Hayden Rorke

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Hayden Rorke in A Gift From Heaven  (1951)

Hayden Rorke (born October 23, 1910 in Brooklyn , † August 19, 1987 in Toluca Lake , California ; actually William Henry Rorke ) was an American actor . He was best known for the role of Dr. Bellows in the sitcom The Charming Jeannie .

Life

theatre

William Henry Rorke completed his acting training at the New York American Academy of Dramatic Arts and found his first stage engagement with Walter Hampden's Theatrical Company in the early 1930s . He chose the stage name Hayden after the maiden name of his mother, the actress Margaret Rorke (1884–1969). In 1932 he made his debut on Broadway with the play If Both Had Missed . In the course of his career he worked there in over 70 productions.

Movie

Rorke, who was doing his military service in the US Army at the time, made his feature film debut in the musical This is the Army in 1943 under the direction of Michael Curtiz . Countless roles, both large and small, followed in movies and television productions. Rorke mostly played positive, reliable characters who sometimes get into trouble through no fault of their own or are driven to the brink of a nervous breakdown due to adverse circumstances and misunderstandings .

In addition to countless Hollywood stars, he has appeared in films of a wide variety of genres. He starred alongside Glenn Ford in the western The Mountain of Terror , alongside Errol Flynn in the adventure film Kim - Secret Service in India , alongside Gene Kelly in the musical An American in Paris , alongside Henry Fonda in the tragicomedy Summer of Expectations , in which Science- Fiction film The Last Day , alongside Burt Lancaster in the war film Escape from Shanghai , as a supposed undead alongside Robert Taylor in the thriller He Only Came at Night (after Robert Bloch ), alongside Richard Burton in the monumental film The Robe , alongside Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor in the comedy A Gift of Heaven (the sequel to Father of the Bride ), directed by Douglas Sirk in the drama What Heaven allows (with Rock Hudson ), directed by Helmut Käutner in the drama A Stranger in My Arms (with Jeff Chandler ), directed by Blake Edwards in the comedy Men Over Forty (with Curd Juergens ) and directed by Frank Capra in the tragic comedy The Lower Ten Thousand (with Bette Davis and Glenn Ford).

Rorke also played several times in Doris Day's films : in the thriller Mitternachtsspitzen (with Rex Harrison as Days' evil counterpart) and in the comedies What This Woman Does and Bed Whispers .

In 1965, Rorke was given the role of psychiatrist Col. Alfred E. Bellows, one of the leading roles in Sidney Sheldon's fantasy series The Charming Jeannie . When Dr. Bellows he is always exposed to the effects of the magic of the genie in a bottle Jeannie (played by Barbara Eden ) without ever knowing of its existence. Although Bellows often comes dangerously close to the truth, Jeannie and her "master", the astronaut Tony Nelson ( Larry Hagman ), always succeed in tricking him and making his sanity doubt. Until the discontinuation of the series in 1970, Rorke was involved in almost all episodes, as well as in a TV special produced in 1985 under the title The Return of the Enchanting Jeannie , in which Bellows now follows the events in a much more balanced way as a pensioner. This film should also be the last television production of the seriously ill actor.

By then he had made well over 100 film and television roles and numerous guest roles in popular television series such as Bonanza , Mr. Ed , Perry Mason , Mannix and Love Boat .

Private life and death

Rorke has had a longstanding partnership with the producer Jus Addiss .

In the mid-80s he fell ill with Kahler's disease . He succumbed to this disease on August 19, 1987 at the age of 76. Hayden Rorke was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Rorke, Hayden
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rorke, William Henry (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH October 23, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn
DATE OF DEATH August 19, 1987
Place of death Toluca Lake , California