Hayden Rorke

William Henry Rorke (October 23, 1910 – August 19, 1987), known professionally as Hayden Rorke, was an American actor best known for playing Colonel Alfred E. Bellows on the 1960s American sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.

Hayden Rorke
William H. Rorke
Born
William Henry Rorke

(1910-10-23)October 23, 1910
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 19, 1987(1987-08-19) (aged 76)
Toluca Lake, California, U.S.
Resting placeHoly Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, U.S.
Years active1943–1985
Partner(s)Justus Addiss
Parent(s)

Early life

Rorke was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1910.[1] He was the son of screen and stage actress Margaret Hayden Rorke,[note 1][1] and he took his stage forename from her maiden name.[2]

Rorke attended Brooklyn Preparatory School, a Jesuit school, where he served as president of the Dramatics Society and the Student Government, and was a member of the Omega Gamma Delta Fraternity. He continued his education at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts[3] and began his stage career in the 1930s with the Hampden Theatrical Company. During World War II, he enlisted in the United States Army, where he made his film debut in the musical This Is the Army starring Ronald Reagan, for which he was uncredited as the stage manager and as a soldier in the background.

Acting career

Following the war, he left the Army and worked in small parts on Broadway, returning to Hollywood for the film Lust for Gold (1949), again uncredited. However, it was an opening, and in later films, beginning with Rope of Sand, he is listed in the credits, although he again shows up uncredited in the films Kim (1950) and The Magnificent Yankee (1950), as well as a couple of later films such as the Academy Award-winning An American in Paris (in those days, small roles were often uncredited). He played the role of crooked businessman and murderer Arne Mason in episode 90 "Word of Honor" of the television series The Lone Ranger in 1952. He also appeared in episode 125 entitled "The Perfect Crime" of that television series in 1953. He continued to make movies, taking on supporting roles in films.

In 1957, Rorke played Steve, the film agent, in the television series Mr. Adams and Eve,[4] starring Howard Duff and Ida Lupino (then married in real life) as a fictitious acting couple residing in Beverly Hills, California.

He played several guest roles on television, including Colonel Farnsworth in the short-lived 1964 sitcom No Time for Sergeants,[4]:769 based on the Andy Griffith film of the same name, but starring Sammy Jackson. He also appeared in three episodes of Perry Mason between 1960 and 1963. In his first role, he played the title character, Jay Holbrook, in "The Case of the Flighty Father" and as Walter Caffrey in "The Case of the Violent Vest". Rorke also appeared in television programs such as I Love Lucy, The Twilight Zone, " Thriller" (where he also plays a psychologist), Peter Gunn, The Andy Griffith Show, Barnaby Jones, Mister Ed, Wonder Woman, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Love Boat.

Rorke was best known for his role as Dr. Bellows, the NASA medical officer in the television sitcom I Dream of Jeannie. Bellows was constantly trying to figure out why Tony Nelson (Larry Hagman), an astronaut under Bellows' supervision, often behaves strangely, and to decipher the madcap antics, but he never figures out what is actually going on. Bellows usually winds up making himself look like a fool in front of his own superiors. Rorke's last film was reprising his role in the television reunion movie I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later (1985).

In the early 1980s, Rorke returned to the theater, making a number of live stage appearances. In May, 1980, he starred with Joan Caulfield at the old Showboat Dinner Theatre in St. Petersburg, Florida, in The Pleasure of His Company.[5] He also acted in Mr. Roberts in St. Louis, Missouri,[6]

Personal life and death

Rorke's I Dream of Jeannie co-star Barbara Eden described him as a "prince" who was a good friend to all and always managed to keep up the spirits of the Jeannie cast, even in difficult circumstances.[2]

Eden also wrote in her 2011 biography Jeannie Out of the Bottle that Rorke was "unashamedly gay", and that he lived with his partner, television director Justus Addiss (of Mister Ed, among others),[7] for many years in Studio City, along with their menagerie of dogs, until Addiss' death in 1979. The couple would often invite the cast over for parties.[2]

Rorke died of multiple myeloma at his Toluca Lake home[1] in 1987 at age 76.[3] He was survived by two brothers.[1]

Television
  • Target: The Corruptors! (1961) 1x11 "Silent Partner" as Smith, 1x30 License to Steal
  • The Beverly Hillbillies (1963) 1x36 "Jethro's Friend" as Wilkins
  • Cannon (1975) 5x02 "The Deadly Conspiracy" as Knox
  • The Burns and Allen Show: Season 7 episode 21, "Going to Palm Springs" where he also plays a psychologist.
  • Lone Ranger: "Bullets for Ballots" episode
  • I Dream of Jeannie (1965-1970) as Col. (Dr.) Alfred Bellows

Partial filmography

Notes
  1. Rorke's obituary in the Los Angeles Times says, "His mother ... was a longtime textile industry figure and created colors used in the inaugural ball gowns of both Eleanor Roosevelt and Mamie Eisenhower."

References
  1. "Hayden Rorke, 'Jeannie' Show Actor, Dies". Los Angeles Times. 20 August 1987. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  2. "'I Dream Of Jeannie' Star Barbara Eden Unbottles Her Tragic Life in Memoir", pp. 153-154, 173
  3. "Jeannie's 'Dr. Bellows' dead at u76". Boca Raton News. Associated Press. 21 August 1987. p. 2B. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  4. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. pp. 697–698. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  5. "A Showboat production to benefit blind center". St. Petersburg Times. April 29, 1980. p. 32. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  6. "Music". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 26 August 1982. p. 18. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  7. "Justus Addiss/Director Credits". Retrieved 19 November 2020.
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