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Orville Sherman

Orville Sherman

Born: 1916-01-18 • Lexington, Oklahoma, USA

Orville Sherman was born in Oklahoma, where his great-grandfather bought land in 1894. He appeared in numerous television episodes, mostly Westerns. Being born in the frontier may have given him an edge to playing cowboys. Although most of his screen time can be counted in seconds, he was good at his craft. Orville started tap dancing at age nine and left home at 19 to pursue his career.

According to the 1940 U.S. census, he was living as a boarder in Shawnee, Oklahoma, giving his occupation as "actor, dancer, director". He served in WWII, enlisting from Santa Fe, New Mexico where he was working with a small theater troupe. A few years later he was in New York on stage later traveling to England to appear on stage in "Oklahoma", where he met his future wife, actress Marcella Dodge.

They married in 1948 and came to California from New York City in 1956 and appeared in film and TV episodes until his death. Relatives of his brother said Orville was too occupied with work to attend his fathers funeral in 1959. He was divorced from his first wife in the 1960s. In 1973, he wed, secondly, to Jean Reno, a woman eight years his senior. That same year, he added the occupation of minister to his life, teaching speech at the church of Religious Science in Downey, California. Sadly, he died alone, with no known family (his marriage long since ended) from prostate cancer in Los Angeles, aged 68.

Filmography
Transplant poster
Transplant
1979 • Boris
A Question of Guilt poster
A Question of Guilt
1978 • The Priest
The Legend of Frank Woods poster
The Legend of Frank Woods
1977 • Jesse Frome
Scream of the Wolf poster
Scream of the Wolf
1974 • Coroner
Westworld poster
Westworld
1973 • Supervisor
Your Three Minutes Are Up poster
Your Three Minutes Are Up
1973 • Mr. Fisher
The Letters poster
The Letters
1973 • Minister
Pretty Maids All in a Row poster
Pretty Maids All in a Row
1971 • Pastor
Once You Kiss a Stranger... poster
Once You Kiss a Stranger...
1969 • Raymond
The Man from Galveston poster
The Man from Galveston
1963 • Ted Dooley (uncredited)
Shadow of the Boomerang poster
Shadow of the Boomerang
1961
Home from the Hill poster
Home from the Hill
1960 • Ed Dinwoodie (uncredited)
The Brain Eaters poster
The Brain Eaters
1958 • Mayor Cameron