Trivia

Blacklisted temporarily by the Hollywood movie studios in the 1950s due to the evil machinations of Joe McCarthy's Un-American House Activities Committee (UHAC).

Founding member of 'Sons of the Desert', a national organization dedicated to the memory and films of comedy team Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

At age 91, was fatally injured as a pedestrian in an accident involving two vehicles in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles.

On one To Tell the Truth (1956) episode in 1965, the panel was to try to guess which of three contestants was the police chief of Harvard University. The happily stunned Bean disqualified himself from the questioning as it was his own father.

First cousin, twice removed, of Calvin Coolidge, through the President's maternal grandparents Hiram Dunlap Moor and Abigail Pinney Franklin.

Though blacklisted for his outspoken liberal views in the early 1950s, he had become an ardent supporter of Richard Nixon during the 1968 Presidential election year. Nixon had been a notorious "Red-Baiter" in the 1940s and 1950s.

His father George Burrows was the chief of campus police at Harvard University.

Bean made more than 200 appearances on "The Tonight Show" during the Johnny Carson era - including more than 100 stints as guest host - and more than 60 sit-downs on "The Merv Griffin Show.".

Bean made frequent guest appearances on "The Tonight Show" (with both Jack Paar and Johnny Carson).

Son of Marion Ainsworth (Pollard) and George Frederick Burrows, a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). His father was born in Somerville, Middlesex, Massachusetts, to an Irish father and a Scottish mother. His mother was born in Weathersfield, Windsor, Vermont, and was of Colonial American (English) descent, with deep roots in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont.

Was nominated for Broadway's 1962 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Musical) for "Subways Are for Sleeping."

Was the founder of the arts-oriented 15th Street School of New York.

Orson was cremated at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. His ashes were sprinkled into the Pacific Ocean.

Frequent contributor to "Big Hollywood", which was the original blog created by his late son-in-law, Andrew Breitbart. "Big Hollywood" has become one of many subsections of Breitbart.com.

When he first started he got a job as the opening act at a club. He was using his real name - Dallas Burrows. Each night he came out on stage and said "Hi I'm Dallas Burrows - Harvard 48" then after a pause "Yale 0." Each night the joke fell flat. The piano player told him that the problem wasn't the joke, it was his name, and that he needed a funny name. So he tried different names each night (including Roger Duck). One night he said "Hi, I'm Orson Bean Harvard 48" and the crowd roared. He used Orson Bean from then on.

Has four children; Michelle, Max, Susannah, and Ezekiel.

Father-in-law of Andrew Breitbart, who was married to Susannah Bean ("Susie").

His father was one of the founding members of the ACLU.

In The Return of the King (1980), Bean voiced both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Sir Ian Holm plays Bilbo, but has also played Frodo in the BBC radio version. So Bean and Holm have both played both parts.

Graduated from Cambridge High & Latin School with fellow classmate Peggy Cass.

His paternal grandfather was born in Ireland and his paternal grandmother was born in Scotland.

He studied drama at HB Studios in Greenwich Village in New York City.

Co-founder of the non-profit actors collective Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice, California.

Founder and first director of the experimental Fifteenth Street School in New York, New York, which only existed for a few years, closing in 1975. It was modeled after A.S. Neill's Summerhill School in England.

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. pg. 38. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387

Orson's body was cremated, with his ashes given to his surviving relatives.

On the May 10, 1974 episode of the Tonight Show, he explained how he got the name Orson Bean. When he was starting out in stand up, he was the opening act at a club. Each night he introduced himself with "Hi. I'm Dallas Burrows - Harvard 48 ... Yale 0" The joke fell flat night after night. The piano player said that the joke was fine - it was his name. So each night he tried a different name such as Roger Duck. All of them bombed. Then one night he tried Orson Bean. The crowd roared, and he used Orson Bean from then on.