[2] Born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Orkin received his Bachelor of Arts degree in speech and theater from Franklin & Marshall College.
He gained acclaim with his comedy radio commercials (until 1982 in collaboration with Bert Berdis) for Time magazine, GMAC, the Gap and other clients.
His radio spots, mini dramas dubbed by Newsweek as "The Advertising Theater of the Absurd", won many awards.
The serial was designed to air on Saturdays and Sundays, on stations that were playing the original Chickenman series on Mondays through Fridays.
[12][13] On January 21, 2010, Orkin wrote to the National Association of Broadcasters, requesting them to remove his name from the Hall of Fame, because he did not wish to share the honor with radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.