Thomas alan orr biography of william

American actor

For other people named William Orr, see William Orr (disambiguation).

William T. Orr (born William Ferdinand Quinn Jr.; September 27, 1917 – December 25, 2002) was an American actor and television producer associated with various Western and detective programs of the 1950s-1970s. In most of his Warner Bros. series, he was billed as "Wm. T. Orr." Orr began his career as an actor; his film credits included The Mortal Storm, The Gay Sisters, and The Big Street.

Early years

Orr was the son of William Ferdinand Quinn, a stockbroker and alderman, and Gladys Quinn (née Turney), an actress, formerly Herrmann, later Orr, later Hall. The Quinns divorced in 1923. Gladys later married two more times, including to Morrison Boal Orr, "heir to the Orr Felt & Blanket Company fortune". After the marriage, the son became known as William Turney Orr. He had a half-sister, Maury, who later worked as a TV director.

Orr was educated at the Coburn School in Miami, Rumsey Hall School, and Phillips Exeter Academy. In 1934, he was elected as a member of the Christian Fraternity Cabinet, "a board of twelve students prominent in school activities" at Phillips Exeter". When he was 18, he moved with his half-sister and his divorced mother to Los Angeles. He worked as a model, studied acting with Ben Bard, and performed in some plays. An agent arranged a screen test for Orr, but it was unsuccessful.

Acting career

Orr imitated celebrities in Bard's revue, Hit Parade, (1938) and acted in George and Margaret at the Little Theatre for Professionals of Beverly Hills. He appeared in another revue, Meet the People, in Los Angeles, and portrayed a romantic interest of Ann Rutherford's character in The Hardys Ride High (1939).

Warner Bros. signed Orr to a $300-per-week contract

When William Thomas Orr was born on 24 August 1871, in Weakley, Tennessee, United States, his father, George Addison Orr, was 48 and his mother, Malinda C. Williams, was 45. He had at least 1 son with Almeda Nichols. He lived in Sharon, Weakley, Tennessee, United States in 1920 and Greenfield, Weakley, Tennessee, United States for about 16 years. He died on 21 January 1946, in Weakley, Tennessee, United States, at the age of 74, and was buried in Greenfield, Weakley, Tennessee, United States.

When William Thomas Orr was born on 18 July 1889, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, his father, William Charles Orr, was 30 and his mother, Elizabeth McCurdy, was 25. He married Mattie Martha Rau in 1909. They were the parents of at least 1 son. He lived in Darby Borough, Delaware, Pennsylvania, United States in 1910. He died on 12 June 1949, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the age of 59, and was buried in Old Calvary Cemetery, Somerset, Pennsylvania, United States.

William Orr worked as a blacksmith at Monticello from 1781 until 1783. It is not known where Orr lived on the Monticello plantation, but his forge was probably at the blacksmith’s shop at the foot of Monticello mountain near the Shadwell ford on the Rivanna River. When Orr arrived as a deserter of the British army, Jefferson agreed to pay him an annual wage of £3; Orr purchased items such as shoes, clothes, and gallons of whiskey through Jefferson. A bachelor, Orr was described as often “drinkin’ and singin’” with joiner and fellow army deserter David Watson. Orr worked with enslaved smith George Granger, Jr., and probably gave him some additional training. He carried out skilled metalwork at the plantation, including a phaeton designed by Jefferson, and presumably also made horseshoes and ironwork for Monticello I (1769–83), and repaired farm equipment.

Read more about William Orr in the Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia »