Orson Welles Trivia

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Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 861-864. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998. (imdb.com)

Dated Eartha Kitt. He called her "the most exciting woman in the world." (imdb.com)

Ranked #9 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Greatest directors ever!" [2005] (imdb.com)

Father with Rita Hayworth of Rebecca Welles. (imdb.com)

Daughter born. [27 March 1938] (imdb.com)

Wrote his novel "Mr. Arkadian" during an extended stay with Laurence Olivier and his wife Vivien Leigh. Welles was appearing at Olivier's St. James Theater in London at the time. (imdb.com)

Father with Paola Mori of Beatrice Welles, whom Welles made the sole heir of his estate. (imdb.com)

Was George Lucas' first choice as the voice for Darth Vader, but he thought the voice would be too recognizable. (imdb.com)

Host/narrator of the BBC/Mutual Radio's "The Black Museum" (1952). (imdb.com)

Longtime companion of Oja Kodar. They lived together until his death. (imdb.com)

Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890- 1945". Pages 1168-1185. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987. (imdb.com)

He was of Scottish, Irish and German heritage. (imdb.com)

Was named #16 on the 50 Greatest Screen Legends list of the American Film Institute. (imdb.com)

Is portrayed by Liev Schreiber in RKO 281 (1999) (TV), by Edward Edwards in Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess (1983) (TV), by Eric Purcell in Malice in Wonderland (1985) (TV), by Vincent D'Onofrio in Ed Wood (1994), and by Angus Macfadyen in Cradle Will Rock (1999) (imdb.com)

Father, with Virginia Nicholson, of Christopher (b. 1937). (imdb.com)

He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film culture. (imdb.com)

Was voted the 2nd Greatest Film Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. (imdb.com)

Was the subject of author Mary Pacios' book about the "Black Dahlia" murder in Los Angeles in 1947 (called the most gruesome in the city's history). Pacios claimed Welles was the unknown murderer who slaughtered struggling actress Elizabeth Short; however, the book was considered pure nonsense and debunked by many historians. (imdb.com)

Was the narrator for many of the trailers for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). (imdb.com)

CBS wanted him to host "The Twilight Zone" (1959) but the producers felt that he requested too much money. He was ultimately ruled out in favor of the show`s creator, Rod Serling.

John Ford, whom Welles admired as the greatest American director and who, in turn, admired Welles as a director and actor, wanted to cast him as Mayor Frank Skeffington in his movie adaption of Edwin O`Connor`s novel The Last Hurrah (1958). Welles was unable to accept the role due to scheduling conflicts, and Spencer Tracy was cast instead.

Hated working on The Transformers: The Movie (1986), where he voiced Unicron. When asked about the film, he not only couldn`t remember the name of his character, but he described the film as being "I play a big toy who attacks a bunch of smaller toys.".

His performance as Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane (1941) is ranked #12 on Premiere Magazine`s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

His performance as Harry Lime in The Third Man (1949) is ranked #93 on Premiere Magazine`s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Merv Griffin claims in his new DVD collection, "Merv Griffin: Interesting People" that Welles died two hours after giving Merv an interview in which he had said to ask him anything, "for this interview there are no subjects about which I won`t speak." In the past, Welles refused to speak about the past.

Profiled in in J.A. Aberdeen`s "Hollywood Renegades: The Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers". Palos Verdes Estates, CA: Cobblestone Entertainment

In the 1930s he worked at various radio stations in New York City, at different times of the day. He found it difficult to be on time for his live shows because he had to use taxicabs and the heavy New York City traffic meant that he was often late. He soon found a loophole in the law that said you didn`t have to be sick to hire an ambulance, so he did just that and had the drivers blast their sirens as he traveled from one station to the next, and that way he was on time.

Has been played by Vincent D`Onofrio twice: Ed Wood (1994) and Five Minutes, Mr. Welles (2005).

Is portrayed by Paul Shenar in the made-for-TV film The Night That Panicked America (1975) (TV), which dramatized Welles` "War of the Worlds" radio drama.

Most of his movie projects never got finished or released due to financial problems and disputes with studio executives. Some of his unfinished productions are: The Deep (1970) (Laurence Harvey`s death made a finished movie impossible), The Merchant of Venice (1969) (TV) and Don Quijote de Orson Welles (1992).

Was a passionate painter

Was very good friends with Peter Bogdanovich, in whose house he lived for several years during Bogdanovich`s affair with Cybill Shepherd. Welles even gave Bogdanovich written instructions to finish his last film, The Other Side of the Wind (1972), before his death.

Considered black and white to be "the actor`s best friend", feeling that it focused more on the actor`s expressions and feelings than on hair, eye or wardrobe color.

His father was an alcoholic

His average dinner famously consisted of two steaks cooked rare, and a pint of scotch - explaining his obesity as he got older, and his subsequent death.

Before deciding on adapting the life of William Randolph Hearst in Citizen Kane (1941), he intended his first film to be an adaptation of Joseph Conrad`s "Heart of Darkness". Ironically enough, he was Francis Ford Coppola`s first choice for the role of Col. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now (1979), itself an adaptation of "Heart of Darkness".

In his collection of interviews, "This Is Orson Welles", he claimed to have never even read his so-called novelization of "Mr Arkadin", let alone written it.

He made The Lady from Shanghai (1947) towards the end of his marriage to Rita Hayworth. They were constantly fighting at the time and (some say as a comeuppance to Hayworth) he made her cut off most of her long, luxurious red hair and dye it bright platinum blonde.

Lobbied to get the part of Don Vito Corrleone in The Godfather (1972). Francis Ford Coppola, a fan of his, had to turn him down because he already had Marlon Brando in mind for the role and felt Welles wouldn`t be right for it.

Laurence Olivier had wanted to cast him as Buckingham in his film of Shakespeare`s "Richard III" but gave the role to Ralph Richardson, his oldest friend, because Richardson wanted it. In his autobiography, Olivier says he wishes he had disappointed Richardson and cast Welles instead, as he would have brought an extra element to the screen, an intelligence that would have gone well with the plot element of conspiracy.

Wanted to make films of two literary masterpices, Herman Melville`s "Moby Dick" and Joseph Heller`s "Catch-22", but had to be satisfied in having supporting roles in the films made of the two books by John Huston and Mike Nichols.

Told Peter Bogdanovich that, as a practicing magician, he became adept at the old carny trick of fortune-telling, but he became so good at it that it scared him. He was worried that he`d come to believe he actually DID have the power to tell the future, like the self-deluded fortune tellers known as a "shut eye."

When he signed on to direct Touch of Evil (1958), instead of reading the book on which it was based, a pulp novel named "Badge of Evil," he completely changed an early draft of the script.

Was the subject of author Mary Pacios` book about the "Black Dahlia" murder in Los Angeles in 1947 (called the most gruesome in the city`s history). Pacios claimed Welles was the unknown murderer who slaughtered struggling actress Elizabeth Short; however, the book was considered pure nonsense and debunked by many historians.

His 1937 Broadway stage production of William Shakespeare`s "Julius Caesar", in which the setting was changed to a modern Fascist Rome to reflect the Mussolini era, but in which Shakespeare`s language was completely retained, became, and still remains, the longest-running Broadway production of the play. Welles played Brutus. This production was never filmed, but years later, Welles` former working partner John Houseman produced a traditional film version of the play for MGM, starring James Mason as Brutus, Marlon Brando as Marc Antony and John Gielgud as Cassius.

Was possibly not as tall as is often reported. According to Simon Callow`s "Orson Welles: The Road To Xanadu," medical records exist from a Welles physical in 1941. His weight is listed as 218, and his height at 72" - 6 feet even. Biographers Charles Higham and Frank Brady describe Welles as being 6` 2", though they never provide a source. Biographer Barbara Leaming often comments on his height, but never gives an exact measurement. An early Current Biography article on Welles describes him as being "tall and chubby," while a later one gives the obviously incorrect 6` 3-1/2" height. If you average all the figures and based on his size compared to other actors, he probably in fact stood a little over 6 feet tall (6` 1" to 6` 2").

He became obese in his 40s, weighing over 350 pounds towards the end of his life.

Provided voice for some songs of heavy metal band Manowar: Dark Avenger and Defender

He was the studio`s first choice to play the voiceover role of "OMM" in THX 1138 (1971). However, director George Lucas insisted on casting the relatively unknown stage actor James Wheaton instead.

Has the distinction of appearing in both the American Film Institute and British Film Institute`s #1 movie. For AFI it was Citizen Kane (1941). For BFI it was The Third Man (1949).