Paul Sorensen
Encyclopedia
Paul Sorensen was an American
film
, theater and television
actor
who appeared in literally hundreds roles during his career, including The Brady Bunch
and Dallas. He was frequently cast in Westerns or as a police officer.
Sorenson was born in Kenosha
, Wisconsin
. He moved to Hollywood, California, in 1945 and enrolled in the Pasadena Playhouse
. He graduated from the Playhouse two years later in 1947. (He was honored by the Pasadena Playhouse with a lifetime achievement award later in his life.) Sorenson served with the United States military during the Korean War
. He returned to California following the war and continued acting
. A talent agent
signed Sorenson after watching him perform in a theater production of Born Yesterday
. As a result, Sorensen was cast in his first television role in the 1954-1955 series, Stories of the Century
, a syndicated
western
program starring and narrated by Jim Davis
.
One of Sorensen's best known characters was a recurring role as Andy Bradley, a member of an oil
cartel
, on Dallas
. He also appeared in recurring television roles in The Brady Bunch
, Barnaby Jones
and My Three Sons
. His television career, which spanned from the 1950s to the 1980s also included work on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, My Favorite Martian
, The Rockford Files
and The Mod Squad
. Sorensen was often cast in such westerns as The Rifleman
, Rin Tin Tin
, Gunsmoke
, Have Gun Will Travel, The High Chaparral
, Cheyenne
, Wagon Train
, The Virginian
and The Big Valley
.
Sorensen's film credits included Hang 'em High
and Escape to Witch Mountain
.
Off screen, Sorensen and 24 other actors joined together to found the Orchard Gables Repertory Theater group, which Time Magazine has praised as "an oasis
in the heart of Hollywood." Sorensen and his late wife, Jacqueline May, also ran The Original Actors Workshop. Sorensen retired from acting during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He and his wife and their son, Christian, all became ordained ministers.
Paul Sorensen died on July 17, 2008, in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, at the age of 82. He was survived by his two sons, a sister and a grandson. Sorensen and his late wife, Jacqueline May, who died on November 14, 2002, were married in September 1957 and remained together for 45 years.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, theater and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who appeared in literally hundreds roles during his career, including The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
and Dallas. He was frequently cast in Westerns or as a police officer.
Sorenson was born in Kenosha
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. He moved to Hollywood, California, in 1945 and enrolled in the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
. He graduated from the Playhouse two years later in 1947. (He was honored by the Pasadena Playhouse with a lifetime achievement award later in his life.) Sorenson served with the United States military during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. He returned to California following the war and continued acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
. A talent agent
Talent agent
A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, film directors, musicians, models, producers, professional athletes, writers and other people in various entertainment businesses. Having an agent is not required, but does help the artist in getting jobs...
signed Sorenson after watching him perform in a theater production of Born Yesterday
Born Yesterday
Born Yesterday is a play written by Garson Kanin which premiered on Broadway in 1946, starring Judy Holliday as Billie Dawn. The play was adapted intoa successful 1950 film of the same name.- Plot :...
. As a result, Sorensen was cast in his first television role in the 1954-1955 series, Stories of the Century
Stories of the Century
Stories of the Century is a Western television series that ran in syndication through Republic Pictures between January 23, 1954, and March 11, 1955.-Synopsis:...
, a syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
program starring and narrated by Jim Davis
Jim Davis (actor)
Jim Davis was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap Dallas, a role which he held up until his death in April 1981.-Biography:...
.
One of Sorensen's best known characters was a recurring role as Andy Bradley, a member of an oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
cartel
Cartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
, on Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
. He also appeared in recurring television roles in The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
, Barnaby Jones
Barnaby Jones
Barnaby Jones is a television detective series starring Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether as father- and daughter-in-law who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles. A spin-off from Cannon, the show ran on CBS from January 28, 1973 to April 3, 1980, beginning as a midseason replacement...
and My Three Sons
My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
. His television career, which spanned from the 1950s to the 1980s also included work on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963 to May 1, 1966 for 107 episodes...
, The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files is an American television drama series which aired on the NBC network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980. It has remained in regular syndication to the present day. The show stars James Garner as Los Angeles-based private investigator Jim Rockford and features Noah...
and The Mod Squad
The Mod Squad
The Mod Squad is a television series that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968, until August 23, 1973. This series starred Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III, and Tige Andrews...
. Sorensen was often cast in such westerns as The Rifleman
The Rifleman
The Rifleman is an American Western television program that starred Chuck Connors as homesteader Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show, filmed in black-and-white with a half hour running time, ran...
, Rin Tin Tin
Rin Tin Tin
Rin Tin Tin was the name given to a dog adopted from a WWI battlefield that went on to star in twenty-three Hollywood films. The name was subsequently given to several related German Shepherd dogs featured in fictional stories on film, radio and television.-Origins:The first of the line Rin Tin...
, Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
, Have Gun Will Travel, The High Chaparral
The High Chaparral
The High Chaparral is a Western-themed television series starring Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell which aired on NBC from 1967 to 1971. The show was created by David Dortort, who had previously created the hit Bonanza for the network...
, Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
, Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
, The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
and The Big Valley
The Big Valley
The Big Valley is an American television Western which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, as a California widowed mother. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman...
.
Sorensen's film credits included Hang 'em High
Hang 'Em High
Hang 'Em High is a 1968 American Western film directed by Ted Post and produced and co-written by Leonard Freeman. It stars Clint Eastwood as Jed Cooper, an innocent man who survives a lynching, Inger Stevens as a widow who helps him, Ed Begley as the leader of the gang that lynched him, and Pat...
and Escape to Witch Mountain
Escape to Witch Mountain
Escape to Witch Mountain is a science fiction novel written by Alexander Key in 1968. It was adapted into a film of the same name by Walt Disney Productions in 1975, directed by John Hough. A remake directed by Peter Rader was released in 1995...
.
Off screen, Sorensen and 24 other actors joined together to found the Orchard Gables Repertory Theater group, which Time Magazine has praised as "an oasis
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
in the heart of Hollywood." Sorensen and his late wife, Jacqueline May, also ran The Original Actors Workshop. Sorensen retired from acting during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He and his wife and their son, Christian, all became ordained ministers.
Paul Sorensen died on July 17, 2008, in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, at the age of 82. He was survived by his two sons, a sister and a grandson. Sorensen and his late wife, Jacqueline May, who died on November 14, 2002, were married in September 1957 and remained together for 45 years.