William T. Orr
William T. Orr
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 Production
Most Rating 5.614
Birthday 1917-09-27
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,
The Mortal Storm
1940

The Mortal Storm

Unholy Partners
1941

Unholy Partners

The Big Street
1942

The Big Street

Navy Blues
1941

Navy Blues

Meet the Fleet
1940

Meet the Fleet

Brother Rat
1938

Brother Rat

Honeymoon for Three
1941

Honeymoon for Three

Three Sons o' Guns
1941

Three Sons o' Guns

The Hardys Ride High
1939

The Hardys Ride High

Invitation to Happiness
1939

Invitation to Happiness

Service with the Colors
1940

Service with the Colors

He Hired the Boss
1943

He Hired the Boss

The Gay Sisters
1942

The Gay Sisters

My Love Came Back
1940

My Love Came Back

Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul
1993

Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul

Soldiers in White
1942

Soldiers in White

Those Good Old Days
1941

Those Good Old Days

Young America Flies
1940

Young America Flies

Thieves Fall Out
1941

Thieves Fall Out

Three Cadets
1943

Three Cadets

Land and Live in the Desert
1945

Land and Live in the Desert

P-47 Combat Operations
1945

P-47 Combat Operations

Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
1941

Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1