Jack Orrison (October 12, 1909 – June 3, 1986) was an actor and script writer who worked in radio, television and films. He is best known for his acting roles in ''

The Plainclothesman ''The Plainclothesman'' was the first American police procedural series,David Weinsten, ''The Forgotten Network DuMont and the Birth of American Television'', Temple University Press, 2004, pages 138 to 146. and was broadcast on the DuMont Telev ...

'' and ''

I Married a Monster from Outer Space ''I Married a Monster from Outer Space'' is a 1958 American horror science fiction film from Paramount Pictures, produced and directed by Gene Fowler Jr., that stars Tom Tryon and Gloria Talbott. Paramount released the film as a double feature ...

''. Orrison was born in Victor, Colorado, but moved to other cities to work in the field of entertainment. He enlisted in the United States Army during World War II.Military Records
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Early life

Jack Huffaker Orrison was born October 12, 1909 in Victor, Colorado, the son of Peter Kemp Orrison and Lena Mable Smiley Orrison. He attended the University of DenverRadio Team Plans to Wed Saturday, ''Pittsburgh Press'', November 17, 1937, page 1
/ref> for three years. Orrison moved to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Colorado to work at radio station KOA. In 1937 he moved to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania to work at radio station KDKA, where he was both a writer and actor in the comedy radio series ''Adam and Eve''. His costar was Margaret K. Smith, whom he met at the University of Denver. Orrison and Smith were married on November 20, 1937, at the home of KDKA manager A. E. Nelson. The marriage license lists the occupation of both spouses as "Radio Script writer". Besides being heard on ''Adam and Eve'' Orrison acted in the KDKA radio series ''Under Western Skies'', starting on November 10, 1937. From January 26, 1938 to May 10, 1938 the western series was heard on the

NBC Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the N ...

until reverting to a local series, until leaving the air in 1939. On February 15, 1939 Orrison resigned from KDKA radio to move to New York City. A 1942 Billboard article stated that he was one of the American Federation of Radio Artists members who’d entered military service.

Post-World War II acting career

Orrison's post-war acting work included being added to the cast of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

radio serial ''Strange Romance of Evelyn Winters''. He was also in an episode of the 1948 radio series '' Call the Police''. From 1949 to 1954 Orrison played Sergeant Brady in ''

'' on the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...

. This was a police procedural drama, seen through the eyes of an unnamed lieutenant. With exception to one flashback segment, the lieutenant was never seen, leaving Orrison's Sergeant Brady as the only character viewers saw each week. From 1949 to 1951 he appeared on six episodes of DuMont's ''

Captain Video and His Video Rangers ''Captain Video and His Video Rangers'' is an American science fiction television series that aired on the DuMont Television Network and was the first series of its genre on American television. The series aired between June 27, 1949, and Apri ...

'' as Commissioner of Public Safety Bell. Orrison continued to work in radio, and from 1955 to 1957 he was heard on six episodes of ''

X Minus One ''X Minus One'' is an American half-hour science fiction radio drama series that was broadcast from April 24, 1955, to January 9, 1958, in various timeslots on NBC. Known for high production values in adapting stories from the leading American a ...

''. He was on episodes of ''

John Steele, Adventurer ''John Steele, Adventurer'' was a radio drama during the end the Golden Age of Radio. It was reminiscent of the action magazines of the time such as ''All-Story'' and '' Argosy''. Premise John Steele was a roving adventurer who held various ...

'' (1949) and ''

Gang Busters ''Gang Busters'' is an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered on January 15, 1936, and was broadcast over 21 years through November 27, 1957. Histo ...

'' (1955). Film roles include Detective in ''Somebody Up There Likes Me'' (1956), Haskins in '' Wolf Larsen'' (1958), Officer Schultz in ''

I Married a Monster From Outer Space ''I Married a Monster from Outer Space'' is a 1958 American horror science fiction film from Paramount Pictures, produced and directed by Gene Fowler Jr., that stars Tom Tryon and Gloria Talbott. Paramount released the film as a double feature ...

'' (1958), Osborne in '' Never Steal Anything Small'' (1959), Police Clerk in

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

(1959), Editor in ''The Second Time Around'' (1961), Dr. Creston in ''

Wild in the Country ''Wild in the Country'' is a 1961 American musical–drama film directed by Philip Dunne and starring Elvis Presley, Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, and Millie Perkins. Based on the 1958 novel ''The Lost Country'' by J. R. Salamanca, the screenplay ...

'' (1961), and Bartender in ''

Move Over, Darling ''Move Over, Darling'' is a 1963 American comedy film starring Doris Day, James Garner, and Polly Bergen and directed by Michael Gordon filmed in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope released by 20th Century Fox. The film is a remake of a 1940 screw ...

'' (1963). Orrison played William Vedder in the 1959 '' Hawaiian Eye'' episode ''Cloud Over Koala''; Shopkeeper in the 1961 ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'' episode ''The Squaw''; Warren Bullard in the unsold TV pilot ''Down Home'', shown in 1965 on the

summer series ''

Vacation Playhouse ''Vacation Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series that was broadcast during the summer months on CBS from July 22, 1963, to August 21, 1967. Premise ''Vacation Playhouse'' premiered on July 22, 1963, on CBS. The show aired as ...

''; and Mr. Butcher in the 1967 ''

The Wild Wild West ''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western, espionage, and science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 1969. Two satirical comedy television film sequels w ...

'' episode ''The Night of the Bogus Bandits''.

Death

Orrison died on June 3, 1986 in Los Angeles, California. He was 76 years old.Funeral Announcements, ''The Los Angeles Times'', June 5, 1986, page 10J

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orrison, Jack American male radio actors American male television actors American male film actors 1909 births 1986 deaths