File:Orson_Welles_1937_cr3-4.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Orson Welles
Sign in to saveAlso 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 producer. Born George in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1915, he was educated at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and studied under Boris Anisfeld. His work period began in 1934, and he spoke English. He was married to Rita Hayworth and Paola Mori, and was unmarried partners with Oja Kodar and Dolores del Río.
Welles died of myocardial infarction in Los Angeles in 1985. He is buried in Ronda. 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*. He was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Writing, Original Screenplay, as well as a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor. He is recognized in the Palme Dor, Hollywood Walk Of Fame, Golden Lion, and Academy Award Best Original Screenplay collections.
Synthesized by Vinony from 42 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Open Library, Vinony collections. 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
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 15,087
- Total plays
- 57,003
Tags
Similar artists
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>
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
- 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
- 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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