Actress held late husband’s body for ‘four hours’ after ‘brutal’ accident

EntertainmentOrson Bean and Alley Mills in 2018.Invision/AP“The Wonder Years” actress Alley Mills is reflecting on her husband Orson Bean’s death in a shocking accident.Mills is best known for her roles as Norma Arnold in “The Wonder Years,” and Heather Webber in “General Hospital.” Bean was a stage actor and comedian who made frequent appearances on televised game shows from the 1960s through the 1980s. Bean died at age 91 in February 2020 after he was struck by two vehicles while crossing Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles. The first vehicle clipped Bean, causing him to fall. A second vehicle then hit Bean and dragged him for about a quarter of a block. Mills, 75, who married Bean in 1993, was across the street when the accident occurred.“I heard a screech of wheels … and the first thing I saw was his red scarf on the pavement,” Mills recalled during an Aug. 21 appearance on film producer Mark Joseph’s podcast. “I couldn’t stop screaming. I couldn’t control my throat.” “They put a tent over me because there were a lot of helicopters overhead and everything,” she continued. “And they let me hold him for four hours.”Mills attempted to resuscitate Bean because she felt his heart still beating. She didn’t notice that his “vertebrae” were protruding from his back when she reached him.“He was long gone, but your heart keeps beating, which I didn’t know,” she said. “So, I gave him mouth-to-mouth. And, you know, there was blood everywhere. But he was gone.”The doctor who performed the autopsy later called Mills to inform her that Bean was “killed on impact instantly” and “did not suffer at all.” Mills said the revelation “changed everything” for her. “He was 91, he had a great life and he died instantly,” she said. “It was just brutal to see, but it wasn’t brutal for him. And that’s what really mattered to me.”READ MORE: Dolly Parton was looking to the future days before her death: ‘Still so many things I want to achieve’Mills was further comforted by something Bean said the day of the accident. He woke Mills early in the morning to say his guardian angel had instructed him to tell Mills she had a guardian angel of her own.“It relieved an enormous amount of pain for me to know that he hadn’t suffered and that he’d said that to me that morning,” Mills said. “And I’d seen him almost transition in front of my eyes.”Despite finding some comfort in the circumstances surrounding Bean’s death, Mills said she’s “not recovered” from losing him.“It’s not really recovery. It’s just, you learn it’s a new life,” she said. Mills does not have any children of her own, but she is a stepmother to Bean’s four children from previous relationships — daughters Susannah and Michele, and sons Ezekiel and Max. ‘Harry Potter’ series replaces another lead actor ahead of season 2‘Big Brother’ star says this season 28 player ‘lies unnecessarily’Host of beloved TV show breaks silence after psychiatric hold, says doctors ‘saved my life’ Former child star claims she was sexually abused on set of Disney Channel movie at age 14Sara Donnellan is a trending entertainment news writer. She worked as a TV news reporter for NJ.com, covering scripted and reality television and other viral TV moments, answering viewers’ burning questions and...