Orson Welles
George Orson Welles was born the 6th of May 1915, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His father Richard Head Welles made a fortune inventing a bicycle lamp before becoming an alcoholic and losing his business. Beatrice Ives Welles, his mother, was a concert pianist who studied with Leopold Godowsky. She supported her family by playing during lectures at the Art Institute of Chicago after their separation in 1919. Her death from hepatitis on the 10th of May 1924, left nine-year-old Orson without parental guidance. He spent summers at a private art colony in Wyoming, New York, where he befriended Prince Aly Khan. Roger Hill, a teacher at the Todd Seminary for Boys in Woodstock, Illinois, became his mentor. Hill allowed Welles to experiment freely with theatre and radio. The school provided a stage and its own radio station for young Welles's use. He performed adaptations of Sherlock Holmes there. This environment fostered his early creative identity. After his father died in December 1930, Welles chose Dr. Maurice Bernstein as guardian instead of Hill. He traveled Europe using part of his inheritance before returning to America.
Welles and John Houseman founded the Mercury Theatre in 1937. Their first production opened the 11th of November 1937, with Caesar set in modern dress. Joseph Cotten later described it as so vigorous that it set Broadway on its ear. The stage had no curtain and featured a dark red brick wall. Lights designed by Jean Rosenthal pointed upward through squares cut into risers to evoke Nuremberg Rallies. The company included actors like Geraldine Fitzgerald, Vincent Price, and Norman Lloyd. They presented Heartbreak House and Danton's Death alongside Caesar. Time magazine put Welles on its cover the 9th of May 1938, three days after his twenty-third birthday. The Mercury Theatre ran until 1941. It broke performance records for Shakespearean plays. Critics called it revolutionary because every element served the text. Lighting, sound, music, and staging formed a total theatrical experience. No other American director had achieved such unity before. The company disbanded when CBS Radio invited them to create a summer show. That transition marked the end of their independent repertory work but launched Welles's national fame.
The Mercury Theatre on the Air began the 11th of July 1938, as a weekly hour-long radio series. Bernard Herrmann composed original music for each episode. On the 30th of October 1938, they broadcast an adaptation of H.G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds. The program used news bulletin formats that confused listeners who missed the introduction. Some believed a Martian invasion was actually occurring. Adolf Hitler later mentioned this confusion in a speech about democracy's decadence. The event made the twenty-three-year-old Welles internationally famous. The show became The Campbell Playhouse after Campbell Soup picked it up the 4th of December 1938. Campbell exercised creative control over story selection. After the 31st of March 1940, Welles parted ways with the sponsor. He had previously played Lamont Cranston, also known as The Shadow, from September 1937 through mid-September 1938. His narration style invented self-adulation while remaining generous to cast members. Within a year of his debut, he commanded salaries second only to movie stars. He shuttled between Harlem and Manhattan three times daily during Voodoo Macbeth rehearsals. This dual career built his reputation before Hollywood ever called.
RKO Pictures offered Welles a groundbreaking contract the 21st of August 1939. It granted him final cut authority, unprecedented for any filmmaker at the time. Citizen Kane opened in 1941 with Welles co-writing, producing, directing, and starring. Cinematographer Gregg Toland used deep focus photography where everything remained sharp from eighteen inches to two hundred feet away. They composed angles so action occurring simultaneously in foreground and background appeared lifelike. Bernard Herrmann scored the film, re-recording music six or seven times until achieving proper dynamic levels. Filming took ten weeks. William Randolph Hearst's newspapers barred all references to the project. Louis B. Mayer offered RKO chief George Schaefer cash to destroy negatives and prints. Citizen Kane received nine Academy Award nominations but won only Best Original Screenplay shared by Mankiewicz and Welles. Variety reported block voting deprived it of Best Picture and Best Actor awards. Bosley Crowther called it a picture of tremendous scope that moved rapidly through thoughts. Cecelia Ager wrote seeing it felt like waking a slumbering monster. The film was retired to vaults in 1942 after limited release. Its reputation grew in France by 1946 and began re-evaluation on American television in 1956.
Nelson Rockefeller appointed Welles goodwill ambassador to Latin America in late November 1941. The Office of Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs sent him to Brazil to film Rio Carnival footage. He traveled to Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay without compensation for over six months. In July 1941, he conceived It's All True as an omnibus film mixing documentary and docufiction. Duke Ellington scored a segment about jazz history featuring Louis Armstrong. Filming took place in Mexico September through December 1941 under Norman Foster's direction. RKO refused further support when black-and-white stock ran out. Welles recalled being fired from RKO while abroad. Studio president George Schaefer resigned shortly afterward. New management canceled the project entirely. Welles returned to the United States the 22nd of August 1942. He produced I Pledge America, a seven-hour War Bond drive broadcast the 29th of August 1942. That program raised more than ten million dollars for the war effort. His ambassadorial mission succeeded culturally despite financial failure. The experience led directly to his loss of directorial control over both Ambersons and It's All True.
Welles moved to Europe after Macbeth failed commercially in 1948. He starred as Cagliostro in Black Magic released in Italy 1949. Akim Tamiroff impressed him so much that Tamiroff appeared in four subsequent productions. Carol Reed cast him as Harry Lime in The Third Man alongside Joseph Cotten. Graham Greene wrote the script with Anton Karas composing its memorable score. Roger Ebert called Lime's entrance the most famous speech in movie history. Welles self-financed Othello between 1949 and 1951 using money earned from acting jobs. He filmed on location in Italy and Morocco with Micheál Mac Liammóir playing Iago. Suzanne Cloutier starred as Desdemona. The American release prints suffered technical flaws including sound dropouts at quiet moments. Beatrice Welles-Smith restored it in 1992 reconstructing Angelo Francesco Lavagnino's original score. David Thomson described the poetry hanging in air like sea mist or incense. Welles also acted in Jane Eyre receiving one hundred thousand dollars for his role. He directed The Stranger completed a day ahead of schedule under budget. It grossed three point two million dollars against one point zero three million cost. No other film he made achieved such box office success upon initial release.
British Film Institute polls voted Welles greatest film director ever in 2002. The Daily Telegraph included him among greatest Hollywood actors of all time in 2018. Citizen Kane topped Sight and Sound decennial poll from 1962 to 2012. He received Academy Honorary Award in 1970 plus Golden Lion in 1947 and Palme D'Or in 1952. Three Grammy Awards recognized his radio work alongside his film achievements. AFI Life Achievement Award honored him in 1975. His distinctive style featured nonlinear narratives, dramatic lighting, unusual camera angles, deep focus shots, and long takes. Critics praised his layered storytelling techniques throughout decades. Posthumous restorations revived many unfinished projects including Othello and Touch of Evil. Film scholars continue analyzing his influence on cinema history. Jonathan Rosenbaum called him the ultimate filmmaker in Discovering Orson Welles published 2007. His life spanned from the 6th of May 1915 until the 10th of October 1985. Generations of directors cite him as primary inspiration for innovative filmmaking approaches.
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Common questions
When and where was Orson Welles born?
George Orson Welles was born the 6th of May 1915, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His father Richard Head Welles made a fortune inventing a bicycle lamp before becoming an alcoholic and losing his business.
What happened during the Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast on the 30th of October 1938?
The program used news bulletin formats that confused listeners who missed the introduction when they broadcast an adaptation of H.G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds. Some believed a Martian invasion was actually occurring and Adolf Hitler later mentioned this confusion in a speech about democracy's decadence.
Why did Citizen Kane receive only one Academy Award despite nine nominations?
Citizen Kane received nine Academy Award nominations but won only Best Original Screenplay shared by Mankiewicz and Welles because Variety reported block voting deprived it of Best Picture and Best Actor awards. Louis B. Mayer offered RKO chief George Schaefer cash to destroy negatives and prints.
How did Nelson Rockefeller appoint Orson Welles as goodwill ambassador to Latin America?
Nelson Rockefeller appointed Welles goodwill ambassador to Latin America in late November 1941 and sent him to Brazil to film Rio Carnival footage for the Office of Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs. He traveled to Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay without compensation for over six months.
When did Orson Welles die and what were his major posthumous honors?
His life spanned from the 6th of May 1915 until the 10th of October 1985. British Film Institute polls voted Welles greatest film director ever in 2002 and The Daily Telegraph included him among greatest Hollywood actors of all time in 2018.