Veteran actor Orson Bean was being remembered this morning, hours after multiple broadcast reports said he was struck and killed by a car in Venice. He was 91.
Bean appeared in the films “The Equalizer 2,” “Being John Malkovich” and as 1959 version of “Miracle on 34th Street” as well as such television shows as “The Twilight Zone,” “Modern Family,” “The Bold and the Beautiful,” and “Desperate Housewives.” He was also a panelist on various versions of “To Tell The Truth.”
One of his best know roles was as the shopkeeper Loren Bray on the hit CBS series “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.”
Most recently Bean starred in the play “Bad Habits,” which concluded its run Jan. 26 at the Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica. The cast included his wife of 27 years, Alley Mills, best known for portraying Norma Arnold on the 1988-93 ABC coming-of-age series “The Wonder Years.”
Actress Holly Robinson Peete tweeted, “Wow-so tragic,” in response to a report of Bean’s death.
SpectrumNews1 reporter Tara Lynn Wagner remembered interviewing Bean in late 2019.
“So sad to hear of the death of actor Orson Bean,” she wrote on Twitter. “I had the pleasure of interviewing him 2 months ago about his life, his career and his love of theatre. `You do movies and TV for a living and it’s okay…but theatre is what’s fun.’ “
Police were called about 7:35 p.m. Friday to the 700 block of Venice Boulevard, between Shell Avenue and Pisani Place, said Officer Tony Im of the Los Angeles Police Department.
“A car coming westbound did not see him and clipped him and he went down,” LAPD Capt. Brian Wendling told reporters at the scene. “A second vehicle was coming up, (the driver) was distracted by people trying to slow (the driver) down and then looked up and a second traffic collision occurred and that one was fatal.”
He was pronounced dead at the scene, Im said. The driver remained at the scene and rendered aid.
Multiple news reports also said he wife was at the scene.