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Orson Bean

About this Artist

The career of veteran actor ORSON BEAN spans over five decades, from the Golden Age of Television in the ’50s (Playhouse 90, The Twilight Zone) to a six-season run on Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman in the ’90s. In addition to being an actor and award-winning director, he is an acclaimed storyteller and raconteur who sat on the panel of the game show To Tell the Truth for seven years and guested on The Tonight Show over 200 times (100 of them as substitute host).

He starred on Broadway for 20 years, enjoying a two-year run in Never Too Late and long runs in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter and in a number of musicals including Subways Are for Sleeping, for which he received a Tony Award nomination.

His numerous feature film credits include The Anatomy of a Murder, Forty Deuce, and Innerspace. Bean has also appeared in many films for television including Maxwell Anderson’s classic The Star Wagon and an all-star adaption of Arsenic and Old Lace. In addition, he lent his voice talents to the animated films The Hobbit and Return of the King. His most recent film job was a leading role in Being John Malkovich, opposite Cameron Diaz and John Cusack.

A successful author, he has had three books published: Me and the Orgone, which recounted his experience in Reichian therapy, Too Much is Not Enough, an autobiography, and the satirical 25 Ways to Cook a Mouse. A native of Burlington, Vermont (and second cousin to Calvin Coolidge), he survived the industry blacklist of the 1950s. He currently lives in Venice, California with his wife, the actress Alley Mills (The Wonder Years).