Orson Welles
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. Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States. 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.
Known for
I Love Lucy
Orson Welles
What's My Line?
Self - Panelist
Magnum, P.I.
Robin Masters (voice)
American Experience
Self (archive footage)
The Steve Allen Show
Self
The Name of the Game
Narrator
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self
King of Kings
Narrator (Voice)
Moonlighting
Orson Welles
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Self
The Third Man
Harry Lime
Night Gallery
Narrator
Omnibus
Self - Presenter
Dinah!
Self
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self
Talking Pictures
Self (archive footage)
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
Self - Host
The Magic of David Copperfield
Shōgun
Narrator
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Sheridan Whiteside
Citizen Kane
Charles Foster Kane
The Vikings
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
The Trial
Albert Hastler
Waterloo
Louis XVIII
History of the World: Part I
Narrator
Hollywood and the Stars
Self (archive footage)
The Long, Hot Summer
Will Varner
Night of 100 Stars
Self
Duel in the Sun
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
La Classe américaine
Self (archive footage)
Casino Royale
Le Chiffre
In the Land of Don Quixote
Himself
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
National Geographic Specials
Narrator
Is Paris Burning?
Konsul Nordling
The Stranger
Prof. Charles Rankin
Voyage of the Damned
José Estedes
F for Fake
Self
A Man for All Seasons
Cardinal Wolsey
The Other Side of the Wind
Journalist (uncredited)
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
Self (archive footage)
Macbeth
Macbeth
Moby Dick
Father Mapple
The Lady from Shanghai
Michael O'Hara
The Kremlin Letter
Bresnavitch
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
Self (archive footage)
Othello
Othello
Around the World with Orson Welles
Host: Orson Welles
Around the World with Orson Welles
Self (Host)
Compulsion
Jonathan Wilk
Chimes at Midnight
Falstaff
The Great Buster: A Celebration
Self (archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self (archive footage)
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Genghis Khan / Bayan (archive footage)
And Then There Were None
Voice on Tape
Touch of Evil
Police Captain Hank Quinlan
Man in the Shadow
Virgil Renchler
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
Self (archive footage)
The V.I.P.s
Max Buda
Jane Eyre
Edward Rochester
Parkinson at 50
Self (archive footage)
Prince of Foxes
Cesare Borgia
The Muppet Movie
Lew Lord
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
Self (archive footage)
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
Self (archive footage)
The Transformers: The Movie
Unicron (voice)
The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Self - Roaster (archive footage)
Magic with the Stars
Host
Best of The Dean Martin Variety Show
The Magnificent Ambersons
Narrator (voice)
Ford Star Jubilee
Oscar Jaffe
Reflets de Cannes
Self
The Battle of Neretva
Četnik
Butterfly
Judge Rauch
Napoleon
Sir Hudson Lowe
Don Quixote
Self
It Happened One Christmas
Henry F. Potter
The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
Presenter / Narrator (voice)
Someone to Love
Danny's Friend
Follow the Boys
Orson Welles (uncredited)
The Battle of Austerlitz
Robert Fulton
Who Is Henry Jaglom?
Self (archive footage)
Survival
Narrator
Tomorrow Is Forever
John Andrew MacDonald
Royal Affairs in Versailles
Benjamin Franklin
Start the Revolution Without Me
The Narrator
Treasure Island
Long John Silver
Journey into Fear
Colonel Haki
Edge of Outside
Self (archive footage)
The Roots of Heaven
Cy Sedgewick
Lost in La Mancha
Self (archive footage)
Mr. Arkadin
Gregory Arkadin
A Huey P. Newton Story
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
David and Goliath
King Saul
Doug Henning's World of Magic
Self
Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio
Self - Professor in War of the Worlds Broadcast (archive sound)
Directed by John Ford
Narrator (voice)
Catch-22
Brigadier General Dreedle
Jim Henson Idea Man
Self (archive footage)
A Woman Called Moses
Narrator (voice)
Black Magic
Joseph Balsamo aka Count Cagliostro
Baryshnikov in Hollywood
Self - Narrator
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
Jonathan Lute
Ferry to Hong Kong
Captain Hart
Show-Business at War
Self
Twelve Plus One
Markan
Get to Know Your Rabbit
Mr. Delasandro
Malpertuis
Cassavius
The Secret Life of Nikola Tesla
J.P. Morgan
King Lear
King Lear
The Eyes of Orson Welles
Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
The Black Rose
Bayan
Filmmakers vs. Tycoons
Self (archive footage)
Crack in the Mirror
Hagolin / Lamerciere
Tales of the Klondike
Narrator
Ro.Go.Pa.G.
The 'Director' (segment "La ricotta")
The Immortal Story
Charles Clay
The Battle Over Citizen Kane
Self (archive footage)
Where Is Parsifal?
Klingsor
Enchanted Journey
Pippo
Slapstick of Another Kind
Aliens' Father (voice)
Rita
(archive footage)
The Double McGuffin
Narrator
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
(archive footage)
A Safe Place
The Magician
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
Self (archive footage)
Scene of the Crime
The Fight for Rome II - The Betrayal
Justinian
Genocide
Narrator (voice)
Notre Dame de la Croisette
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Tut: The Boy King
Himself - Host
Who's Out There?
Host
Hot Tomorrows
Parklawn Mortuary (voice)
House of Cards
Leschenhaut
Necromancy
Mr. Cato
The Blinding of Isaac Woodard
Self (archive footage)
Swiss Family Robinson
Opening Narrator
The Orson Welles Show
Self
Othelo The Great
Ele Mesmo (Imagem de Arquivo)
The Fight for Rome
Justinian
Oedipus the King
Tiresias
Celebração - 100 Anos do Cinema Nacional
Self
Three Cases of Murder
Lord Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment)
Trouble in the Glen
Sanin Cejador y Mengues
The Fountain of Youth
the narrator
The Southern Star
Plankett
Aliens Uncovered: Close Encounters
Self
The Biggest Battle
Narratore
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
Narrator / Nag / Chuchundra (voice)
Jeanne Moreau: Free Spirit
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Lords of the Forest
Narrator (voice)
Orson Welles: The One-Man Band
Self (archive footage)
Let Poland Be Poland
Self
Around the World of Mike Todd
Self - Narrator
Jodorowsky's Dune
Self (archive footage)
Ten Days That Shook the World
Narrator
Lafayette
Benjamin Franklin
Too Much Johnson
Keystone Kop
The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh
himself
South Seas Adventure
Narrator
Orson Welles in Spain
Himself
The Tartars
Burundai
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Narrator
The Spanish Earth
Narrator (voice)
The Late Great Planet Earth
Self
Hot Money
Sheriff Paisley
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
Self
Tall Tales: The Ireland of Orson Welles
Self
Trent's Last Case
Sigsbee Manderson
Tepepa
Colonel Cascorro
Orson Welles' Magic Show
Self
The Sailor from Gibraltar
Louis de Mozambique
Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"
(archive footage)
It's Not All True
Himself (archive footage)
Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Sheridan Whiteside
Rita Hayworth: Dancing Into the Dream
Self (archive footage)
Ten Days' Wonder
Théo Van Horn
Return to Glennascaul
Narrator
Disorder Is 20 Years Old
Self
The Last Sailors: The Final Days of Working Sail
Narrator
Working with Orson Welles
Himself (Archive Footage)
Know Your Ally: Britain
Narrator/Bob (helpful taxi passenger)
The Cave
Narrator
Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees
Self - Narrator (voice)
One Man Band
NASA: A Space Odyssey Vol. 3
Narrator
The New Deal for Artists
Narrator (voice)
A Horse Called Nijinsky
Narrator
To Build a Fire
Narrator (voice)
The Deep
Russ Brewer
American: An Odyssey to 1947
Self (archive footage)
Filming Othello
Host
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self - Guest Host
NBC: The First Fifty Years
Self / Narrator
Doug Henning's World of Magic
Self - Special Guest
On the tracks of a filmmaker
Orson Welles
Bugs Bunny Superstar
Narrator (voice)
Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure
Himself
With Orson Welles: Stories from a Life in Film
Self (archive footage)
The Merchant of Venice
Shylock
London
Winston Churchill / George Bernard Shaw
Alfonso Sansone: Producer by Chance
Self (archive footage)
The Witching
Mr. Cato
Colgate Theatre
Upon This Rock
Michelangelo (voice)
Marco the Magnificent
Akerman, Marco's Teacher
Sentinels of Silence
An Arabian Night
Storyteller
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Michael Landon
The Finest Hours
Narrator (voice)
Man, Beast and Virtue
Captain Perella, the Beast
It's All True
Self
The Dreamers
Marcus Kleek
Magic Mirror Maze
Tempo
Is It Always Right to Be Right?
Narrator
River of the Ocean
Narrator (English)
Moby Dick
Captain Ahab / Starbuck / Ishmael (archive footage)
The Battle of Sutjeska
Winston Churchill
Almonds and Raisins
Narrator
The Well
Rosabella - La storia italiana di Orson Welles
The Enemy Before Us
Narrator
Looking Back Before You Leap
General Zaroff (voice)
Jeanne Moreau : Vive le cinéma !
Self
Twelfth Night
Narrator
The Shadow Knows
Self (archive footage)
From Introduction to Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight
Falstaff
Hopper/Welles
Self
Orson Welles in the Land of Don Quixote
Self (Archive footage)
This Is Orson Welles
Self
King Penguin: Stranded Beyond the Falklands
Self - Narrator
Future Shock
Narrator
Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina
Self - Host
A Legend a Lifetime: Citizen Welles
The Lost Print: The Making of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons
Himself (Archive footage)
It's All Brazil
Self (archive footage)
Mysterious Castles of Clay
Narrator
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
The Dominici Affair by Orson Welles
Self (archive footage)
The Road to Bresson
Self
The Hearts of Age
Death
Portrait: Orson Welles
Self
The Other Side of Welles
Self (archive footage)
A King's Story
Narrator
According to Occam's Razor
Freedom River
Narrator
The Psychic Connection
Narrator
The Cave: a parable told by Orson Welles
Narrator
The Welles Raft
Himself (Archive Footage)
Disorder
Self
The Battle of Grovers Mill
Radio Host (voice) (archival footage)
Vienna
Himself
Orson Welles: The Paris Interview
Himself
The Greatest Adventure--The Story of Man's Voyage to the Moon
Narrator
The Silent Years
The Challenge... A Tribute to Modern Art
Narrator
Embers & Dust
Professor Richard Pierson / Self (voice) (archive sound)
Something Else
The Force Beyond
Himself (archive footage)
The Quest for Fire Adventure
Narrator
Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
Self
Out of Darkness
Self - Narrator
The Hitch Hiker
Ronald Adams
Wagner e Venezia
Richard Wagner (voice)
Orson Welles - Das vermarktete Genie
Self
To Try Again... and Succeed
Narrator (voice)
Welles' Language
Self (archive footage)
A Step Away
English Narrator
Human Nature in Eleven Parts
Narrator "The Scorpion and the Frog" (archive footage)
Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dali
Narrator (voice)
The Magic History of Cinema
Lucifer et moi
(archive footage 1982)
Lost in "The Thinking"
Self (archive footage)
Orson Welles' Sketch Book
Self - Host
The Scorpion and the Frog
Narrator (archive footage)
Beggars Would Ride
Narrator
Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park
Narrator
Americans on Everest
Narrator- Self
Orson Welles at the Cinémathèque Française
Himself
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
Caesar's Guide to Gaming with Orson Welles
Himself
Magnificent Monsters of the Deep
Narrator
Brasil
Self (archive footage)
From Fiber to Fabric: Wool's a Natural
Narrator
Power and Corruption
Himself
In Our Hands
Himself
The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis
Narrator
The Greenstone
Narrator (voice)
The Land of the Basques
Himself
Flame of Persia
Narrator
It's Pretty, but is it Art?
Self (voiceover)
Orson Welles Talks With Roger Hill
(Self)
High Journey
Narrator
Battle for Survival
Narrator
Kelly Country
Narrator
The Lions of Capitalism: Some Call It Greed
Narrator
Filming 'The Trial'
Self
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
A Gift of Harvest
Narrator
The Paranormal Peter Sellers
Self (Archive footage)
Mexico City, Old and New
Narrator
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
Search for the Titanic
Himself (host)
V.I.P. Schaukel
Self
Cinépanorama
Self
Omnibus
King Lear
Star Life
Self (archive footage)
Orson Welles' Sketch Book
Himself - Host