is Your Life
Self
The Lucy Show Image
The Lucy Show
Mr. Frink
Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul Image
Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul
Self
The Mortal Storm Image
The Mortal Storm
Erich Von Rohn
The Big Street Image
The Big Street
Decatur Reed (as William Orr)
The Gay Sisters Image
The Gay Sisters
Dick Tone
The Hardys Ride High Image
The Hardys Ride High
Dick Bannersly
Brother Rat Image
Brother Rat
Member of the Guard
Thieves Fall Out Image
Thieves Fall Out
George Formsby
Navy Blues Image
Navy Blues
'Mac'
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1 Image
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
Self
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My Love Came Back
Paul Malette
Service with the Colors Image
Service with the Colors
Charles Corbin
Soldiers in White Image
Soldiers in White
Johnny Allison
No Image
Young America Flies
Jack
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Invitation to Happiness
Bellboy (uncredited)
Land and Live in the Desert Image
Land and Live in the Desert
Phil
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Honeymoon for Three
Arthur Westlake
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He Hired the Boss
Don Bates
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Those Good Old Days
Joe La Rue
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Unholy Partners
Tommy Jarvis
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Three Sons o' Guns
Kenneth Patterson
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Meet the Fleet
Kansas Potter
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P-47 Combat Operations
voice
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Three Cadets
Young Flier