Orson Bean
Biography
Orson Bean was an American actor and comedian whose career spanned film, television, and theater. Born in Burlington, Vermont, he performed as a stage magician in small venues before turning to stand-up comedy in the early 1950s. He became a regular television panelist on game shows such as To Tell the Truth and a frequent guest on talk and variety programs. On Broadway, he appeared in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and Subways Are for Sleeping, and he was nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for the latter. He also produced the Off-Off-Broadway musical Home Movies, which won an Obie Award. He voiced Bilbo and Frodo Baggins in the animated films The Hobbit (1977) and The Return of the King (1980). Later screen roles included Dr. Lester in Being John Malkovich (1999), Innerspace (1987), and The Equalizer 2 (2018). He also appeared on television series including Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and Desperate Housewives. He died in 2020.
91years old at death
- Born Burlington
- Died Venice
- Star sign: CancerLast day of the sign, on the Leo cusp
- Dallas Frederick Burrows (birth name)
Movie Career
- Films
- 10
- Career span
- 62 years1959 to 2021
Genres
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About the name
Orson Bean got his stage name at a Boston nightclub where a piano player named Val suggested silly names before each set; the audience laughed so hard at "Orson Bean" that a booking agent hired him that same night.
A first
In 1952, Orson Bean hosted NBC Radio's revived hot-jazz series The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street as "Dr. Orson Bean," a stuffy professor of music who was actually only 23 years old.
Beyond film
For MGM's 1966 concept album of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Bean supplied both the voice and the singing of Charlie Brown. He also took a starring part in Illya Darling, a 1967 musical adapted from Never on Sunday.
Behind the camera
Orson Bean was a chief creator and a mainstay of The Pacific Resident Theatre, which is located in Venice, California.
Orson Bean movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass directed two of these films together. Six actors appear in two of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Dick Miller's page
Paul Frees's page
John Huston's page
John Stephenson's page
Brother Theodore's page
Glenn Yarbrough's page
Arthur Rankin Jr.Director, 2 films, 1977 to 1980
All films by Arthur Rankin Jr.
Jules BassDirector, 2 films, 1977 to 1980
All films by Jules Bass
Awards
Three awards and honors from 1954 to 1970.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| 1970 | Amateur Cartoonist Extraordinary Award | Won | |
| 1964 | Obie Award | Home Movies | Won |
| 1954 | Theatre World Award | Won | |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.