California

Actor Orson Bean Killed by Multiple Vehicles in LA, Friends Say

Bean was 91

NBCUniversal, Inc.

Veteran actor Orson Bean was being remembered Saturday morning, hours after friends confirmed he was struck and killed by a car in Venice. He was 91.

Police were called about 7:35 p.m. Friday to the 700 block of Venice Boulevard, between Shell Avenue and Pisani Place, said Officer Tony Im of the Los Angeles Police Department.

A small crowd could be seen clearly distraught and holding each other at the scene of the accident.

"A car coming westbound did not see him and clipped him and he went down," LAPD Capt. Brian Wendling told reporters at the scene. "A second vehicle was coming up, (the driver) was distracted by people trying to slow (the driver) down and then looked up and a second traffic collision occurred and that one was fatal."

He was pronounced dead at the scene, Im said. The driver remained at the scene and rendered aid.

Multiple news reports also said his wife was at the scene of the accident.

Bean appeared in the films "The Equalizer 2," "Being John Malkovich" and a 1959 version of "Miracle on 34th Street," as well as such television shows as "The Twilight Zone," "Modern Family," "The Bold and the Beautiful," and "Desperate Housewives." He was also a panelist on various versions of "To Tell The Truth."

One of his best known roles was as the shopkeeper Loren Bray on the series "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman."

Most recently Bean starred in the play "Bad Habits," which concluded its run Jan. 26 at the Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica. The cast included his wife of 27 years, Alley Mills, best known for portraying Norma Arnold on the 1988-93 ABC coming-of-age series "The Wonder Years."

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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