Orson Welles

Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was a prolific American 20th century movie director, writer and actor. He was best known for his film Citizen Kane, which was a highly innovative work by him at age only 25 which influenced all movies made afterward, and his dramatization on the radio of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, which was so persuasively performed by him at age only 23 that it caused panic among people who thought a Martian invasion was really happening. His final role was in 1986's Transformers: The Movie, where he voiced Unicron. Due to his poor health at his elderly age for that final role, sound effects were used to enhance his voice.

Welles disliked the inflexibility of Hollywood early in his career, which he referred to later as "the worst days in the old Hollywood."^[1]

Welles was planning to direct and star in a new production of King Lear with the French government at his untimely death at age 70,^[2] "[A]n executive producer [said] ... she believes the betrayal Welles felt [by the French government on the King Lear project] contributed to his death on October 10, 1985."^[1]

Innovation[edit]

Welles' most prominent innovation, among many, was deep focus cinematography.

Film noir[edit]

Orson Welles' most notable film noir was The Third Man (1949) directed by Sir Carol Reed, in which Welles starred.

Biography[edit]

Born in Wisconsin, Welles was the son of an inventor whose parents divorced while he was young and then his mother died a few years thereafter. Welles overcame hardship growing up and excelled throughout his career in acting both overseas and in the United States until he passed away in Los Angeles.

Links[edit]

• Orson Welles at the Internet Movie Database