Person
William T. Orr
New York City, New York, USA
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 detectiv…
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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.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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1993
Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul
Movie Self
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1985
Television
TV show
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1973
Wicked, Wicked
Movie Executive Producer
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1965
Hank
TV show Producer
-
1965
Mister Roberts
TV show Producer
-
1965
F Troop
TV show Executive Producer
-
1964
Sex and the Single Girl
Movie Producer
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1964
Wendy and Me
TV show Producer
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1964
No Time for Sergeants
TV show Producer
-
1963
The Dakotas
TV show Producer
-
1962
The Gallant Men
TV show Producer
-
1962
The Lucy Show
TV show Mr. Frink
-
1962
Room for One More
TV show Producer
-
1960
The Roaring 20's
TV show Producer
-
1960
Surfside 6
TV show Producer
-
1959
Hawaiian Eye
TV show Producer
More credits
-
1959
Bourbon Street Beat
TV show Producer
-
1959
The Alaskans
TV show Producer
-
1958
77 Sunset Strip
TV show Producer
-
1958
Lawman
TV show Producer
-
1958
Bronco
TV show Producer
-
1957
Maverick
TV show Producer
-
1957
Sugarfoot
TV show Producer
-
1956
Conflict
TV show Producer
-
1956
The Deadly Riddle
Movie Executive Producer
-
1955
Casablanca
TV show Producer
-
1955
Cheyenne
TV show Producer
-
1955
Kings Row
TV show Producer
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1952
This Is Your Life
TV show Self
-
1945
P-47 Combat Operations
Movie voice
-
1945
Land and Live in the Desert
Movie Phil
-
1943
He Hired the Boss
Movie Don Bates
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1943
Three Cadets
Movie Young Flier
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1942
The Big Street
Movie Decatur Reed
-
1942
The Gay Sisters
Movie Dick Tone
-
1942
Soldiers in White
Movie Johnny Allison
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1941
Unholy Partners
Movie Tommy Jarvis
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1941
Navy Blues
Movie 'Mac'
-
1941
Those Good Old Days
Movie Joe La Rue
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1941
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
Movie Self
