Tragic Details About Orson Welles

Considered to be one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Orson Welles began his career with a bang — or, rather, an invasion — narrating a radio broadcast of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. From there, he went on to make what would be his most well-known and influential film, 1941’s Citizen Kane.

Although Citizen Kane continues to be studied and discussed today, there was so much more to Welles than his first film. From a young age, the artist struggled, and his life would be marked by just as much tragedy as brilliance. Here are the most tragic details about Orson Welles.

#Films #OrsonWelles #Filmmaker

Difficult childhood | 0:00
The War of the Worlds | 1:14
Citizen Kane haunted Welles | 2:15
Ran afoul of the Hollywood blacklist | 3:20
Constantly fought with studios | 4:34
Struggled with his weight | 5:32
Chimes at Midnight is rarely discussed | 6:38
Tumultuous personal life | 7:49
Appeared in embarrassing commercials | 8:57
Left behind many unfinished films | 10:16

[GrungeHQ]

What's your favorite Orson Welles role?

[gb]

FINALLY someone who mentions Welles’s true masterpiece Chimes at Midnight, might be my all-time favourite movie

[joemarshall]

He was such a great film maker that few notice that he was also the greatest actor in film history....and the best raconteur on talk shows....I wish someone would somehow edit all his unfinished work into one theatrical piece....even twenty minutes of an unfinshed Welles project is more fascinating than most Hollywood hits....he is a lot like Leonardo Da Vinci, also a lad who had a difficult childhood, lived a life of some scandal, completed the greatest artworks of his time, but left many projects unfinished....

[franciscoortega]

he was terrifying as the narrator in the Nostradamus "documentary" movie. i think his voice hunted me more than the predictions. i still feel the chills even today.

[montibarnett]

I don't care what anybody says about Orson Wells he was highly intelligent and highly respected at least by me and I am way older I knew him when I was born

[Scorch]

Orson Welles may have begun overeating in late middle age, as a coping mechanism for the chronic pain he experienced. When a person is in pain, and they're immobilized, sometimes they gain a dramatic amount of weight. By the age of 70, Welles had become bedridden from a heart condition brought on by diabetes. It's amazing that he had the strength to record his lines for the character Unicron in Transformers: The Movie, released 10 months after his death in October of 1985.

[timmy]

I actually don't think the Frozen Peas rant hurt his image. To me, it enhanced it. He was, after all, a perfectionist.

[MisterMister]

Just watched an interview of his on the Dick Cavett show and he said his mom died when he was 6, not 9. And his father died when he was 15. At that age, he was already enrolled at Harvard, though he ran away and did not continue his education and wanted to be in the theatre.

[chrismccartney]

He was good in the Third Man which captures early post war Vienna well…

[KimberlyLetsGo]

When he was a young man, he was very handsome!!!

[rosemaryfranzese]

Orson Welles was supremely talented but the real truth was that he lacked discipline. Hollywood is often accused of trying to destroy him but the real truth is they couldn’t afford him. He was extremely wasteful with other people’s money. Welles also had a cruel streak, what Citizen Kane did to Marion Davies was unjustifiable. I loved his performance in “Third Man” and “A Touch of Evil” but in so many ways he was a wrecker, a terrible husband and father. Had he been a different type of person or at least a more responsible and disciplined man he could have achieved so much more

[moviesovermatterproductions]

Great coverage here! Very well done!🌹👏🏾
Hope all is well with you and keep it up! It’s fantastic work!

[dwyer]

This was very sad, but very interesting

[oldenweery]

I've always thought that Orson Welles would've been perfect to play the corpulent and brilliant gourmet detective, Nero Wolfe in movies or on TV---if someone wanted to make an authentic piece about the character in 40-odd books by Rex Stout. There were two different TV series about the man and his legman, Archie Goodwin, and and though William Conrad and Maury Chaykin were fairly good, I think Welles would've mastered the role. I saw him on talk shows, back in the day, and he was a great story-teller.

[jerrierichter]

Citizen Kane was the most perfect movie ever made.

[joeleustice]

He is a great voice in the 80's Transformers movie.

[ashleyrenee]

The Orson Welles episode of I Love Lucy is what brought me here. He's quite intriguing and attractive.

[lindacoolbaugh]

HA!! When I saw this pop up on my page, the first thing I thought of was The Critic making fun of his peas commercial. And they actually showed it

[Tadicuslegion]

Orson Welles, the only man who outwitted Andy Kaufman at his own game.

[cogitoergosum]

Whatever the assessment, Welles was a genius, a rare American genius, and he should only be praised for his monumental achievements that have set the standards for which the film medium operates today. Some people commented that Welles lacked discipline, but Gods don't need discipline because they set their own rules.