Gloria Hodge (Dixie Carter) is Orson's scheming sociopathic mother. When Orson was a teenager, Gloria killed her unfaithful husband and staged his death as a suicide. Orson blamed himself for his 'suicide' because he was supposed to be watching over his depressed father but opted instead to sneak out. Gloria would exploit her son's guilt to make him do the things she wanted him to do. Gloria made Orson feel so guilty that he became extremely depressed and had to be committed to a mental institution.