George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, writer and producer who is remembered for his innovative work in radio, theatre and film. He is considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.
His father was a well-to-do inventor, his mother a beautiful concert pianist; Orson Welles was gifted in many arts (magic, piano, painting) as a child. When his mother died (he was six) he traveled the world with his father. He was orphaned at 15 after his father’s death and became the ward of Dr. Maurice Bernstein of Chicago. In 1931, he graduated from the Todd School in Woodstock, Illinois. He turned down college offers for a sketching tour of Ireland. He tried unsuccessfully to enter the London and Broadway stages, traveling some more in Morocco and Spain.
Citizen Kane (1941) is arguably the greatest movie ever to come out of Hollywood, and it is surely one of the most-impressive debuts by any director. Welles also produced and coscripted the film with Herman J. Mankiewicz. Welles submitted a joyfully energetic performance as Charles Foster Kane, the newspaper magnate (clearly based on newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst) who rises from a poor background to amass uncountable millions—none of which he is able to enjoy, thanks to his epic ambitions.
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon (Short) 2005
Narrator 1987 Someone to Love
Danny’s Friend 1986 Hot Money
Sheriff Paisley 1986 The Transformers: The Movie
Unicron (voice) 1985 Moonlighting (TV Series)
Orson Welles – The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice (1985) … Orson Welles 1984 Where Is Parsifal?
Klingsor 1981-1983 Magnum, P.I. (TV Series)
Robin Masters – The Big Blow (1983) … Robin Masters (voice, uncredited) – Birdman of Budapest (1983) … Robin Masters (voice, uncredited) – Double Jeopardy (1982) … Robin Masters (voice, uncredited) – J. “Digger” Doyle (1981) … Robin Masters (voice) 1982 The Dreamers (Short)
Marcus Kleek 1982 Wagner e Venezia (TV Short)
Richard Wagner (voice) 1982 Slapstick of Another Kind
Aliens’ Father (voice, uncredited) 1982 Butterfly
Judge Rauch 1981 The Enchanted Journey
Pippo (voice) 1981 Tales of the Klondike (TV Mini-Series)
Narrator – Love of Life (1981) … Narrator – The Unexpected (1981) … Narrator – Scorn of Women (1981) … Narrator – The Race for Number One (1981) … Narrator – The One Thousand Dozen (1981) … Narrator Show all 7 episodes 1981 History of the World: Part I
Narrator (voice) 1981 The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
Narrator 1980 The Greenstone Narrated by Orson Welles (Short)
Narrator (voice) 1980 Shogun (TV Mini-Series)
Narrator – Episode #1.5 (1980) … Narrator (voice) – Episode #1.4 (1980) … Narrator (voice) – Episode #1.3 (1980) … Narrator (voice) – Episode #1.2 (1980) … Narrator (voice) – Episode #1.1 (1980) … Narrator (voice) 1980 Shogun (TV Movie)
Narrator (voice) 1980 The Secret Life of Nikola Tesla
J.P. Morgan 1979 The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis (Video)
Narrator 1979 The Double McGuffin
Narrator (voice) 1979 The Muppet Movie
Lew Lord 1978 A Woman Called Moses (TV Series)
Narrator – Episode #1.2 (1978) … Narrator (voice) – Episode #1.1 (1978) … Narrator (voice) 1978 The Biggest Battle
Narrator (voice, uncredited) 1977 Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Short)
Narrator (voice) 1977 Some Call It Greed
Narrator (voice) 1977 It Happened One Christmas (TV Movie)
Henry F. Potter 1977 Hot Tomorrows
Parklawn Mortuary (voice) 1976 Voyage of the Damned
Jose Estedes 1975 Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (TV Short)
Narrator / Nag / Chuchundra (voice) 1974 Ten Little Indians
U. N. Owen / and the voice of (voice) 1973 The Cave: a parable told by Orson Welles (Short)
Narrator 1973 The Battle of Sutjeska
Winston Churchill 1972 The Man Who Came to Dinner (TV Movie)
Sheridan Whiteside 1972 Treasure Island
Long John Silver 1972 Get to Know Your Rabbit
Mr. Delasandro 1972 Necromancy
Mr. Cato 1971 London (Short)
Presenter / Winston Churchill / One-Man Band / … 1971 Malpertuis
Cassavius 1971 Freedom River (Short)
Narrator (voice) 1971 Ten Days Wonder
Théo Van Horn – un multimillionaire qui vit en despote dans sa maison 1971 Night Gallery (TV Series)
Narrator (segment “Silent Snow, Secret Snow”) – The Phantom Farmhouse/Silent Snow, Secret Snow (1971) … Narrator (segment “Silent Snow, Secret Snow”) (voice) 1971 A Safe Place
The Magician 1970 The Deep
Russ Brewer 1970 Is It Always Right to Be Right? (Short)
Narrator (voice) 1970 Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In (TV Series)
Guest Performer – Episode #4.7 (1970) … Guest Performer 1970/I Waterloo
Louis XVIII 1970 The Name of the Game (TV Series)
Narrator – The Enemy Before Us (1970) … Narrator 1970 Upon This Rock (TV Movie)
Michelangelo (voice) 1970 Catch-22
General Dreedle 1970 Start the Revolution Without Me
The Narrator 1970 The Kremlin Letter
Bresnavitch 1969 The Merchant of Venice (TV Short)
Shylock 1969 To Build a Fire
Narrator (voice) 1969 12 + 1
Maurice Markau 1969 The Battle of Neretva
Senator 1969 Kampf um Rom II – Der Verrat
Justinian 1969 The Southern Star
Plankett 1969 Tepepa
Colonel Cascorro 1968 The Last Roman
Emperor Justinian 1968 House of Cards
Leschenhaut 1968 Oedipus the King
Tiresias 1968 The Immortal Story (TV Movie)
Mr. Charles Clay 1967 I’ll Never Forget What’s’isname
Jonathan Lute 1967 The Sailor from Gibraltar
Louis de Mozambique 1967 Casino Royale
Le Chiffre 1966 A Man for All Seasons
Cardinal Wolsey 1966 Is Paris Burning?
Consul Raoul Nordling 1965 La isla del tesoro (Short)
Long John Silver 1965 Treasure Island (Short)
Long John Silver 1965 Chimes at Midnight
Falstaff 1965 Marco the Magnificent
Akerman, Marco’s Tutor 1964 The Finest Hours (Documentary)
Narrator (voice) 1963 The V.I.P.s
Max Buda 1963 Ro.Go.Pa.G.
The ‘Director’ (segment “La ricotta”) 1962 The Trial
Albert Hastler – The Advocate / Narrator 1962 Lafayette
Benjamin Franklin 1961 King of Kings
Narrator (voice, uncredited) 1961 The Tartars
Burundai 1960 The Battle of Austerlitz
Robert Fulton 1960 An Arabian Night (TV Movie)
Storyteller 1960 Crack in the Mirror
Hagolin / Lamerciere 1960 David and Goliath
King Saul 1959 High Journey (Short)
Narrator (voice) 1959 Ferry to Hong Kong
Captain Hart 1959 Compulsion
Jonathan Wilk 1958 Masters of the Congo Jungle (Documentary)
Narrator, English Language Version (voice) 1958 The Roots of Heaven
Cy Sedgewick 1958 Colgate Theatre (TV Series)
Narrator – Fountain of Youth (1958) … Narrator 1958 The Fountain of Youth (TV Short)
Host / narrator 1958 South Seas Adventure
Supplemental Narrator (voice) 1958 The Vikings
Narrator (voice, uncredited) 1958 Touch of Evil
Police Captain Hank Quinlan 1958 The Long, Hot Summer
Will Varner 1957/I Man in the Shadow
Virgil Renchler 1956 I Love Lucy (TV Series)
Orson Welles – Lucy Meets Orson Welles (1956) … Orson Welles 1956 Moby Dick
Father Mapple 1956 Ford Star Jubilee (TV Series)
Oscar Jaffe – Twentieth Century (1956) … Oscar Jaffe 1955 Moby Dick Rehearsed (TV Movie)
An Actor Manager / Father Mapple / Ahab 1955 Confidential Report
Gregory Arkadin 1955 Napoleon
Sir Hudson Lowe 1955 Three Cases of Murder
Lord Mountdrago (“Lord Mountdrago” segment) 1954 Trouble in the Glen
Sanin Cejador y Mengues 1954 Royal Affairs in Versailles
Benjamin Franklin 1953 Return to Glennascaul (Short)
Narrator / Orson Welles 1953 Omnibus (TV Series)
King Lear (segment) – King Lear (1953) … King Lear (segment) 1953 L’uomo la bestia e la virtù
Captain Perella – the Beast 1952 Trent’s Last Case
Sigsbee Manderson 1952 The Little World of Don Camillo
Narrator (voice) 1951 Othello
Othello 1950 The Black Rose
Bayan 1949 Prince of Foxes
Cesare Borgia 1949 Black Magic
Joseph Balsamo aka Count Cagliostro 1949 The Third Man
Harry Lime 1948 Macbeth
Macbeth 1947 The Lady from Shanghai
Michael O’Hara 1946 Duel in the Sun
Narrator (voice, uncredited) 1946 The Stranger
Professor Charles Rankin 1946 Tomorrow Is Forever
John Andrew MacDonald / Erik Kessler 1944 Follow the Boys
Orson Welles 1943 Jane Eyre
Edward Rochester 1943 Journey Into Fear
Colonel Haki 1942 The Magnificent Ambersons
Narrator (voice) 1941 Citizen Kane
Kane 1940 Swiss Family Robinson
Opening Narrator (uncredited) 1939 The Green Goddess (Short)
Rajah / Narrator 1938 Too Much Johnson
Keystone Kop 1934 The Hearts of Age (Short)
Death 1933 Twelfth Night (Short) – (source IMDb)