Wellesnet: The Orson Welles Web Resource

By LAWRENCE FRENCH

Orson Welles appearance on The David Frost Show recorded on May 12, 1970 came before most of the numerous biographies about Welles had been published, providing us with Welles' own point of view on some very interesting aspects of his life and work.

This interview also took place in the midst of the cultural revolution of the late sixties, when Welles was still at work on his planned TV show, Orson's Bag, and in a few months would begin shooting on The Other Side of the Wind. Both projects related rather heavily on various aspects of the counter-culture and youth movement that was so much a part of Read the rest of this entry »

In response to a reader question, Playbill.com recently offered a condensed history of The Mercury Theatre on Broadway.

Worth checking out for those unfamiliar with young Orson Welles' pre-Hollywood career, the article chronicles his partnership with John Houseman from their days with the Federal Theatre Project, as well as the fate of the Manhattan building that once housed the Mercury. (It was renamed Artef, a Yiddish theater, in 1940 and demolished two years later). Read the rest of this entry »

By RAY KELLY

The stage of the Woodstock Opera House will be dedicated in honor of Orson Welles next month.

The ceremony will take place on February 10 at 2 p.m., according to Woodstock Celebrates, Inc., which is planning events to honor Welles in 2014 and 2015. The nonprofit group spearheaded the dedication effort.

The Woodstock, Illinois, City Council voted unanimously on November 6, 2012 to place a plaque on the 124-year old opera house stage. It will read: “Orson Welles first mined the vein of his golden talent in Woodstock as a student at Todd School for Boys. In 1934, at 19, he made his American debut as a professional theater director upon this stage, now named in his honor.”

During the November meeting, Read the rest of this entry »

"War of the Worlds: The True Story," filmmaker Timothy Hines' ambitious faux documentary about a Martian invasion, has drawn opposing views from two prominent West Coast critics.

The film opened in select theaters on October 30, but has only recently gained notices from the Hollywood press as the Pendragon Pictures release now plays in Los Angeles theaters.

The Hollywood Reporter noted this was Hines second attempt at dramatizing H.G. Wells' sci-fi classic. Read the rest of this entry »

The East Village's latest bar is the kind of watering hole where would-be Holly Martins can order up a Harry Lime while zither music plays in their head.

Located at 116 Avenue C near 7th Street in the Big Apple, The Third Man takes its name from the classic 1949 Carol Reed thriller starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten.

The Third Man boasts cocktails and appetizers from Austrian-native chefs Eduard Frauneder and Read the rest of this entry »

By RAY KELLY

It was a little more than a year ago we learned of Josh Karp’s planned book about The Other Side of the Wind.

Due in late 2013 for St. Martin’s Press, An Adventure Shared By Desperate Men (That Finally Came to Nothing) will chronicle the making and status of Orson Welles’ unfinished film, which stars John Huston as aging movie director Jake Hannaford and Peter Bogdanovich as Brooks Otterlake, a young successful director. Read the rest of this entry »

By RAY KELLY

Newstalk 106-108 FM, Ireland’s independent national radio station, will feature an hour-long look at the life and career of Orson Welles on Sunday, December 9.

Included on the award-winning “Talking History” broadcast will be Welles’ oldest daughter, Chris Welles Feder.

“Talking History,” hosted by Trinity College Dublin's Patrick Geogheagan, airs at 7 p.m. UTC. Programs are available on online at newstalk.ie/talkinghistory Read the rest of this entry »

To celebrate the holiday season, Wellesnet is pleased to present streaming audio of The Mercury Theatre's 1938 and 1939 productions of Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol."

The 1938 broadcast features Orson Welles as Ebenezer Scrooge. The production co-stars Virginia Welles and Joseph Cotten. Welles serves as narrator of the 1939 radio show with Lionel Barrymore as Scrooge. Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATED ON JAN. 12, 2013: The OSOTW footage has been deleted from vimeo.
Read the rest of this entry »

Dann Cahn, who worked as an assistant editor on Orson Welles' 1948 film "Macbeth" and an editorial supervisor eight years later on "Fountain of Youth," died Wednesday at his California home.

Cahn, 89, was the last surviving member of the original creative team behind "I Love Lucy," according to the Los Angeles Times.

He began his Hollywood career as a child actor, appearing in the 1938 movie "Newsboys' Home" with Jackie Cooper. Read the rest of this entry »

We are proud to welcome a new addition to Wellesnet: The Orson Welles Family Album.

This new web page is a generous sampling of photographs of Welles throughout the years with his three wives: Virginia Nicolson, Rita Hayworth and Paola Mori; his three daughters, Christopher, Rebecca and Beatrice; collaborator-companion Oja Kodar; and assorted friends, lovers and cronies.

As always, we welcome any suggestions or additions.
Read the rest of this entry »

The University of Wisconsin – Madison will present Marc Blitzstein's "The Cradle Will Rock" on November 16 through December 8.

The University Theater describes the musical as a "satirical glimpse into 'Steeltown, USA' (which) offers a biting critique of corruption, commerce, and humanity’s value in the face of unchecked capitalism – issues that continue to divide our country and state 75 years later."

Controversial at the time for its pro-union stance, "The Cradle Will Rock' was first performed on Broadway in 1937 by the Federal Theatre Project. Read the rest of this entry »