Orson Welles
Known For: Directing
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: May 6, 1915
Day of Death: October 10, 1985 (70 years old)
Place of Birth: Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
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.
2025
2024
2023
2022
Actor Himself (Archive footage)
The Lost Print: The Making of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons
Actor Self (archive footage)
American: An Odyssey to 1947
Actor Self (archive footage)
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
Actor Self (archive footage)
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
Actor Himself (Archive Footage)
The Welles Raft
2021
2020
2019
2018
Actor Journalist (uncredited)
The Other Side of the Wind
Actor Self (archive footage)
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
Actor Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
The Eyes of Orson Welles
Actor Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Jeanne Moreau: Free Spirit
Actor Self (archive footage)
The Great Buster: A Celebration
Director
The Other Side of the Wind
Editor
The Other Side of the Wind
Screenplay
The Other Side of the Wind
Thanks
The Brother Side of the Wake
Thanks
Silent Times
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
1983
1982
Actor Judge Rauch
Butterfly
Actor Aliens' Father (voice)
Slapstick of Another Kind
Actor Host
Magic with the Stars
Actor Narrator
The Quest for Fire Adventure
Actor Narrator (voice)
Genocide
Actor Self - Narrator
Baryshnikov in Hollywood
Actor Self
Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
Actor Self
Let Poland Be Poland
Actor Self - Special Guest
Doug Henning's World of Magic
Actor Richard Wagner (voice)
Wagner e Venezia
Actor Self
Night of 100 Stars
Other
Trick or Treats
1981
Actor Narrator
History of the World: Part I
Actor Presenter / Narrator (voice)
The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
Actor Self
Filming 'The Trial'
Actor Pippo
Enchanted Journey
Actor Narrator (voice)
The New Deal for Artists
Actor Himself (host)
Search for the Titanic
Actor Narrator
A Gift of Harvest
Actor Self (archive footage)
Brasil
Director
Filming 'The Trial'
Producer
Filming 'The Trial'
Thanks
The War of the Worlds: Next Century
1980
1979
Actor Narrator
The Greatest Adventure--The Story of Man's Voyage to the Moon
Actor Lew Lord
The Muppet Movie
Actor Self
The Orson Welles Show
Actor Self
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
Actor Narrator (voice)
To Try Again... and Succeed
Actor Narrator
The Double McGuffin
Actor Narrator
The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis
Director
The Orson Welles Show
Writer
The Orson Welles Show
1978
1977
1976
1975
1974
1973
1972
1971
Actor Cassavius
Malpertuis
Actor The Magician
A Safe Place
Actor Théo Van Horn
Ten Days' Wonder
Actor
Sentinels of Silence
Actor Narrator
Flame of Persia
Actor Narrator (voice)
Directed by John Ford
Actor Narrator
Freedom River
Actor Winston Churchill / George Bernard Shaw
London
Producer
Freedom River
Director
London
Writer
London
Editor
London
1970
Actor Brigadier General Dreedle
Catch-22
Actor Louis XVIII
Waterloo
Actor Bresnavitch
The Kremlin Letter
Actor Narrator
Is It Always Right to Be Right?
Actor Michelangelo (voice)
Upon This Rock
Actor The Narrator
Start the Revolution Without Me
Actor
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
Actor Narrator
A Horse Called Nijinsky
Actor Narrator
The Enemy Before Us
Writer
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
Director
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
Producer
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
Production Design
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
Editor
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
Music Arranger
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
1969
Actor Markan
Twelve Plus One
Actor Četnik
The Battle of Neretva
Actor Plankett
The Southern Star
Actor Colonel Cascorro
Tepepa
Actor Narrator (voice)
To Build a Fire
Actor Shylock
The Merchant of Venice
Actor Narrator (voice)
Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dali
Actor Justinian
The Fight for Rome II - The Betrayal
Producer
The Merchant of Venice
Screenplay
The Merchant of Venice
Director
The Merchant of Venice
Editor
The Merchant of Venice
1968
Actor Leschenhaut
House of Cards
Actor Charles Clay
The Immortal Story
Actor Justinian
The Fight for Rome
Actor Himself
Vienna
Actor Self
Portrait: Orson Welles
Actor Tiresias
Oedipus the King
Actor Self - Narrator
Around the World of Mike Todd
Director
The Immortal Story
Director
Vienna
Writer
Vienna
Screenplay
The Immortal Story
Producer
Vienna
1967
1966
1965
Actor Falstaff
Chimes at Midnight
Actor Self - Narrator (voice)
Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees
Actor Akerman, Marco's Teacher
Marco the Magnificent
Actor Narrator
A King's Story
Actor Narrator- Self
Americans on Everest
Director
Chimes at Midnight
Screenplay
Chimes at Midnight
Costume Design
Chimes at Midnight
1964
1963
1962
1961
1960
1959
1958
Actor Police Captain Hank Quinlan
Touch of Evil
Actor Will Varner
The Long, Hot Summer
Actor Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
The Vikings
Actor the narrator
The Fountain of Youth
Actor Cy Sedgewick
The Roots of Heaven
Actor Self - Host
Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina
Actor Narrator (voice)
Lords of the Forest
Actor Narrator
South Seas Adventure
Director
Touch of Evil
Screenplay
Touch of Evil
Director
Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina
Writer
Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina
Director
The Fountain of Youth
Producer
The Fountain of Youth
Production Design
The Fountain of Youth
Writer
The Fountain of Youth
Music Arranger
The Fountain of Youth
1957
1956
1955
Actor Sir Hudson Lowe
Napoleon
Actor Gregory Arkadin
Mr. Arkadin
Actor Lord Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment)
Three Cases of Murder
Actor Self - Host
Orson Welles' Sketch Book
Actor Himself
The Land of the Basques
Director
The Land of the Basques
Director
Mr. Arkadin
Screenplay
Mr. Arkadin
Producer
Mr. Arkadin
Production Design
Mr. Arkadin
Costume Design
Mr. Arkadin
Editor
Mr. Arkadin
Story
Mr. Arkadin
Art Direction
Mr. Arkadin
Theme Song Performance
Three Cases of Murder
Director
Orson Welles' Sketch Book
