Donald Allen Oreck (August 31, 1930 — March 5, 2006) was an American actor who, between 1955 and 1961, played supporting roles in numerous

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

and made uncredited appearances in a few feature films. A native of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

, Oreck became a member of the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal Police, police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the thir ...

following a stint in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. While continuing his service with law enforcement, he began taking small acting assignments, which gradually increased in importance until, in the late 1950s, he could be spotted in various installments of television programs. In 1959, Oreck and his wife invested in the film ''You Hurt, I Cry''. He also acted in the film, and she was the producing coordinator. Also in 1959, Oreck portrayed the lead in the episode "Gringo Pete" of

Rex Allen Rex Elvie Allen (December 31, 1920 – December 17, 1999), known as "the Arizona Cowboy", was an American film and television actor, singer and songwriter; he was also the narrator of many Disney nature and Western productions. For his contribu ...

syndicated Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

western series ''

Frontier Doctor ''Frontier Doctor'' is an American Western television series starring Rex Allen that aired in syndication from September 26, 1958, until June 20, 1959. The series was also known as ''Unarmed'' and ''Man of the West''.TV Guide Guide to TV. Barnes ...

''.

Personal life

Oreck had two children, Kevin and Elizabeth .He died on March 5, 2006, after having had a degenerative brain disease.

Selected filmography

* 1951 short film

Santa and the Fairy Snow Queen ''Santa and the Fairy Snow Queen'' is a 1951 short fantasy film directed by Sid Davis. Plot Snoopy, (Rochelle Stanton) one of Santa Claus' (Edmund Penney) brownies, introduces herself to the audience, and explains that it is her job to watch lit ...

*1955 film ''Target Zero'' * 1956 episode of ''

Studio 57 ''Studio 57'' (also known as ''Heinz Studio 57'') is an American anthology series that was broadcast on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network from September 1954 to July 1955, and in syndication from 1955 to 1958. " It's a Small World", the ...

'' * 1956 episode of '' The West Point Story'' * 1958 episode of ''

State Trooper State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction ...

'' * 1959 episode of ''

M Squad ''M Squad'' is an American crime drama television series that ran from 1957 to 1960 on NBC. It was produced by Lee Marvin's Latimer Productions and Revue Studios. Its main sponsor was the Pall Mall cigarette brand; Lee Marvin, the progra ...

'' * 1958 episode of ''

Sea Hunt ''Sea Hunt'' is an American action adventure television series that aired in syndication from 1958 to 1961 and was popular for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced. It stars Lloyd Bridges a ...

'' * 1959 episode of '' Men into Space'' * 1960 episode of ''

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

'' * 1961 episode of ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oreck, Don 1930 births 2006 deaths American male film actors American male television actors Deaths from neurodegenerative disease Neurological disease deaths in California Male actors from Los Angeles United States Army soldiers American police officers 20th-century American male actors