About

Known credits:
47
Birthday:
1917-09-27
Place of birth:
New York City, New York, USA
Website:
N/A

William T. Orr

Overview

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.

Known for

Acting
2023 Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul Actor N/A
N/A
1993 Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul Actor Himself 59
Average
1945 P-47 Combat Operations Actor voice N/A
N/A
1945 Land and Live in the Desert Actor Phil N/A
N/A
1943 He Hired the Boss Actor Don Bates 58
Average
1943 Three Cadets Actor Young Flier N/A
N/A
1942 The Big Street Actor Decatur Reed (as William Orr) 58
Average
1942 The Gay Sisters Actor Dick Tone 59
Average
1942 Soldiers in White Actor Johnny Allison 58
Average
1941 Unholy Partners Actor Tommy Jarvis 59
Average
1941 Navy Blues Actor 'Mac' 58
Average
1941 Those Good Old Days Actor Joe La Rue N/A
N/A
1941 Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1 Actor Self N/A
N/A
1941 Three Sons o' Guns Actor Kenneth Patterson 59
Average
1941 Thieves Fall Out Actor George Formsby 59
Average
1941 Honeymoon for Three Actor Arthur Westlake 58
Average
1940 Meet the Fleet Actor Kansas Potter 59
Average
1940 Service with the Colors Actor Charles Corbin 58
Average
1940 Young America Flies Actor Jack N/A
N/A
1940 My Love Came Back Actor Paul Malette 58
Average
1940 The Mortal Storm Actor Erich Von Rohn 60
Fair
1939 Invitation to Happiness Actor Bellboy (uncredited) N/A
N/A
1939 The Hardys Ride High Actor Dick Bannersly 58
Average
1938 Brother Rat Actor Member of the Guard 59
Average

Production
1965 Hank Production Producer 68
Fair
1965 Mister Roberts Production Producer 70
Good
1965 F Troop Production Executive Producer 67
Fair
1964 Sex and the Single Girl Production Producer 59
Average
1964 Wendy and Me Production Producer N/A
N/A
1964 No Time for Sergeants Production Producer 69
Fair
1963 The Dakotas Production Producer 69
Fair
1962 The Gallant Men Production Producer 69
Fair
1962 Room for One More Production Producer N/A
N/A
1960 The Roaring 20's Production Producer N/A
N/A
1960 Surfside 6 Production Producer 69
Fair
1959 Hawaiian Eye Production Producer 67
Fair
1959 Bourbon Street Beat Production Producer 69
Fair
1959 The Alaskans Production Producer 69
Fair
1958 77 Sunset Strip Production Producer 68
Fair
1958 Lawman Production Producer 67
Fair
1958 Bronco Production Producer 68
Fair
1957 Maverick Production Producer 68
Fair
1957 Sugarfoot Production Producer 67
Fair
1956 Conflict Production Producer N/A
N/A
1955 Casablanca Production Producer N/A
N/A
1955 Cheyenne Production Producer 66
Fair
1955 Kings Row Production Producer N/A
N/A