Orson Welles Biography

Orson Welles Biography

Full Name: Mr. George Orson Welles
Date of Birth: May 6, 1915
Place of Birth: Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
Died: October 10, 1985
Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, USA
Classification: Artists & Entertainers


Orson was raised by liberal, open-minded parents who imparted their wide range of ideas and beliefs on their young son. Although his mother died when he was only eight years old, he traveled the world with his father, who was an inventor and involved in manufacturing projects around the globe. In Illinois, Orson attended the Todd School for Boys, and it was there that he was introduced to theater. Upon graduation, he was admitted into the Art Institute of Chicago, where he soon dropped out in order to pursue a career as a journalist. Following, he decided to go to Ireland to pursue his first love – acting. In Dublin, he was cast for several lead roles. He then returned to Chicago where he played in Romeo and Juliet. He then debuted in New York City in the same play, this time playing Tybalt.

Orson Welles’ work as a radio announcer didn’t begin until 1934, when he gained public notoriety for his performance in The Shadow. It was on October 30, 1938, however, that Orson Welles, during a national radio broadcast, announced that aliens from Mars were attacking New Jersey. Many listeners who tuned into the broadcast believed it to be the end of the world.

In 1940, Orson Welles wrote, acted in, and directed what many critics have declared as the number one film ever made – Citizen Kane. With new ways of montage, lighting, and dramatic music, Welles’ rendition of the life and times of William Randolph Hearst showed the rise and fall of one of the world’s most renowned newspaper tycoons. Welles went on to act and direct many other films in the U.S. and in Europe, namely France. An autobiography of Orson Welles was never published, but much of his private and social life was well known and documented.