The family of actor Orson Bean, who was struck and killed by two cars while crossing a street in Venice last month, announced Wednesday that a memorial service will be held March 14 and invited the public to attend.
The service will be held from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by a two-hour reception, at BAM Crawford Ministries in Inglewood, 400 E. Kelso St.
Bean, who was 91, was killed Feb. 7 while crossing Venice Boulevard, on his way to Pacific Resident Theatre to meet his wife, actress Alley Mills, and attend a performance. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Bean, born Dallas Burrows, was a Tony Award-nominated stage performer who also enjoyed success on the big and small screens and as a stand-up comedian.
His film credits included “Being John Malkovich,” “Equalizer 2” with Denzel Washington and “Anatomy of a Murder.”
On television, one of his best-known roles was as the shopkeeper Loren Bray on the CBS series “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.”
More recently, he appeared on “Modern Family” and played Roy Bender, Karen McCluskey’s husband, on the three final seasons of “Desperate Housewives.”
Other TV credits include “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” “Forever Fernwood,” “The Bold and the Beautiful,” and as a panelist on various versions of TV’s “To Tell The Truth.”
Bean’s stage career included starring roles in the Broadway production of “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?” with Walter Matthau and Jayne Mansfield, “Subways Are for Sleeping,” “Never Too Late” and “Illya Darling.”
As a comic, he appeared more than 200 times on “The Tonight Show,” where he also was a frequent substitute host.
His final appearance on stage was starring with his wife in an extended sold-out run of the world premiere “Bad Habits,” which ran from late November through January at the Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica.
The longtime Venice resident often starred in local productions on L.A. stages, particularly at the Pacific Resident Theatre.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggested donations to the Bible Enrichment Fellowship International Church, 400 E. Kelso St., Inglewood, and the Pacific Resident Theatre, P.O. Box 568, Venice, CA 90294.