Orson Welles

Biography:

Orson Welles was an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and broadcaster, who was considered among the most innovative artists in the history of cinema. Welles was born on May 6, 1915, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His early fame was due to his innovative performances both in theatre and radio, especially because of the 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds. In the beginning, Welles went to Hollywood and shot his first full-length movie called Citizen Kane, which was written, produced, and performed by him as well. Initially, this movie was considered controversial and commercial failure but now is considered one of the greatest and most influential films of all times. After that, Orson Welles directed such movies as The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Touch of Evil (1958), and Chimes at Midnight (1965).

Orson Welles won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Citizen Kane together with Herman J. Mankiewicz, and he was nominated for Best Actor Oscar for the same movie. Despite of the fact that Welles frequently experienced some problems with Hollywood studios and financing, he continued his work in different media forms, like films, theatre, TV and radio shows. Being a great innovator of such elements as deep focus shots, unorthodox editing techniques, theatrical lighting, and complicated story-telling methods, Orson Welles inspired many generations of directors. Also, Welles was an actor in such movies as The Third Man (1949), A Man for All Seasons (1966), and The Long, Hot Summer (1958). He died on October 10, 1985, in Los Angeles, California.