Entertainer Orson Bean still turning on the charm
Orson Bean never met a leading lady quite like Jayne Mansfield.
The voluptuous blond sex symbolwas the toast of Broadway in the comedy “Will Success SpoilRock Hunter?” in 1955 and 1956.
“Itwas interesting,” recalled Bean, breaking into a wide grin remembering “RockHunter,” which also featuredWalterMatthau andMartin Gabel, who were not happy that newcomerMansfieldwas getting the lion’s share of attention for the comedy.
Beanwouldwalk into the dressing room where, invariably, shewould be sitting stark naked, “completely guileless, no flirtation, just putting on makeup,” he recalled. “She’d say tome, ‘Who is out front tonight?’ because if there was a famous person, she’d do a good performance.”
Beanwould peek through the curtain, and if no celebritywas there, he would make one up.
“I’d say ‘Marlon Brando,’ and I knew she’d be good,” Bean said. “Itwas a funny experience for a year.”
Now85, Bean is a master raconteur and a total charmer. Baby boomers remember him fondly for bringing his wit and sophistication to game shows such as “What’s My Line?” “I’ve Got a Secret” and “ToTell the Truth” and variety series and talks shows including “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “TheTonight Show” and “The Mike Douglas Show.”
Bean also played Loren Bray, the crotchety owner of the general store on the mid-’90s CBS family series “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”; KarenMcCluskey’s husband, Roy, on ABC’s “DesperateHousewives” from2009 to 2012; and thewonderfully eccentric 105-year-old Dr. Lester in the 1999 film “Being JohnMalkovich.”
Father of four and grandfather of nine, Bean lives with his third wife, actress Alley Mills (the mother on “TheWonderYears”) in Venice.
He is currently appearing in theworld premiere play “Death of theAuthor” at the Geffen Playhouse inLA.
Bean, a lifetime member of theMagic Castle, broke into showbusiness doing a comedy magic act. After being stationed in Japan afterWorldWar II, he came back to theU.S. and played small clubs outside of Boston for a year and thenwent to the Philadelphia area, where he played theMoose club in Altoona and the Veterans of ForeignWars hall inHarrisburg, he said, honing his acting and writing.
His opening line—“My name is Orson Bean, Harvard ’48, Yale nothing”— got no laughs fromthe small-townaudiences. Only the bandwould laugh. “They said, ‘You are too hip for the room.’ ”
Ditching the magic portion of his comedy routine, Bean sought his fame and fortune inNew York. Bean had heard of the Blue Angel night club, and shortly after arriving in NewYork hewent there.
“The doorwas unlocked, and Iwent up the stairs,” Bean recalled. “Therewas a light on, and a guy looked up— hewas counting receipts— and said, ‘What do youwant?’ I said, ‘I’m a comic.’ ”
The man looked at Bean and said, “Say something funny.”
Bean said, “Belly button.”
“He looked down,” Bean recalled, “and got a little smile on his face and said, ‘I’m short an act tonight. I’ll put you on.’ I got laughs for the first time.” And from 1950 to 1960, hewas the house comic at the Blue Angel.