# Orson Bean
**Orson Bean** (born Dallas Frederick Burrows; July 22, 1928 – February 7, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, and television personality known as a witty panelist on game shows such as *To Tell the Truth*, a frequent guest and substitute host on *The Tonight Show*, and a Tony-nominated Broadway performer who later became a mainstay of the small-theater scene in Venice, California[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004730/bio/) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/orson-bean).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | July 22, 1928, Burlington, Vermont; February 7, 2020, Venice, Los Angeles, struck by two cars while crossing Venice Boulevard[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004730/bio/) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-02-08/actor-comedian-orson-bean-91-hit-and-killed-by-car-in-la) |
| Birth name | Dallas Frederick Burrows; he took the stage name Orson as a tribute to Orson Welles, another actor fascinated with magic[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004730/bio/) • [4](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/TV-Stars-The-Complete-Directory-to-Prime-Time-1964-Present-B--221117.pdf) |
| Broadway career | Nine Broadway shows between 1953 and 1967; Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for *Subways Are for Sleeping* (1961)[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/198377/orson-bean-beloved-funny-man-of-broadway-late-night-television-dies-at-91/) • [6](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/orson-bean-31376) |
| Television presence | Panelist on *To Tell the Truth*, *I've Got a Secret*, *Match Game*, *Password*, and *What's My Line?*; over 200 appearances on *The Tonight Show*, 100 of them as substitute host[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/orson-bean) • [7](https://www.laphil.com/people/orson-bean) |
| Signature TV role | Loren Bray, the crotchety general-store owner on CBS's *Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman*, for six seasons[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/orson-bean) |
| Voice work | Bilbo Baggins in the NBC animated special *The Hobbit* (1977) and Frodo and Bilbo Baggins in *The Return of the King* (1980)[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/orson_bean) |
| Books | *Me and the Orgone*, *Too Much Is Not Enough*, and *25 Ways to Cook a Mouse*[7](https://www.laphil.com/people/orson-bean) |
## Early life and name
Bean was born Dallas Frederick Burrows in [Burlington, Vermont](https://www.edgepedia.org/burlington-vermont), to George Frederick Burrows, a policeman who later became chief of campus police at Harvard University, and the former Marion Ainsworth Pollard[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004730/bio/). Through his mother's family he was a first cousin, twice removed, of [Calvin Coolidge](https://www.edgepedia.org/calvin-coolidge), who was president at the time of his birth[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004730/bio/). His childhood was troubled; his mother died by suicide when he was 16[9](https://www.fandango.com/people/orson-bean-49040/biography). He graduated from [Boston Latin School](https://www.edgepedia.org/boston-latin-school) in 1946 and had worked as an amateur magician[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004730/bio/).
He adopted the stage name Orson as a tribute to [Orson Welles](https://www.edgepedia.org/orson-welles), another actor known for his fascination with magic[4](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/TV-Stars-The-Complete-Directory-to-Prime-Time-1964-Present-B--221117.pdf). After serving in [Japan during World War II](https://www.edgepedia.org/japan-during-world-war-ii), he began performing stand-up comedy in New York, and in 1952 he caught a break on an NBC weekly radio show as a comic master of ceremonies[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/198377/orson-bean-beloved-funny-man-of-broadway-late-night-television-dies-at-91/). His early club act combined comedy and magic; in a 1983 *New York Times* interview he recalled a typical bill as "me, master of ceremonies, comedian and magician, maybe a dog act, and a stripper"[10](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/orson-bean-longtime-actor-comedian-hit-killed-car-los-angeles/).
## Broadway years
Bean appeared in nine Broadway shows between 1953 and 1967[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/198377/orson-bean-beloved-funny-man-of-broadway-late-night-television-dies-at-91/). His debut came as Edgar Grassthal in Richard Condon's *Men of Distinction* (1953), a comedy that closed after three days; the same year he appeared in the musical revue *John Murray Anderson's Almanac*, opposite [Harry Belafonte](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-belafonte), and received a Theatre World Award for it in 1954[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/198377/orson-bean-beloved-funny-man-of-broadway-late-night-television-dies-at-91/) • [6](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/orson-bean-31376).
His role in George Axelrod's comedy *Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?* (1955) won him acclaim, and a string of musicals and comedies followed: *Nature's Way* (1957), *Subways Are for Sleeping* (1961), *Never Too Late* (1962), *I Was Dancing* (1964), *The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd* (1965), and *Illya Darling* (1967)[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/198377/orson-bean-beloved-funny-man-of-broadway-late-night-television-dies-at-91/). He received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for playing Charlie Smith in *Subways Are for Sleeping*[6](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/orson-bean-31376). *Never Too Late*, in which he starred with [Maureen O'Sullivan](https://www.edgepedia.org/maureen-osullivan), ran more than two years[10](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/orson-bean-longtime-actor-comedian-hit-killed-car-los-angeles/) • [6](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/orson-bean-31376).
## Television and film
Bean became a fixture of early television, with a crewcut, [Ivy League](https://www.edgepedia.org/ivy-league) manner, and dry New England accent that made him instantly recognizable[9](https://www.fandango.com/people/orson-bean-49040/biography). He was a panelist on *I've Got a Secret* and later *To Tell the Truth*, both on CBS, and appeared on *What's My Line?*, *Match Game*, and *Password*[9](https://www.fandango.com/people/orson-bean-49040/biography) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/orson-bean). He was a favorite of [Johnny Carson](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-carson), appearing on *The Tonight Show* as a guest and guest host over 200 times, 100 of them as substitute host[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/orson-bean) • [7](https://www.laphil.com/people/orson-bean). He also acted in live television dramas of the 1950s and early 1960s and appeared in anthology programs including *Playhouse 90*, *Studio One*, and *The Kraft Television Theater*[4](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/TV-Stars-The-Complete-Directory-to-Prime-Time-1964-Present-B--221117.pdf) • [9](https://www.fandango.com/people/orson-bean-49040/biography).
**Blacklisting and a detour.** His television career dried up after he was blacklisted in the 1950s; he attributed it to having attended a couple of Communist Party meetings to accompany a woman he wanted to date[11](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-orson-bean-2050-story.html) • [12](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-02-08/orson-bean-dies-appreciation). In the 1970s he largely dropped out, moving to Australia and living what CBS described as a hippie lifestyle[10](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/orson-bean-longtime-actor-comedian-hit-killed-car-los-angeles/).
His feature film credits were comparatively few. They included Dr. Smith in [Otto Preminger](https://www.edgepedia.org/otto-preminger)'s *Anatomy of a Murder* (1959), Lydia's editor in *Innerspace* (1987), and a role in *Being John Malkovich* (1999) opposite [Cameron Diaz](https://www.edgepedia.org/cameron-diaz) and [John Cusack](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-cusack)[9](https://www.fandango.com/people/orson-bean-49040/biography) • [7](https://www.laphil.com/people/orson-bean). He voiced Bilbo Baggins in the 1977 animated *The Hobbit* and both Frodo and Bilbo Baggins in the 1980 *The Return of the King*[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/orson_bean).
**Later television.** In 1993 he took his longest television role, the cynical frontier storekeeper Loren Bray on CBS's *Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman*, remaining with the series for six seasons[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/orson-bean) • [11](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-orson-bean-2050-story.html). He later recurred as a love interest, Roy Bender, in *Desperate Housewives* and guest-starred on series including *The Twilight Zone*, *The Love Boat*, *Ally McBeal*, *Will & Grace*, *Two and a Half Men*, *Modern Family*, *How I Met Your Mother*, and *Grace and Frankie*[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/orson-bean) • [13](https://www.metacritic.com/person/orson-bean/).
## Venice theater and writing
Bean moved to Venice, California, in 1983 and founded the Pacific Resident Theatre there, where he and his wife, the actress [Alley Mills](https://www.edgepedia.org/alley-mills), remained company members, acting, producing, and writing shows until his death[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/198377/orson-bean-beloved-funny-man-of-broadway-late-night-television-dies-at-91/). He regarded his television work as the day job that financed his theater habit, telling the *Los Angeles Times* in 1997 that he would "rather do theater for nothing than get paid to do my TV show"[11](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-orson-bean-2050-story.html). He passed up a lucrative *MacGyver* appearance to work on [Dario Fo](https://www.edgepedia.org/dario-fo)'s *Accidental Death of an Anarchist* at the Odyssey Theatre[11](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-orson-bean-2050-story.html). Well into his 80s he starred in Steven Drukman's *Death of the Author* at the Geffen Playhouse in 2014 and headlined his solo show *Safe at Home: An Evening With Orson Bean* at the Pacific Resident Theatre in 2016[11](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-orson-bean-2050-story.html).
He published three books: *Me and the Orgone*, about his experience with Reichian therapy, the psychotherapy of [Wilhelm Reich](https://www.edgepedia.org/wilhelm-reich) that he also discussed on talk shows; the autobiography *Too Much Is Not Enough*; and the satirical *25 Ways to Cook a Mouse*[7](https://www.laphil.com/people/orson-bean) • [11](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-orson-bean-2050-story.html).
## Death
On the evening of February 7, 2020, Bean was struck by two cars while crossing Venice Boulevard near the Pacific Resident Theatre, outside a marked crosswalk, on his way to see a production of Arthur Miller's *All My Sons*, in which Mills was volunteering as an usher[3](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-02-08/actor-comedian-orson-bean-91-hit-and-killed-by-car-in-la). Police said a westbound Honda Civic struck him first and a Toyota Prius hit him a second time; both drivers remained on the scene, and he was pronounced dead at the scene at age 91[3](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-02-08/actor-comedian-orson-bean-91-hit-and-killed-by-car-in-la) • [10](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/orson-bean-longtime-actor-comedian-hit-killed-car-los-angeles/).
## References
1. [Orson Bean Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004730/bio/)
2. [Orson Bean, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/orson-bean)
3. [Actor-comedian Orson Bean is killed when struck by two cars on Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-02-08/actor-comedian-orson-bean-91-hit-and-killed-by-car-in-la)
4. [The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, entry on Orson Bean, WorldRadioHistory](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/TV-Stars-The-Complete-Directory-to-Prime-Time-1964-Present-B--221117.pdf)
5. [Orson Bean, Beloved Funny Man of Broadway & Late-Night Television, Dies at 91, Broadway.com](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/198377/orson-bean-beloved-funny-man-of-broadway-late-night-television-dies-at-91/)
6. [Orson Bean, Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/orson-bean-31376)
7. [Orson Bean, LA Phil](https://www.laphil.com/people/orson-bean)
8. [Orson Bean, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/orson_bean)
9. [Orson Bean Biography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/orson-bean-49040/biography)
10. [Orson Bean, longtime actor and comedian, hit and killed by car in Los Angeles, CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/orson-bean-longtime-actor-comedian-hit-killed-car-los-angeles/)
11. [Actor Orson Bean, the local theater mainstay who rose to fame as a 1950s TV personality, dies, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-orson-bean-2050-story.html)
12. [Appreciation: Orson Bean's emails to this critic reveal the chatty charm that made him so beloved, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-02-08/orson-bean-dies-appreciation)
13. [Orson Bean, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/orson-bean/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames A to Bo*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license