Victor Orsatti

Victor Manuel Orsatti (November 25, 1905 – June 9, 1984) was an American talent agent and film producer. As an agent, he represented some of the biggest stars of the 1930s and 1940s, including Judy Garland, Betty Grable, and Edward G. Robinson, as well as directors Frank Capra and George Stevens. He was credited with persuading figure skating champion Sonja Henie to move to Hollywood and become an actress after the 1936 Winter Olympics. He later became a motion picture and television producer, whose works include Flight to Hong Kong and the television series The Texan. He was also married to actress June Lang, singer/actress Marie "The Body" McDonald, and model/actress Dolores Donlon.

Victor Orsatti
Orsatti as a high school football player in 1923
Born(1905-11-25)November 25, 1905
Los Angeles, California
DiedJune 9, 1984(1984-06-09) (aged 78)
Orange County, California
Resting placePacific View Memorial Park, Corona del Mar, California[1]
EducationManual Arts High School
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
OccupationProducer
Talent agent
Spouse(s)June Lang
Marie McDonald
Dolores Donlon
Arla Turner Orsatti

Early years

Orsatti was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Morris Orsatti and Mary Manse, both born in Italy. He had six siblings, including stuntman and baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals Ernie Orsatti.

Orsatti attended Los Angeles Manual Arts High School. He was recognized in 1923 as the best all-around high school athlete in Los Angeles.[2] He played third base for the baseball team. In 1923, he won a bat with which Babe Ruth had hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium. The bat was the prize given by the Los Angeles Evening Herald for a high school home run hitting contest they sponsored. The bat, which was inscribed to Orsatti, sold in 2004 for $1.2 million.[3]

Orsatti subsequently attended the University of Southern California where he played quarterback on Howard Jones's 1925 and 1926 USC Trojans football teams, wearing number 5. He also played baseball and ran track and field at USC.

Hollywood agent and producer

Orsatti became a Hollywood talent agent in the 1930s. Along with his brothers Frank, Al and Ernie (a formar minor-league baseball player), he was a principal in the Orsatti Talent Agency. He was known as "one of the industry's sharpest agents,"[4] and his clients included some of Hollywood's biggest stars, such as Sonja Henie, Judy Garland, Betty Grable, Edward G. Robinson, Frank Capra, George Stevens, Margaret O'Brien, and Alice Faye.[2][5] His accomplishments as a talent agent include: Orsatti was credited with persuading Sonja Henie to move to Hollywood and become an actress after she won her third gold medal in figure skating at the 1936 Winter Olympics.[2][5][6] Henie went on to become one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood.[7] In 1939, syndicated columnist Louella Parsons reported that the romantic relationship between Henie and Orsatti was the talk of Hollywood.[8] Orsatti negotiated the contract for Judy Garland to play the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.[9][10] He was also credited with discovering Alexis Smith while she was a student at Los Angeles City College and offering her a screen test.[11]

Orsatti also formed a production company in the 1950s called Saber Productions. The company produced 14 films including Flight to Hong Kong.[2][12]

Orsatti formed a television production company, Rorvic Productions, in partnership with actor Rory Calhoun. Rorvic produced the CBS television series The Texan, which aired on Monday evenings from 1958 to 1960. Actually the idea for The Texan came from Orsatti's then neighbor Desi Arnaz Sr. Episodes were budgeted at $40,000 each, with two black-and-white segments filmed weekly through Desilu Studios. Despite the name, the series was filmed not in Texas but mostly in Pearl Flats in the Mojave Desert of southern California. The program could have been renewed for a third season had Calhoun not desired to return to films.[2][13][14]

Motion picture credits
  • Flight to Hong Kong (1956) associate producer[15]
  • The Domino Kid (1957) producer[16]
  • The Hired Gun (1957) producer[17]
  • Ride Out for Revenge (1957) associate producer[18]
  • Apache Territory (1958) producer[19]
  • A Face in the Rain (1963) executive producer[20]

Marriages

Orsatti was married four times. He was married to film actress June Lang in 1937. Their June 1937 wedding was attended by a guest list like a "Hollywood Who's Who" and was reported as "the biggest movie wedding in years."[21][22][23] The breakup of their marriage after only six weeks was also covered in the Hollywood press.[24][25]

Orsatti was next married in 1943 to singer and actress, Marie McDonald, who was known as "The Body Beautiful" and later nicknamed "The Body". Orsatti was working at the time as a test pilot for Lockheed.[26][27][28] McDonald had previously been Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend, and author Tim Adler in his book, "Hollywood and the Mob," described Orsatti as a "gangster-cum-agent" and claimed that his brother Frank Orsatti was "a bootlegger and gangster" who got into the movie business by supplying Louis B. Mayer with alcohol and women and later had a reputation for "handling all of MGM's 'dirty work'."[29] Orsatti and McDonald remained married until 1947. Even after their divorce, McDonald continued to use Orsatti as her agent, noting, "Husbands are much easier to find than good agents."[30]

Orsatti's third marriage was to actress and Playboy Playmate Dolores Donlon. He was married to Donlon from 1949 to 1960.[31][32]

His fourth wife was Arla Turner Orsatti. They remained married at the time of Orsatti's death in 1984.[33]

References
  1. Victor M Orsatti at Find a Grave
  2. "Victor Orsatti, Talent Agent". Sarasota Herald-Tribune (AP story). June 14, 1984.
  3. Josh Getlin (December 3, 2004). "With One Swing (of the Gavel), Ruth's Bat Hits $1.26 Million". Los Angeles Times.
  4. Philip J. Riley (1990). This island earth. Magicimage Filmbooks. p. 19. ISBN 1882127277.
  5. "Victor Orsatti, Talent Agent for Many Top Stars, Dies at 78". Los Angeles Times. June 13, 1984.
  6. "Orsatti was talent agent who brought Henie to Hollywood". Lakeland Ledger (AP story). June 12, 1984.
  7. Sonja Henie (Store norske leksikon)
  8. Louella Parsons (September 1, 1939). "Sonja Henie-Vic Orsatti Romance Has Hollywood Friends Guessing". The Milwaukee Sentinel (INS story).
  9. "Wizard of Oz: Judy Garland". icollector.(auction for 1938 Victor Orsatti letter negotiating Wizard of Oz rights on behalf of Garland)
  10. "The Desert of Oz: Palm Springs has a special connection to the making of one of Hollywood's most beloved movies". Palm Springs Life. September 2008.
  11. "Alexis Made Hollywood Wait". Oakland Tribune. January 26, 1941.
  12. Phillip K. Scheur (June 30, 1957). "A Town Called Hollywood: Agent Vic Orsatti Becomes Producer of Own Movies". Los Angeles Times.
  13. Billy Hathorn, "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967", West Texas Historical Review, Vol. 89 (2013), pp. 110-112
  14. "Talent Agent Victor Orsatti". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 14, 1984.
  15. "Flight To Hong Kong". Turner Classic Movies.
  16. "'Grand Hotel' of Desert to Star Calhoun; West Will Call for Astaire". Los Angeles Times. July 12, 1957.
  17. "The Hired Gun". The New York Times.
  18. "Ride Out for Revenge". Turner Classic Movies.
  19. "Apache Territory". Turner Classic Movies.
  20. "A Face in the Rain". The New York Times.
  21. "Brilliant Wedding of June Lang". The Hollywood Roundabout. June 5, 1937.
  22. "All Star Wedding Cast" (PDF). Chicago Sunday Tribune. June 20, 1937.
  23. "Popular Pair Will Marry Saturday: Victor Orsatti and June Lang Plan Honolulu Honeymoon". Los Angeles Times. May 23, 1937.
  24. "Film Colony's Broken Marriages: The Lang-Orsatti Upset". The Hollywood Roundabout. July 24, 1937.
  25. "June Lang Ties Cut by Divorce: Orsatti Had First Asked Annulment; Hearing in Chambers". August 6, 1937.
  26. "Marie McDonald Married to Victor Orsatti in Reno". Los Angeles Times. January 11, 1943.
  27. "Marie McDonald Married". The New York Times. January 11, 1943.
  28. "Victor Orsatti to Marry Actress: Marie McDonald Will Be Former Agent's Bride". Los Angeles Times. December 31, 1942.
  29. Tim Adler (2011). Hollywood and the Mob. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 53, 134.
  30. "Marie M'Donald, Actress, Is Dead". The New York Times. October 22, 1965.
  31. "Vic Orsatti's Third Wife to File Suit". Los Angeles Times. September 29, 1958.
  32. "Divorces Mean Hubby". The Times. February 26, 1960.
  33. "Fourth Wife Survives Orsatti". Los Angeles Times. June 1984.
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