Known For
Production
Born
Sep 27, 1917
Died
Dec 25, 2002
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Credits
50 titles
William T. Orr
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.
Known For
Filmography
Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul
Self
Television
Hank
Producer
Mister Roberts
Producer
F Troop
Executive Producer
Sex and the Single Girl
Producer
Wendy and Me
Producer
No Time for Sergeants
Producer
The Dakotas
Producer
The Gallant Men
Producer
The Lucy Show
Mr. Frink
Room for One More
Producer
The Roaring 20's
Producer
Surfside 6
Producer
Hawaiian Eye
Producer
Bourbon Street Beat
Producer
The Alaskans
Producer
77 Sunset Strip
Producer
Lawman
Producer
Bronco
Producer
Maverick
Producer
Sugarfoot
Producer
Conflict
Producer
The Deadly Riddle
Executive Producer
Casablanca
Producer
Cheyenne
Producer
Kings Row
Producer
This Is Your Life
Self
P-47 Combat Operations
voice
Land and Live in the Desert
Phil
He Hired the Boss
Don Bates
Three Cadets
Young Flier
The Big Street
Decatur Reed
The Gay Sisters
Dick Tone
Soldiers in White
Johnny Allison
Unholy Partners
Tommy Jarvis
Navy Blues
'Mac'
Those Good Old Days
Joe La Rue
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
Self
Three Sons o' Guns
Kenneth Patterson
Thieves Fall Out
George Formsby
Honeymoon for Three
Arthur Westlake
Meet the Fleet
Kansas Potter
Service with the Colors
Charles Corbin
My Love Came Back
Paul Malette
Young America Flies
Jack
The Mortal Storm
Erich Von Rohn
Invitation to Happiness
Bellboy (uncredited)
The Hardys Ride High
Dick Bannersly
Brother Rat
Member of the Guard