Poor Orson Bean wasn’t struck and killed last night by “a car” in a Venice neighborhood. He was struck by two cars — one that “clipped” him and a second that finished him off **. (It’s called teamwork.)

The upside is that Bean lived a full life and enjoyed a vibrant career for the most part. An actor-comedian who arguably peaked in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s (he was a regular on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and its spin-off Fernwood 2Nite), Bean’s signature performance (IMHO) was as the spirited if deluded Dr. Lester in Spike Jonze‘s Being John Malkovich (’99).

** Bean was walking near Venice Boulevard and Shell Avenue. “The car coming westbound did not see him and clipped him and he went down,” said Los Angeles Police Department Captain Brian Wendling. “A second vehicle was coming up, was distracted by people trying to slow him down and then looked up and then a second traffic collision occurred and that one was fatal.”