Orson Welles
Birthdate: May 6, 1915
Birthplace: Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
Died: Oct 10, 1985
His father, Richard Head Welles, was a well-to-do inventor, his mother, Beatrice (Ives) Welles, a beautiful concert pianist; Orson Welles was gifted in many arts (magic, piano, painting) as a child. When his mother died in 1924 (when he was nine) he traveled the world with his father. He was orphaned at 15 after his father's death in 1930 and became the ward of Dr. Maurice Bernstein of Chicago. In 1931, he graduated from the Todd School in Woodstock, Illinois. He turned down college offers for a sketching tour of Ireland. He tried unsuccessfully to enter the London and Broadway stages, traveling some more in Morocco and Spain, where he fought in the bullring.
Recommendations by Thornton Wilder and Alexander Woollcott got him into Katharine Cornell's road company, with which he made his New York debut as Tybalt in 1934. The same year, he married, directed his first short, and appeared on radio for the first time. He began working with John Houseman and formed the Mercury Theatre with him in 1937. In 1938, they produced "The Mercury Theatre on the Air", famous for its broadcast version of "The War of the Worlds" (intended as a Halloween prank). His first film to be seen by the public was Citizen Kane (1941), a commercial failure losing RKO $150,000, but regarded by many as the best film ever made. Many of his subsequent films were commercial failures and he exiled himself to Europe in 1948.
In 1956, he directed Touch of Evil (1958); it failed in the United States but won a prize at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. In 1975, in spite of all his box-office failures, he received the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 1984, the Directors Guild of America awarded him its highest honor, the D.W. Griffith Award. His reputation as a filmmaker steadily climbed thereafter.
Orson Welles Photos and Videos
Known For
Orson Welles Movies
actor
Previous (118)
- 2024 | Aliens Uncovered: Close Encounters
- 2022 | American: An Odyssey to 1947
- 2020 | Hopper/Welles
- 2019 | The Welles Raft
- 2019 |
The Eyes of Orson Welles
asSelf
Mark Cousins dives deep into the visual world of legendary director and actor Orson Welles to reveal a portrait of the artist as he's never been seen before.
- 2018 | The Other Side of the Wind
- 2018 | They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
- 2016 |
The Finest Hours
asNarrator
The Coast Guard makes a daring rescue attempt off the coast of Cape Cod after a pair of oil tankers are destroyed during a blizzard in 1952.
- 2016 |
Chimes at Midnight
asSir John Falstaff
When King Henry IV ascends to the throne, his heir, the Prince of Wales, is befriended by Sir John Falstaff, an old, overweight, fun-loving habitual liar. Through Falstaff's eyes we see the reign of King Henry IV and the rise of Henry V.
- 2015 | This Is Orson Welles
- 2015 |
- 2014 | Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
- 1951 | Othelloas Othello
- 2010 | Jucy
- 2008 | Lucifer et moi
- 1947 | Monsieur Verdoux
- 2006 | Searching for Orson
- 2006 |
Casino Royale
asLe Chiffre
After earning a licence to kill, secret agent James Bond sets out on his first mission as 007. Bond must defeat a private banker funding terrorists in a high-stakes game of poker at Casino Royale, in Montenegro.
- 2005 | Brunnen
- 2005 | Druga strana Wellesa
- 2005 | The Day That Panicked America
- 2001 | Shylock
- 1999 | According to Occam's Razor
- 1999 | The Big Brass Ring
- 1949 | The Third Manas Harry Lime
- 1995 | Orson Welles: The One-Man Band
- 1993 | It's All True: Based on an Unfinished Film by Orson Welles
- 1992 | Don Quixote
- 1990 | Hollywood Mavericks
- 1990 | Stars and Stripes
- 1987 | Someone to Loveas Danny's Friend
- 1986 | Hot Moneyas Sheriff Baxter
- 1986 | The Transformers: The Movieas Unicron
- 1986 |
The Transformers: The Movie
asUnicron
The Autobots must stop a colossal planet-consuming robot who goes after the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. At the same time, they must defend themselves against an all-out attack from the Decepticons.
- 1984 | The Last Sailors: The Final Days of Working Sailas Narrator
- 1984 | The Road to Bresson
- 1984 | Where Is Parsifal?as Klingsor
- 1983 | The Psychic Connectionas Narrator
- 1982 | Genocideas Narrator
- 1981 | Butterflyas Judge Rauch
- 1981 | Filming 'the Trial'
- 1981 | Search for the Titanic
- 1981 | The Enchanted Journeyas Pippo
- 1981 | The Man Who Saw Tomorrowas Narrator
- 1980 | A Step Away
- 1980 | The Secret Life of Nikola Teslaas J.P. Morgan
- 1978 | Filming 'Othello'as Host
- 1978 | Mysterious Castles of Clayas Narrator
- 1978 | The Late Great Planet Earth
- 1977 | Some Call It Greedas Narrator
- 1977 | The Force Beyond
- 1977 | The Lions of Capitalismas Narrator
- 1975 | Bugs Bunny Superstaras Narrator
- 1975 | The Challenge... A Tribute to Modern Art
- 1973 | Above San Franciscoas Narrator
- 1973 | F for Fake
- 1973 | Kelly Country
- 1972 | Get to Know Your Rabbitas Mr. Delasandro
- 1972 | Necromancyas Mr. Cato
- 1972 | The Shah of Iran
- 1972 | Treasure Islandas Long John Silver
- 1971 | Directed by John Fordas Narrator
- 1971 | Ten Days Wonderas Théo Van Horn - un multimillionnaire qui vit en despote dans sa maison
- 1971 | The Legend of Doom Houseas Cassavius
- 1971 | A Safe Placeas The Magician
- 1970 | A Horse Called Nijinskyas Narrator
- 1970 | Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dalias Narrator
- 1970 | The Deepas Russ Brewer
- 1970 | Waterlooas Louis XVIII
- 1969 | 12 + 1as Maurice Markau
- 1969 | Barbed Water
- 1969 | Kampf um Rom II - Der Verratas Justinian
- 1969 | Tepepaas Colonel Cascorro
- 1969 | The Battle of Neretvaas Senator
- 1969 | The Southern Staras Plankett
- 1969 | To Build a Fireas Narrator
- 1968 | House of Cardsas Leschenhaut
- 1968 | Oedipus the Kingas Tiresias
- 1968 | The Last Romanas Emperor Justinian
- 1967 | I'll Never Forget What's'isnameas Jonathan Lute
- 1967 | The Heroine
- 1967 | The Sailor from Gibraltaras Louis de Mozambique
- 1966 | A Man for All Seasonsas Cardinal Wolsey
- 1965 | A King's Storyas Narrator
- 1965 | Marco the Magnificentas Akerman, Marco's Tutor
- 1963 | River of the Ocean
- 1963 | Ro.Go.Pa.G.as The 'Director' (segment "La ricotta")
- 1963 | The V.I.P.sas Max Buda
- 1961 | The Tartarsas Burundai
- 1960 | Crack in the Mirroras Hagolin
- 1960 | David and Goliathas King Saul
- 1960 | The Battle of Austerlitzas Robert Fulton
- 1959 | Compulsionas Jonathan Wilk
- 1959 | Ferry to Hong Kongas Captain Hart
- 1958 | Masters of the Congo Jungleas Narrator, English Language Version
- 1958 | The Long, Hot Summeras Will Varner
- 1958 | The Roots of Heavenas Cy Sedgewick
- 1958 | Touch of Evilas Police Captain Hank Quinlan
- 1957 | Man in the Shadowas Virgil Renchler
- 1955 | Confidential Reportas Gregory Arkadin
- 1954 | Three Cases of Murderas Lord Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment)
- 1954 | Trouble in the Glenas Sanin Cejador y Mengues
- 1953 | L'uomo la bestia e la virtùas Captain Perella - the Beast
- 1952 | Trent's Last Caseas Sigsbee Manderson
- 1950 | The Black Roseas Bayan
- 1949 | Black Magicas Cagliostro
- 1949 | Prince of Foxesas Cesare Borgia
- 1947 | The Lady from Shanghaias Michael O'Hara
- 1946 | Tomorrow Is Foreveras John Andrew MacDonald
- 1946 | The Strangeras Prof. Charles Rankin
- 1943 | Jane Eyreas Edward Rochester
- 1943 | It's All True
- 1943 | Journey Into Fearas Colonel Haki
- 1942 | The Magnificent Ambersonsas Narrator
- 1941 |
Citizen Kane
asKane
Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'
- 1941 | Citizen Kaneas Kane
- 1938 | Too Much Johnsonas Keystone Kop
- 1937 | The Spanish Earthas Narrator (English version) (later replaced by Ernest Hemingway)
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