William T. Orr

Personal Info

Known For Production

Known Credits 48

Gender Male

Birthday September 27, 1917

Day of Death December 25, 2002 (85 years old)

Place of Birth New York City, New York, USA

Also Known As

  • William Ferdinand Quinn Jr.
  • William Turney Orr
  • Wm. T. Orr
  • William Orr
  • Bill Orr

Content Score 

100

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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.

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.

Production

1965
1965
1965
1964
1964
1964
1963
1962
1962
1960
1960
1959
1959
1959
1958
1958
1958
1957
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1955
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1955

Acting

1993
1962
1952
1945
1945
1943
1943
1942
1942
1942
1941
1941
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1941
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