Orson Welles

Author profile

born

May 06, 1915 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S., The United States

died

October 10, 1985

gender

male

website

http://home.bway.net/nipper/

genre

Literature & Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Films

About this author

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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 focu...more 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, 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.(less)

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Books by Orson Welles

Average rating: 4.10 · 494 ratings · 44 reviews · 31 distinct works

	This is Orson Welles by Orson Welles, Peter Bogdanovich, Jonathan Rosenbaum (Goodreads Author) 4.32 avg rating — 237 ratings — published 1992 — 9 editions	My rating:
	Citizen Kane by Orson Welles, Herman J. Mankiewicz 3.82 avg rating — 65 ratings — 3 editions	My rating:
	Mr. Arkadin 3.62 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 1955 — 11 editions	My rating:
	The Big Brass Ring: An Original Screenplay 3.67 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 1987 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Les Bravades: A Portfolio of Pictures Made for Rebecca Welles by Her Father by Orson Welles, Simon Callow (Afterword) 4.17 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1996	My rating:
	Chimes at Midnight 4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1988 — 3 editions	My rating:
	The Trial: A Film By Orson Welles 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — 4 editions	My rating:
	Moby Dick - Rehearsed by Orson Welles, Herman Melville 4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 1965	My rating:
	War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, Orson Welles (Narrator), Howard Koch (Contributor) 3.67 avg rating — 41,644 ratings — published 1898 — 49 editions	My rating:
	The Lives Of Harry Lime 3.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1952	My rating:

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Quotes by Orson Welles

“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.”
― Orson Welles

tags: food , humor

2,190 people liked it

“My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people.”
― Orson Welles

tags: dinner , humor

1,060 people liked it

“You know what the fellow said – in Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace – and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”
― Orson Welles

tags: humor , sinister

663 people liked it

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Orson Welles

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by Orson Welles

Quotes by Orson Welles

Topics Mentioning This Author

combine editions
Books by Orson Welles