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Orson Welles

File:Orson_Welles_1937_cr3-4.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Orson Welles

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Also known as George Orson Welles, George Welles

American actor and filmmaker (1915–1985)

OverviewAI-generated

Orson Welles was an American film director, actor, screenwriter, and film producer. Born George in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1915, he began his work period in 1934. He was educated at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His notable works include *The Free Company Presents.. A Collection of Plays About the Meaning of America*, *Detectives & Crime Fighters*, *The Mercury Shakespeare*, *Moby Dick*, and *Lights Out*.

Welles was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Writing, Original Screenplay, as well as a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor. He was recognized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He died of a myocardial infarction in Los Angeles in 1985. His spouses were Rita Hayworth and Paola Mori, and his unmarried partners were Oja Kodar and Dolores del Río.

Synthesized by Vinony from 44 facts across 9 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Wikiquote, Open Library, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born
1915
Died
1985
Works
63

Top works

  • The Free Company Presents.. A Collection of Plays About the Meaning of America
  • Detectives & Crime Fighters
  • The Mercury Shakespeare
  • Moby Dick, un ensayo
  • Lights Out

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA

George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) 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…

Known for

  • Proust Palimpsesto: Pastiches e Misturas — Self / The Director / Sir John Falstaff (archive footage) (uncredited)2026
  • The Scorpion and the Frog — Narrator (archive footage)2025
  • Human Nature in Eleven Parts — Narrator "The Scorpion and the Frog" (archive footage)2025
  • WeirdWorld — Troy2000 (Archive footage)2025
  • Titanic: Secrets of the Shipwreck — Self (archive footage)2025
  • Othelo The Great — Self (archive footage)2024
  • The Battle of Grovers Mill — Radio Host (voice) (archival footage)2024
  • Aliens Uncovered: Close Encounters — Self2024
  • Jim Henson Idea Man — Self (archive footage)2024
  • From Introduction to Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight — Falstaff2023

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person
Gender
Male
Origin
United States
Active from
1915
Active to
1985

Discography

DiscogsStream

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
15,087
Total plays
57,003

Tags

HouseAllorson wellesI know what its to be youngbest director ever

Similar artists

MoodcutFlorian KupferBenedikt FreyConga RadioTissu

George Orson Welles (1915 - 1985) was an actor, director and film producer. He's particularly well-known for his 1938 radio adaptation of "The War of the Worlds" and his 1941 film "Citizen Kane". <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Orson+Welles">Read more on Last.fm</a>

via Last.fm · Orson Welles

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Given name
George
Gender
male
Citizenship
United States
Place of birth
Kenosha
Place of death
Los Angeles
Occupation
writer
Educated at
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Languages spoken
English language
Native language
English language
Religion
atheism
Award
star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Student of
Boris Anisfeld
Genre
adventure film
Image
Orson Welles 1937 cr3-4.jpg
Height
183
Show 21 more facts
Commons category
Orson Welles
date of birth
1915-05-06
date of death
1985-10-10
topic's main category
Category:Orson Welles
cause of death
myocardial infarction
nominated for
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award
described by source
UbuWeb
unmarried partner
Dolores del Río
manner of death
natural causes
Commons gallery
Orson Welles
Commons Creator page
Orson Welles
start of work period
1934-00-00
filmography
Orson Welles filmography
place of burial
Ronda
end of work period
1985-00-00
member of
Académie des beaux-arts
birth name
George Orson Welles
name in native language
Orson Welles
writing language
English language
topic has template
Template:Orson Welles
P12749
Carex vulpinoidea
Sources (15)

via Wikidata · CC0

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor and filmmaker. Remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre, he is considered among the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time.

Aged 21, Welles directed high-profile stage productions for the Federal Theatre Project in New York City—starting with a celebrated 1936 adaptation of Macbeth with an African-American cast, and ending with the political musical The Cradle Will Rock in 1937. He and John Houseman then founded the Mercury Theatre, an independent repertory theatre company that presented Broadway productions through 1941—beginning with a modern, politically charged Caesar (1937) and ending with the premiere of Richard Wright's Native Son. In 1938, his radio anthology series The Mercury Theatre on the Air gave Welles the platform to find international fame as the director and narrator of a radio adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds, which caused some listeners to believe a Martian invasion was occurring. The event rocketed the 23-year-old to notoriety, drawing offers from Hollywood studios and culminating in what is regarded as the greatest contract ever offered to a filmmaker.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Orson Welles” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (13)

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via Wikidata sitelinks · CC0