Orangey

Orangey

Orangey, also known as Orangey Minerva (c. 1950–1968), was a male marmalade tabby cat, who was an animal actor owned and trained by the cinematic animal handler Frank Inn.

Orangey (credited under various names) had a prolific career in film and television in the 1950s and early 1960s and was the only cat to win two PATSY Awards (Picture Animal Top Star of the Year, an animal actor's version of an Oscar), the first for the title role in Rhubarb (1951), a story about a cat who inherits a fortune, and the second for his portrayal of "Cat" in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). For this film Orangey won the 1962 PATSY Award for his portrayal of "the poor slob without a name." He has also been credited as the cat Mouschi in the film adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank (1959). In that film, he nearly reveals the Jews' hiding place, and later becomes its only escapee. The cat was credited as the family pet, "Butch," in the film The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), in which he is mistakenly assumed to have eaten the title character.

According to Sam Wasson, author of 5th Avenue, 5AM: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman, Inn said Orangey was "a real New York type cat, just what we want. In no time at all I'm going to make a method, or Lee Strasberg type, cat out of him."

Orangey was called "the world's meanest cat" by one studio executive. He often scratched and bit actors. But he was prized for his ability to stay for several hours. Sometimes, however, he would flee after filming some scenes and production would be shut down until he could be found. Inn would sometimes have to post guard dogs at the studio entrance to keep him from running away.

Other appearances included a regular role as "Minerva" on the television series Our Miss Brooks (1952–1958).

The cat was also credited as "Jimmy," "Jeremy," and "Rhubarb." Orangey's last known appearance came in two consecutive episodes in the TV series Batman in 1967-68 in which he played an uncredited role alongside Eartha Kitt who portrayed Catwoman.

Sofia Bohdanowicz's 2020 short documentary film The Hardest Working Cat in Show Biz, based on Dan Sallitt’s essay of the same name, explores Orangey's history, mythology, and rumors that the name "Orangey" was ascribed to several different cats as opposed to one single cat.

Orangey was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), located in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States.

Movies for Orangey...

Audrey Hepburn: Remembered
Title: Audrey Hepburn: Remembered
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: August 11, 1993
Type: Movie
Audrey Hepburn was one of the movies' best-loved stars, blessed with beauty, talent, an elegant sophistication and an enduring aura of youthful innocence. As Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, she spoke for the world's suffering children and families, earning an affection and admiration that only increased with news of her untimely death. From the star herself we learn of her career and the family and friendships that were her priority.
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Title: Mission: Impossible
Character: Rusty
Released: September 17, 1966
Type: TV
Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force. In the first season, the team is led by Dan Briggs, played by Steven Hill; Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, takes charge for the remaining seasons. A hallmark of the series shows Briggs or Phelps receiving his instructions on a recording that then self-destructs, followed by the theme music composed by Lalo Schifrin. The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973, then returned to television for two seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1990, retaining only Graves in the cast. It later inspired a popular series of theatrical motion pictures starring Tom Cruise, beginning in 1996.
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Title: Batman
Character: Circe (uncredited)
Released: January 12, 1966
Type: TV
Wealthy entrepreneur Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson lead a double life: they are actually crime fighting duo Batman and Robin. A secret Batpole in the Wayne mansion leads to the Batcave, where Police Commissioner Gordon often calls with the latest emergency threatening Gotham City. Racing to the scene of the crime in the Batmobile, Batman and Robin must (with the help of their trusty Bat-utility-belt) thwart the efforts of a variety of master criminals, including The Riddler, The Joker, Catwoman, and The Penguin.
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Title: Batman
Character: Cat (uncredited)
Released: January 12, 1966
Type: TV
Wealthy entrepreneur Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson lead a double life: they are actually crime fighting duo Batman and Robin. A secret Batpole in the Wayne mansion leads to the Batcave, where Police Commissioner Gordon often calls with the latest emergency threatening Gotham City. Racing to the scene of the crime in the Batmobile, Batman and Robin must (with the help of their trusty Bat-utility-belt) thwart the efforts of a variety of master criminals, including The Riddler, The Joker, Catwoman, and The Penguin.
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Village of the Giants
Title: Village of the Giants
Character: Giant cat (uncredited)
Released: October 20, 1965
Type: Movie
"Genius" accidentally invents "goo" which causes living things to rapidly grow to an enormous size. Seeing an opportunity to get rich, some delinquent teenagers steal the "goo" and, as a result of a sophomoric dare, consume it themselves and become thirty feet tall. They then take over control of the town by kidnapping the sheriff's daughter and dancing suggestively.
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Title: I Dream of Jeannie
Character: Cat (uncredited)
Released: September 18, 1965
Type: TV
While on a mission, American astronaut Captain Tony Nelson is forced to make an emergency landing that will forever change his life. On a deserted South Pacific island, Captain Nelson happens upon a bottle containing a beautiful two-thousand-year-old female genie named Jeannie. Rescuing her from the bottle nets Tony the requisite three wishes, and then some, when Jeannie pledges total devotion to her new "master".
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Fluffy
Title: Fluffy
Character: Cat (uncredited)
Released: June 27, 1965
Type: Movie
A college professor gets into trouble when he tries to prove any animal can be domesticated, including an African lion.
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Title: Gilligan's Island
Character: Cat (uncredited)
Released: September 26, 1964
Type: TV
The slapstick adventures of hapless Gilligan, long-suffering Skipper and their gang of mismatched castaways, all stranded on an uncharted desert isle after their tiny ship hit stormy weather.
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Title: Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Character: Henrietta (uncredited)
Released: September 25, 1964
Type: TV
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy Griffith Show on May 18, 1964. The show ran for five seasons and a total of 150 episodes. In 2006, CBS Home Entertainment began releasing the series on DVD. The final season was released in November 2008. The series was created by Aaron Ruben, who also produced the show with Sheldon Leonard and Ronald Jacobs. Filmed and set in California, it stars Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle, a naive but good-natured gas-station attendant from the town of Mayberry, North Carolina, who enlists in the United States Marine Corps. Frank Sutton plays Gomer's high-octane, short-fused Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter, and Ronnie Schell plays Gomer's friend Gilbert "Duke" Slater. Allan Melvin played in the recurring role of Gunnery Sergeant Carter's rival, Sergeant Charley Hacker. The series never discussed nor addressed the then-current Vietnam War, instead focusing on the relationship between Gomer and Sergeant Carter. The show retained high ratings throughout its run.
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The Comedy of Terrors
Title: The Comedy of Terrors
Character: Cleopatra (credited as Rhubarb)
Released: January 22, 1964
Type: Movie
An undertaker who hasn't had any 'customers' in a long time is forced to pay one year's back-rent. To get money he starts to kill people, which brings absurd results.
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Under the Yum-Yum Tree
Title: Under the Yum-Yum Tree
Character: Cat (uncredited)
Released: October 23, 1963
Type: Movie
A love-struck landlord tries to convince a pretty tenant to dump her fiancé and give him a chance.
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Title: My Favorite Martian
Character: Max (credited as Rhubarb)
Released: September 29, 1963
Type: TV
Newspaper reporter Tim O'Hara finds a crashed alien spaceship that contains one live alien. Not wanting to be discovered by the authorities, the Martian assumes the identity of Tim's Uncle Martin and begins to repair his spaceship so that he can return to Mars.
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Title: My Favorite Martian
Character: Herbie (uncredited)
Released: September 29, 1963
Type: TV
Newspaper reporter Tim O'Hara finds a crashed alien spaceship that contains one live alien. Not wanting to be discovered by the authorities, the Martian assumes the identity of Tim's Uncle Martin and begins to repair his spaceship so that he can return to Mars.
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Title: My Favorite Martian
Character: Cat on footpath (uncredited)
Released: September 29, 1963
Type: TV
Newspaper reporter Tim O'Hara finds a crashed alien spaceship that contains one live alien. Not wanting to be discovered by the authorities, the Martian assumes the identity of Tim's Uncle Martin and begins to repair his spaceship so that he can return to Mars.
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Title: Petticoat Junction
Character: Miranda (uncredited)
Released: September 24, 1963
Type: TV
The Bradley family are proud owners of the Shady Rest Hotel. Kate and her three young daughters do the job of running the hotel.
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Title: The Fugitive
Character: Cat (uncredited)
Released: September 17, 1963
Type: TV
Richard Kimble is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death penalty. En route to death row, Kimble's train derails and crashes, allowing him to escape and begin a cross-country search for the real killer, a "one-armed man". At the same time, Dr. Kimble is hounded by the authorities, most notably dogged by Police Lieutenant Philip Gerard.
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Title: The Fugitive
Character: Rusty (uncredited)
Released: September 17, 1963
Type: TV
Richard Kimble is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death penalty. En route to death row, Kimble's train derails and crashes, allowing him to escape and begin a cross-country search for the real killer, a "one-armed man". At the same time, Dr. Kimble is hounded by the authorities, most notably dogged by Police Lieutenant Philip Gerard.
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Title: The Outer Limits
Character: Kagan Family housecat (uncredited)
Released: September 16, 1963
Type: TV
The Outer Limits is an anthology tv series of self-contained sci-fi-horror stories, sometimes with a plot twist at the end.
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Gigot
Title: Gigot
Character: Cat (uncredited)
Released: November 1, 1962
Type: Movie
A poignant comedy about a mute who befriends Nicole, the little daughter of a prostitute. Gleason shows his considerable talents as an actor without uttering a sound as he plays the bumbling, kind-hearted janitor, Gigot. Gleason wrote the original story and music for this film.
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Breakfast at Tiffany's
Title: Breakfast at Tiffany's
Character: Cat
Released: October 6, 1961
Type: Movie
Holly Golightly is an eccentric New York City playgirl determined to marry a Brazilian millionaire. But when young writer Paul Varjak moves into her apartment building, her past threatens to get in their way.
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Title: The Dick Van Dyke Show
Character: Mr. Henderson (credited as Rhubarb)
Released: October 3, 1961
Type: TV
The Dick Van Dyke Show centers around the work and home life of television comedy writer Rob Petrie. The plots generally revolve around problems at work, where Rob got into various comedic jams with fellow writers Buddy Sorrell, Sally Rogers and producer Mel Cooley.
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Title: Mister Ed
Character: Cat (uncredited)
Released: January 5, 1961
Type: TV
Wilbur Post and his wife Carol move into a beautiful new home. When Wilbur takes a look in his new barn, he finds that the former owner left his horse behind. This horse is no ordinary horse . . . he can talk, but only to Wilbur, which leads to all sorts of misadventures for Wilbur and his trouble-making sidekick Mister Ed.
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Visit to a Small Planet
Title: Visit to a Small Planet
Character: Clementine (uncredited)
Released: February 4, 1960
Type: Movie
The weirdest alien of the galaxy pays a visit to Earth... Jerry Lewis is Kreton, a childish alien who, against his teacher's will leaves his planet to visit the Earth, and lands in the backyard of a famous television journalist who doesn't believe in UFOs and aliens. Wanting to study humans but not able to fully understand them, Kreton makes a mess out of it, generating a lot of comic situations.
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Title: The Twilight Zone
Character: Cat (uncredited)
Released: October 2, 1959
Type: TV
A series of unrelated stories containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and/or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist.
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Title: The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
Character: Cat (uncredited)
Released: September 29, 1959
Type: TV
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and several episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, who had also written a feature film adaptation of his short stories for MGM in 1953, The Affairs of Dobie Gillis. The series revolved around the life of teenager/young adult Dobie Gillis, who, along with his best friend, beatnik Maynard G. Krebs, struggles against the forces of his life - high school, the military, college, and his parents - as he aspires to attain both wealth and dates with girls. The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was produced by Martin Manulis Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Creator Shulman also wrote the theme song in collaboration with Lionel Newman.
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Darby O'Gill and the Little People
Title: Darby O'Gill and the Little People
Character: Ginger (uncredited)
Released: June 24, 1959
Type: Movie
A wily old codger matches wits with the King of the Leprechauns and helps play matchmaker for his daughter and the strapping lad who has replaced him as caretaker.
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The Diary of Anne Frank
Title: The Diary of Anne Frank
Character: Mouschi (uncredited)
Released: March 18, 1959
Type: Movie
The true, harrowing story of a young Jewish girl who, with her family and their friends, is forced into hiding in an attic in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam.
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Title: The Rifleman
Character: Cat (uncredited)
Released: September 30, 1958
Type: TV
The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher 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 was filmed in black-and-white, half-hour episodes. "The Rifleman" aired on ABC from September 30, 1958 to April 8, 1963 as a production of Four Star Television. It was one of the first prime time series to have a widowed parent raise a child.
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The Matchmaker
Title: The Matchmaker
Character: Himself - a cat (as Rhubarb)
Released: July 23, 1958
Type: Movie
Thornton Wilder's tale of a matchmaker who desires the man she's supposed to be pairing with another woman.
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The Matchmaker
Title: The Matchmaker
Character: Cat (credited as Rhubarb)
Released: July 23, 1958
Type: Movie
Thornton Wilder's tale of a matchmaker who desires the man she's supposed to be pairing with another woman.
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Title: Shirley Temple's Storybook
Character: The Cat (credited as Rhubarb)
Released: January 12, 1958
Type: TV
Shirley Temple's Storybook is an American children's anthology series hosted and narrated by actress Shirley Temple. The series features adaptations of fairy tales like Mother Goose and other family-oriented stories performed by well-known actors, although one episode, an adaptation of The House of the Seven Gables, was meant for older youngsters. The first season of sixteen black-and-white and colored episodes aired on NBC between January 12, 1958 and December 21, 1958 as Shirley Temple's Storybook. Thirteen episodes of the first season re-ran on ABC beginning on January 12, 1959. The second season of twenty-five color episodes aired on NBC as The Shirley Temple Show between September 18, 1960 and July 16, 1961 in much the same format that it had under its original title. Temple's three children made their acting debuts in the last episode of the first season, "Mother Goose". When a stagehand said 'shit' during a "Mother Goose" rehearsal, Temple had him fired, telling the stunned cast it was a children's show–although no children were present during the rehearsal. Three of the first season episodes were done live, and each of the three took ten days of preparation. Temple read each script and made suggestions for improvement if necessary.
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Title: Leave It to Beaver
Character: Puff Puff (uncredited)
Released: October 4, 1957
Type: TV
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive and often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood. The show also starred Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont as Beaver's parents, June and Ward Cleaver, and Tony Dow as Beaver's brother Wally. The show has attained an iconic status in the US, with the Cleavers exemplifying the idealized suburban family of the mid-20th century.
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Short Cut to Hell
Title: Short Cut to Hell
Character: Cat (uncredited)
Released: September 1, 1957
Type: Movie
A hitman is found out because he was paid off in traceable stolen money. On the run, he kidnaps the girlfriend of the police detective in charge of his pursuit; she tries to convince him to surrender before it's too late.
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Beau James
Title: Beau James
Character: Cat (uncredited)
Released: June 7, 1957
Type: Movie
The story of Jimmy Walker who became mayor of New York in the '20s.
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The Incredible Shrinking Man
Title: The Incredible Shrinking Man
Character: Butch (uncredited)
Released: February 22, 1957
Type: Movie
A dangerous combination of radiation and insecticide causes the unfortunate Scott Carey to shrink, slowly but surely, until he is only a few inches tall. His home becomes a wilderness where he must survive everything from spiders living in the cellar to his beloved cat.
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Our Miss Brooks
Title: Our Miss Brooks
Character: Minerva (uncredited)
Released: April 24, 1956
Type: Movie
The big-screen translation of the successful television show of the 1950's. Arden stars as Connie Brooks, wisecracking English teacher at Madison High School, still hoping to tie the knot with shy biology teacher Philip Boynton (Robert Rockwell).
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Title: Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Character: Cat (uncredited)
Released: October 2, 1955
Type: TV
A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.
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Title: Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Character: Stanley (uncredited)
Released: October 2, 1955
Type: TV
A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.
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This Island Earth
Title: This Island Earth
Character: Neutron (uncredited)
Released: June 1, 1955
Type: Movie
Aliens have landed and are hiding on Earth, but need Earth’s scientists to help them fight an inter-planetary war.
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Title: Our Miss Brooks
Character: Minerva
Released: October 3, 1952
Type: TV
Our Miss Brooks is an American situation comedy starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television, it became one of the medium's earliest hits. In 1956, the sitcom was adapted for big screen in the film of the same name.
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Rhubarb
Title: Rhubarb
Character: Rhubarb (uncredited; one of 14 cats in the role)
Released: August 29, 1951
Type: Movie
Rich, eccentric T.J. Banner adopts a feral cat who becomes an affectionate pet he names Rhubarb. Then T.J. dies, leaving to Rhubarb most of his money and a pro baseball team, the Brooklyn Loons. When the team protests, publicist Eric Yeager convinces them Rhubarb is good luck. But Eric's fiancée Polly seems to be allergic to cats, and the team's success may mean new hazards for Rhubarb.