Don Oreck

Who was Don Oreck?

Don Oreck was an American actor who, between 1955 and 1961, played supporting roles in numerous television series and made uncredited appearances in a few feature films.

A native of Los Angeles, California, Donald Allen Oreck became a member of the Los Angeles Police Department following a stint in the United States Army. While continuing his service with law enforcement, he began taking small acting assignments, which gradually increased in importance until, in the late 1950s, he could be spotted in various installments of television programs.

In 1959, Oreck portrayed the lead in the episode "Gringo Pete" of Rex Allen's syndicated western series, Frontier Doctor. In the story line, Gringo Pete is an outlaw who pledges to surrender his gang in exchange for parole. Instead, he resumes his life of lawlessness and dares the authorities. Ted de Corsia was cast in this episode in the role of Charlie Breen.

In 1955, he married 20-year-old Joanna Moore who, after their divorce in 1957, became a well-known movie and TV actress and, following her later marriage to Ryan O'Neal, the mother of Griffin O'Neal and Tatum O'Neal.