# RIP Orson Bean **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [February 8, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-orson-bean/847629 "2020-02-08T15:35:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-orson-bean/847629/21 "2020-02-09T09:01:03Z")
When I was a kid he seemed to appear on every show now and then (in those days Love American Style, Fantasy Island, and The Love Boat made sure all actors got at least one roll per year – plus there were lots daytime talk shows like Merv, and Mike, and Dinah). Besides talk shows and game shows, there were also variety shows, so I knew of him mostly as himself and thought of him as a nice, polite, and mildly funny guy from Hollywood. But my first recollection when I heard the news, was his appearance on an episode of TWO AND A HALF MEN. He played an aging man with a young trophy wife whom Charlie was (of course) banging. He knocked on the door and hit the man he believed was cuckolding him with his cane. But in a later scene he is sitting (on the deck?) telling someone about the babes he scored back in his day. I thought it was quite funny because the names were so old even I barely remembered who they were. He really delivered the lines with humor – while making fun of himself as a has-been. “Do you know who Joey Heatherton is?” “No, well she was really something, and I nailed her in her prime!” He managed to remain charming even while playing a grumpy old man who was seeking retribution, and was none too perfect himself – back in his prime. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-orson-bean/847629/22 "2020-02-09T14:50:35Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > He was married to Alley Mills which always seemed to be an odd pairing to me. But they were married for almost 30 years so what do I know? Did that make him Kevin Arnold’s stepfather? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-orson-bean/847629/23 "2020-02-10T16:15:50Z")
My wife is a big Desperate Housewives fan, and she’ll always remember him as Roy, the husband/widower of final series heroine Karen McCluskey. Seeing him in old game show reruns on BUZZR lit her face up. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-orson-bean/847629/24 "2020-02-10T16:30:45Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > He was hilarious in _Being John Malkovich_, one of my all-time favorite films. +1 Not sure if going out this way is all that tragic. At 91 it’s far better to be snuffed out suddenly while still able to be out and about than after a long lingering decline. When I go I don’t want to see it coming, or at least not with enough time to think about it. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-orson-bean/847629/25 "2020-02-10T17:29:49Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Ninety-one and Orson was still healthy enough to go for walks and visit the theater. That’s doing pretty good. It sounds like he was doing better than that. He was ACTING in a play that just closed last week. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-orson-bean/847629.md?page=1)