Orson Bean, B&B Guest Star, Husband of Alley Mills, Dead at 91
Bold and Beautiful guest star’s impressive acting career dates back to the 1950s.
Actor Orson Bean, who guest-starred on Bold and Beautiful as Howard, has died tragically after being struck and killed by two vehicles while trying to cross the street in Venice, California, according to a report by ABC News. Soaps.com learned that Bean died the night of Friday February 7 in a collision that occurred in front of the Pacific Resident Theatre, where both he and wife Alley Mills, Bold and Beautiful’s Pam Douglas, were both company members. Mills was working in the theatre at the time. Bean was reportedly clipped by a vehicle, fell down, then hit fatally by a second vehicle, whose driver was distracted by onlookers trying to slow him down. Bold and Beautiful writer Michele Val Jean was one of the first to share the news on Twitter.
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Orson Bean was born in Burlington, Vermont in 1928 as Dallas Frederick Burrows. His parents were George Burrows, a policeman, and Marian Pollard. As a youngster, he enjoyed performing magic, and later graduated from Boston’s Latin School in 1946, after which he did a stint in the U.S. military in occupied Japan. The actor has been married three times, to Rain Winslow in 1956, Carolyn Maxwell in 1965, and to his present wife, Alley Mills in 1993. He has four children, Susannah, Michele, Ezekiel, and Max.
After returning from the war, Dallas Burrows took the stage name ‘Orson’, inspired by Orson Welles, and hit the comedy circuit. By 1954 he had launched his acting career and made his first Broadway appearance in Stalag 17. He hit his stride on Broadway in the 1960s, and was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in Subways Are for Sleeping, which was followed by Never Too Late. Though he was blacklisted in Hollywood during the 1950s, Bean went on to assemble a list of film and television credits featuring over 100 appearances. He was on quiz shows, game shows and talk shows, and became known for his roles in movies such as Miracle on 34th Street and Being John Malcovich, and television series including Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Normal, Ohio, and more recently, Desperate Housewives. His last guest roles were in Superstore and Grace and Frankie. Bean played Howard on Bold and Beautiful in 2016. He also played Harrison Logan on One Life to Live in 1982.
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Bean is survived by his wife, Alley Mills, and his four children.
Soaps.com extends deepest condolences to Mills and the loved ones and former colleagues of Orson Bean. Please view the gallery to remember other soap opera actors we’ve lost this year.
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