OW
Orson Welles
Actor, Director, Producer, Writer, Editor
Died October 10, 1985 (70 years)
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985), best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio. Noted for his innovative dramatic productions as well as his distinctive voice and personality, Welles is widely acknowledged as one of the most accomplished dramatic artists of the twentieth century, especially for his significant and influential early work—despite his notoriously contentious relationship with Hollywood. His distinctive directorial style featured layered, nonlinear narrative forms, innovative uses of lighting such as chiaroscuro, unique camera angles, sound techniques borrowed from radio, deep focus shots, and long takes. Welles's long career in film is noted for his struggle for artistic control in the face of pressure from studios. Many of his films were heavily edited and others left unreleased. He has been praised as a major creative force and as "the ultimate auteur."
After directing a number of high-profile theatrical productions in his early twenties, including an innovative adaptation of Macbeth and The Cradle Will Rock, Welles found national and international fame as the director and narrator of a 1938 radio adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds performed for the radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was reported to have caused widespread panic when listeners thought that an invasion by extraterrestrial beings was occurring. Although these reports of panic were mostly false and overstated,[2] they rocketed Welles to instant notoriety.
Citizen Kane (1941), his first film with RKO, in which he starred in the role of Charles Foster Kane, is often considered the greatest film ever made. Several of his other films, including The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Touch of Evil (1958), Chimes at Midnight (1965), and F for Fake (1974), are also widely considered to be masterpieces.
In 2002, he was voted the greatest film director of all time in two separate British Film Institute polls among directors and critics, and a wide survey of critical consensus, best-of lists, and historical retrospectives calls him the most acclaimed director of all time. Well known for his baritone voice, Welles was also an extremely well regarded actor and was voted number 16 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars list of the greatest American film actors of all time. He was also a celebrated Shakespearean stage actor and an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety shows in the war years.
Filmography
| 2019 | Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil" · as (archive footage) |
| 2012 | Not Fade Away · as Police Captain Hank Quinlan in Touch of Evil |
| 2010 | Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff · as Genghis Khan / Bayan (archive footage) |
| 2010 | Cinema Komunisto · as Sef |
| 2010 | Jucy · as Voice of the Elephant Lamp |
| 2005 | Brunnen · as Unknown |
| 2001 | A Huey P. Newton Story · as Unknown |
| 2001 | NASA: A Space Odyssey Vol. 3 · as Narrator |
| 1998 | |
| 1997 | Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years · as Actor 'Compulsion' |
| 1995 | Get Shorty · as Police Captain Hank Quinlan |
| 1991 | Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio · as Professor in War of the Worlds Broadcast |
| 1987 | Someone to Love · as Danny's Friend |
| 1986 | The Transformers: The Movie · as Unicron (voice) |
| 1986 | Hot Money · as Sheriff Paisley |
| 1985 | Moonlighting (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1984 | Where Is Parsifal? · as Klingsor |
| 1984 | Almonds and Raisins · as Narrator |
| 1984 | The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Michael Landon · as Unknown |
| 1982 | Slapstick of Another Kind · as Aliens' Father (voice) |
| 1982 | Genocide · as Narrator (voice) |
| 1982 | Night of 100 Stars · as Unknown |
| 1981 | Butterfly · as Judge Rauch |
| 1981 | The Man Who Saw Tomorrow · as Presenter / Narrator |
| 1981 | History of the World: Part I · as Narrator |
| 1980 | The Secret Life of Nikola Tesla · as J.P. Morgan |
| 1980 | Shogun · as Narrator |
| 1980 | Magnum, P.I. (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1980 | Shogun (TV Series) · as Narrator |
| 1979 | The Muppet Movie · as Lew Lord |
| 1979 | The Double McGuffin · as Narrator |
| 1978 | The Biggest Battle · as Narratore |
| 1978 | A Woman Called Moses (TV Series) · as Narrator |
| 1977 | It Happened One Christmas · as Henry F. Potter |
| 1976 | Voyage of the Damned · as José Estedes |
| 1976 | The New Deal for Artists · as Narrator (voice) |
| 1975 | Rikki-Tikki-Tavi · as Narrator / Nag / Chuchundra (voice) |
| 1975 | Brother Can You Spare a Dime · as (archive footage) |
| 1975 | Bugs Bunny Superstar · as Narrator (voice) |
| 1975 | The Challenge... A Tribute to Modern Art · as Narrator |
| 1974 | Ten Little Indians · as Voice on Tape |
| 1973 | The Battle of Sutjeska · as Winston Churchill |
| 1973 | The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1973 | Above San Francisco · as Narrator |
| 1972 | Necromancy · as Mr. Cato |
| 1972 | Get to Know Your Rabbit · as Mr. Delasandro |
| 1972 | Treasure Island · as Long John Silver |
| 1971 | The Legend of Doom House · as Cassavius |
| 1971 | A Safe Place · as The Magician |
| 1971 | Ten Days Wonder · as Théo Van Horn |
| 1971 | Sentinels of Silence · as Unknown |
| 1970 | Catch-22 · as Brigadier General Dreedle |
| 1970 | Start the Revolution Without Me · as The Narrator |
| 1970 | Waterloo · as Louis XVIII |
| 1970 | The Kremlin Letter · as Bresnavitch |
| 1970 | A Horse Called Nijinsky · as Narrator |
| 1969 | 12 + 1 · as Markan |
| 1969 | The Battle of Neretva · as Četnik |
| 1969 | The Southern Star · as Plankett |
| 1969 | Tepepa · as Colonel Cascorro |
| 1969 | To Build a Fire · as Narrator (voice) |
| 1969 | Kampf um Rom II - Der Verrat · as Justinian |
| 1969 | Night Gallery (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1968 | House of Cards · as Leschenhaut |
| 1968 | The Immortal Story · as Charles Clay |
| 1968 | Oedipus the King · as Tiresias |
| 1968 | The Last Roman · as Justinian |
| 1968 | The Name of the Game (TV Series) · as Narrator |
| 1967 | Casino Royale · as Le Chiffre |
| 1967 | The Sailor from Gibraltar · as Unknown |
| 1967 | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (TV Series) · as Guest Performer |
| 1966 | A Man for All Seasons · as Cardinal Wolsey |
| 1966 | Is Paris Burning? · as Konsul Nordling |
| 1965 | Chimes at Midnight · as Falstaff |
| 1965 | Marco the Magnificent · as Akerman, Marco's Teacher |
| 1965 | A King's Story · as Narrator |
| 1964 | The Finest Hours · as Narrator (voice) |
| 1963 | The V.I.P.s · as Max Buda |
| 1963 | Ro.Go.Pa.G. · as The 'Director' (segment "La ricotta") |
| 1963 | La Ricotta · as The 'Director' |
| 1962 | Lafayette · as Benjamin Franklin |
| 1962 | The Trial · as Albert Hastler |
| 1961 | King of Kings · as Narrator (Voice) |
| 1961 | The Tartars · as Burundai |
| 1960 | The Battle of Austerlitz · as Robert Fulton |
| 1960 | David and Goliath · as King Saul |
| 1960 | Crack in the Mirror · as Hagolin / Lamerciere |
| 1959 | Ferry to Hong Kong · as Captain Hart |
| 1959 | Compulsion · as Jonathan Wilk |
| 1958 | Touch of Evil · as Police Captain Hank Quinlan |
| 1958 | The Long, Hot Summer · as Will Varner |
| 1958 | The Roots of Heaven · as Cy Sedgewick |
| 1958 | South Seas Adventure · as Narrator |
| 1958 | Masters of the Congo Jungle · as Narrator |
| 1958 | The Vikings · as Narrator (voice) (uncredited) |
| 1957 | Man in the Shadow · as Virgil Renchler |
| 1956 | Moby Dick · as Father Mapple |
| 1955 | Napoleon · as Sir Hudson Lowe |
| 1955 | Confidential Report · as Gregory Arkadin |
| 1955 | Around the World with Orson Welles (TV Series) · as Host: Orson Welles |
| 1954 | Three Cases of Murder · as Lord Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment) |
| 1954 | Royal Affairs in Versailles · as Benjamin Franklin |
| 1953 | King Lear · as King Lear |
| 1952 | The Little World of Don Camillo · as Narrator |
| 1952 | Trent's Last Case · as Sigsbee Manderson |
| 1952 | Return to Glennascaul · as Narrator |
| 1951 | |
| 1951 | I Love Lucy (TV Series) · as Orson Welles |
| 1951 | Hallmark Hall Of Fame (TV Series) · as Sheridan Whiteside |
| 1950 | The Black Rose · as Bayan |
| 1949 | The Third Man · as Harry Lime |
| 1949 | Prince of Foxes · as Cesare Borgia |
| 1949 | Black Magic · as Joseph Balsamo aka Count Cagliostro |
| 1948 | |
| 1947 | The Lady from Shanghai · as Michael O'Hara |
| 1946 | Duel in the Sun · as Narrator (voice) (uncredited) |
| 1946 | Tomorrow Is Forever · as John Andrew MacDonald |
| 1946 | The Stranger · as Charles Rankin |
| 1943 | Journey Into Fear · as Colonel Haki |
| 1943 | Jane Eyre · as Edward Rochester |
| 1942 | The Magnificent Ambersons · as Narrator (voice) |
| 1941 | Citizen Kane · as Charles Foster Kane |
| 1940 | Swiss Family Robinson · as Opening Narrator |
| 1938 | Too Much Johnson · as Keystone Kop |
| 1937 | The Spanish Earth · as Narrator (voice) |
Something Else · as Unknown |