Orr became involved in children's theatre beginning at the age of 10 (with her first role being in Alice in Wonderland) after she began taking elocution lessons due to her French accent,[1][2] and started to develop her repertoire of voices. By the age of 14,[3] she was working at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), as well as acting in stage theaters at the Mountain Playhouse in Montreal and the Crest Theatre in Toronto,[4] working for the Montreal Shakespearian Company and alongside such notables as William Shatner.[1] With her solid background on the stage, Orr was hired by CBC Radio[1] for roles in their radio dramas such as Laura Limited. She then moved to CBC Television to portray the character of Suzie the Mouse in the children's soap opera Chez Helene,[1][5] a bilingual program devoted to teaching children English and French.
Following her move to New York City, Orr began working regularly on radio and television, and as a voice artist, having been credited over 200 voice-over roles.[4] One of her first jobs was a continuing role in the daytime soap opera The Nurses; others included voice acting roles in several CBS Radio Adventure Theater and CBS Radio Mystery Theater programs. She also began her lucrative career as spokesperson for a variety of companies in a wide range of radio and television commercials. In addition to commercials, Orr has narrated children's stories, provided voices for several dolls, and recorded numerous audiobooks. She was the voice of the Snuggle bear for 15 years and narrated Aliki Brandenberg's Mummies Made in Egypt for the PBS series Reading Rainbow, and participated in a special redubbing of an episode of Late Night with David Letterman.[6] Orr's work as a voice actress included dubbing foreign films (including anime films) and series into English. Her television credits include the English versions of several 1960s-1990s Japanese series such as Marine Boy, where she voiced both male and female leads.[7] She has also worked on American cartoon series such as The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers and Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders,[3] as well as direct-to-video animated films.
She remains best known for her work on the English dubbed version of the 1960s anime Speed Racer, where she portrayed Speed's girlfriend Trixie[8] and all of the female characters,[3] as well as the voice of Speed's kid brother Spritle, who had a raspy voice, and which became a hit and a cult title in the United States. Following the release of the compilation film Speed Racer: The Movie, together with a fellow voice actor on the show, Peter Fernandez, she went on Children's Safety Network-sponsored tours around the country with the Mach 5 car in order to promote their campaign for children's safety.[9] Her voice can be also heard in the 2008 Speed Racer live-action film.[10] After the death of Fernandez in 2010, she became the last surviving English-language cast member of Speed Racer.[11][12]
Orr judged the Daytime Emmy Awards for 18 years and served on the Screen Actors Guild council for 13 years. She has appeared as a guest of honor at numerous entertainment conventions (often with Fernandez,[13] with whom she has worked together in most of her voice acting roles[11]),[14] including Friends of Old Time Radio,[13] The Hollywood Show,[15]Anime Weekend Atlanta,[1]Zentrancon,[16]Zenkaikon,[17]Anime North,[4]New York Anime Festival,[18] and New York Comic Con.[19] She was featured in Paley Archive's Women in Film series, Anthony Wynn's book Conversations at Warp Speed, and the documentary film Otaku Unite!. She also participated in many charity activities, such as a Pygmalion play where all the money went to a charity,[3] volunteer work at New York hospital, teaching voiceover courses and reading to the homeless.
