ORSON WELLES BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Orson Welles was born may 6th, 1915 in Kenosha, Wisconsin with the first name George.  He was the second son born to Richard Welles, an inventor and Beatrice Ives, a concert pianist.  At the age of four, his family moved to Chicago and two years later his parents divorced. 

Welles stayed living with his mother, however at the young age of eight, his mother passed away and his father took over raising him.  In 1928, Orson's father committed suicide and a orthopedist by the name of Maurice Bernstein took over custody of Orson. 

Welles was enrolled in the progressive Todd School in Woodstock, Illinois. There, Orson was first introduced to theater and learned a great deal about production and direction. He graduated in 1931. 
 
Welles visited Ireland for a bit and worked for a period of time as an actor.  Upon return to Chicago, he worked as a drama coach at the Todd School and also helped coedit four volumes of plays by William Shakespeare.  
 
In December 1934, Orson made his Broadway debut with katherine Cornell's company.  The following year Orson and John Houseman teamed up to manage a unit of the Federal Theater Project, a nationwide social program intended to help with the economic crisis during the 1930's.

In June 1937, Welles and Houseman teamed on a production, "The Cradle Will Rock" which was attempted to get shut down by the Federal Theatre Project so Welles and Houseman left the project.  The two men organized the Mercury Theatre which over two seasons was quite successful.  Productions of, "Julius Caesar" and "Shoemaker's Holiday", "Heartbreak House".  Welles also found time to play "The Shadow" on radio and to supervise a "Mercury Theatre on the Air," whose most known success was an adaptation of H. G. Wells's (1866–1946), "War of the Worlds".  When the Mercury Theatre crashed, Welles wanted to find the cash to resurrect it. 

Orson Welles was becoming nationally famous and at only 25 years old, RKO Studio's brought him to Hollywood to make films.  Orson Welles first feature film, "Citizen Kane" (1939) which had amazing techniques and visuals and although it was not a box office hit, it has been praised as one of the best movies of all times.  Welles was credited with directing, producing, co-scripting and even played the leading role.

After World War II Welles did leave the United States for about three decades but did return periodically only to further his career. 

Welles proceeded to make more films such as, "The Magnificent Ambersons" (1942), "The Lady From Shanghai" (1948), "Othelo" (1952), "The Trial" (1962), "Touch Of Evil" (1958) and "F is For Fake" (1973).  He also continued as a working actor in such films as, "The Third Man" (1949) and "The Muppet Movie" (1979).

Welles appeared in over forty five films not including his own.  Some were successful but many were roles he accepted only to earn extra money to finance more of his own films such as, "Chimes at Midnight" (1966).

During the latter part of his life Welles continued to earn a living doing television commercials and puting the money he earned towards making more fillms.  
 
Orson Welles passed away October 10th, 1985 from a heart attack.
 
Orson Welles was married three times and had children with each wife. Welles shared an Academy Award for the script of Citizen Kane and in 1975 was honored by the American Film Institute with a Life Achievement Award.  
 
 
Filmography
 
1984   The Enchanted Journey 
1982   Butterfly 
1980   The Greenstone 
1977   Salvador Dali - A Soft-Self Portrait 
1976   Voyage of the Damned 
1975   Rikki-Tikki-Tavi 
1973   Who's Out There? 
1972   Get to Know Your Rabbit 
1972   Ten Days' Wonder 
1972   Treasure Island 
1972   The Witching 
1971   Waterloo 
1970   Catch-22 
1967   Casino Royale 
1967   I'll Never Forget What's 'Isname 
1966   Is Paris Burning? 
1966   A Man For All Seasons 
1964   The Finest Hours 
1963   The Trial 
1963   The V.I.P.s 
1962   Rogopag 
1961   David and Goliath 
1960   The Battle of Austerlitz 
1959   Compulsion 
1959   Ferry to Hong Kong 
1958   The Long, Hot Summer 
1958   Touch of Evil 
1957   The Man in the Shadow 
1956   Moby Dick 
1955   Mr. Arkadin 
1955   Napoleon 
1954   Fabulous Versailles 
1954   Three Cases of Murder 
1954   Trouble in the Glen 
1953   King Lear 
1952   Othello - The Lost Masterpiece 
1951   Orson Welles' Ghost Story 
1950   The Toast of the Town 
1949   The Third Man 
1948   The Lady from Shanghai 
1948   Macbeth 
1946   The Stranger 
1946   Tomorrow Is Forever 
1944   Jane Eyre 
1941   Citizen Kane