William T. Orr (27 September 1917 - 25 December 2002) was principally a television producer, most associated with a string of western and detective programs of the 1950s-1970s.

As the first head of Warner Brothers Television department, he forged a fruitful alliance with ABC, which resulted in ABC having a number of prime time hits, such as Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, and F Troop. At the height of this relationship in the early 1960s, Orr had nine programs in prime time simultaneously. blank">IMDB bio, written by his son.

Of these, though, no program was more significant than one of his earliest, _Cheyenne. It was a groundbreaking series that was both the first hour-long western and the first series of any kind made by a major Hollywood film studio comprised entirely of content wholly exclusive to television. A curator at the Museum of Television and Radio once encapsulated Orr's importance to Warner Brothers by saying, "Television began as a step-child. But because of Orr, it became equal with film in creating revenue and jobs for the studio." One of the key reforms he made to effect this change was to move Warner's nascent television department from cramped quarters in New York City to Los Angeles studios separate from the film division.

His impact on the genre of western fiction was recognized with a Golden Boot Award upon the announcement of his death.

Despite broadly positive posthumous recognition for his work as a whole, Orr did receive negative press during the height of his career. Time Magazine characterized Orr and Jack Warner as a co-architects of unfair contracts during late-1950s pay disputes waged by Warner Brothers star television actors Clint Walker, James Garner, and Edd Byrnes.

In 1963, Jack Webb replaced Orr as executive producer of ABC's 77 Sunset Strip detective series. Webb completely changed the format and retained only Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., in the role of Stuart Bailey. The revision was a disaster, and the program was cancelled even prior to the end of the sixth season.

A former film actor, Orr married Jack Warner's stepdaughter, Joy Page, in 1945. The couple divorced in 1970. Their son, Gregory Orr, is a writer and producer.

William Orr is known to fans of 50s and 60s TV shows by the abbreviated, but imposing credit of Wm. T. Orr seen at the end of every Warner Bros. show including "Maverick" (1957), "Cheyenne" (1955), _"77 Sunset Strip" (1958/I)_ and "F Troop" (1965). As the head of WB Television for nine years, he was Executive Producer of the studio's early forays into the medium, helping to put ABC on the prime time map with a steady staple of westerns and detective shows. Orr began his career in 1936 as an actor, moving from his native New York to Los Angeles where he found work as a good-looking second lead opposite such stars as Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, 'James Stewart' and Edward G. Robinson. Orr had one advantage over the other handsome young actors of his era, he could imitate his betters and became known as a deft comic impersonator in the musical stage review 'Meet The People' - a 'Saturday Night Live' of its day that mixed political satire and song, hosted by gossip columnist Louella Parsons. During World War II, Orr served as an officer in the Army Air Forces' First Motion Picture Unit, making training films at the former Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California, alongside fellow actors 'Ronald Reagan', 'William Holden' and 'Alan Ladd'. In 1945 Orr married Jack Warner's stepdaughter Joy Page assuring him a good seat at the Hollywood table. A year later be became one of Warner's assistants, earning the dig, "the son-in-law also rises." But Orr had a nose for new talent and, with a Warner Bros. contract in hand, pursued such unknown actors as 'James Dean', 'Paul Newman' and Marlon Brando. In 1958 he was put in charge of the fledgling TV Division and this is where he made his mark, having nine shows on the air in the early 1960s. In 1965 he left Warner Bros. in favor of independent production. He retired in the mid 1970s, walking away from the business.

William Orr is known to fans of 1950s and 1960s TV shows by the abbreviated but imposing credit of Wm. T. Orr seen at the end of every Warner Bros. show including "Maverick" (1957), "Cheyenne" (1955), "77 Sunset Strip" (1958) and "F Troop" (1965). As the head of WB Television for nine years, he was executive producer of the studio's early forays into the medium, helping to put ABC on the prime-time map with a steady staple of westerns and detective shows. Orr began his career in 1936 as an actor, moving from his native New York to Los Angeles, where the good-looking young actor found work as a second lead opposite such stars as Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, James Stewart (I) and Edward G. Robinson. Orr had one advantage over the other handsome young actors of his era--he could imitate his betters and became known as a deft comic impersonator in the musical stage review "Meet The People", a "Saturday Night Live" (1975) of its day that mixed political satire and song, hosted by gossip columnist Louella Parsons. During World War II Orr served as an officer in the Army Air Force's First Motion Picture Unit, making training films at the former Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California, alongside fellow actors Ronald Reagan (I), William Holden (I) and Alan Ladd (I). In 1945 Orr married Warner Bros. studio chief Jack L. Warner's stepdaughter Joy Page, assuring him a good seat at the Hollywood table. A year later be became one of Warner's assistants, giving rise to the dig, "the son-in-law also rises." Orr had a nose for new talent, though, and, with a Warner Bros. contract in hand, pursued such unknown actors as James Dean (I), Paul Newman (I) and Marlon Brando. In 1958 he was put in charge of Warners' fledgling TV division, and this is where he made his mark, having nine shows on the air in the early 1960s. In 1965 he left Warner Bros. in favor of independent production. He retired in the mid-'70s, walking away from the business.