William T. Orr

Personal Info

Known For

Production

Known Credits

25

Gender

Male

Birthday

1917-09-27

Day of death

2002-12-25 (85 years old)

Place of Birth

New York City, New York, USA

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

  • The Lucy Show

    The Lucy Show

  • This Is Your Life

    This Is Your Life

  • Service with the Colors

    Service with the Colors

  • Invitation to Happiness

    Invitation to Happiness

  • Unholy Partners

    Unholy Partners

  • The Mortal Storm

    The Mortal Storm

  • Brother Rat

    Brother Rat

  • Navy Blues

    Navy Blues

  • The Big Street

    The Big Street

  • Three Cadets

    Three Cadets

  • The Hardys Ride High

    The Hardys Ride High

  • My Love Came Back

    My Love Came Back

  • The Gay Sisters

    The Gay Sisters

  • Thieves Fall Out

    Thieves Fall Out

  • Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1

    Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1

  • Honeymoon for Three

    Honeymoon for Three

  • He Hired the Boss

    He Hired the Boss

  • Those Good Old Days

    Those Good Old Days

  • Land and Live in the Desert

    Land and Live in the Desert

  • Young America Flies

    Young America Flies

  • Soldiers in White

    Soldiers in White

  • Three Sons o' Guns

    Three Sons o' Guns

  • Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul

    Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul

  • Meet the Fleet

    Meet the Fleet

  • P-47 Combat Operations

    P-47 Combat Operations