William Henry Rorke

 William Henry Rorke (October 23, 1910 – August 19, 1987)

Rorke was best known for playing Colonel Alfred E. Bellows on the 1960s American sitcom I Dream of Jeannie. 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. Following the war, he left the Army and worked in small parts on Broadway, finally 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 played several guest roles on television, winning the role of Colonel Farnsworth in the short-lived 1964 ABC sitcom No Time for Sergeants,[4]:769 based on the Andy Griffith film of the same name but starring Sammy Jackson. He also guest-starred on three episodes of CBS's Perry Mason between 1960–1963. In his first role, he played the title character, Jay Holbrook, in "The Case of the Flighty Father". 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, Mr Ed, Wonder Woman, Burns and Allen, 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. Hayden Rorke died of multiple myeloma at his Toluca Lake home in 1987 at age 76. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, CA.