Orson Welles attended the Todd School for Boys from 1926 to 1931. He formed a lasting friendship with his mentor, headmaster Roger “Skipper” Hill. His 95-year-old daughter, Joanne Hill Tarbox Styles, has written an essay on Welles’ time in Woodstock, Illinois. Styles was married for than 50 years to Welles’ childhood rival, Hascy Tarbox. Wellesnet […]
By RAY KELLY It is a poorly kept secret that Wellesnet.com is smitten with Woodstock Celebrates Inc., a non-profit Illinois group organizing major events to mark the 80th anniversary next year of the 1934 Todd Theatre Festival at the historic Woodstock Opera House, as well as the 100th anniversary in 2015 of Orson Welles’ birth. […]
By MIKE TEAL The Illinois stage where a 19-year-old Orson Welles launched his professional theatrical career was dedicated in his honor on Sunday, February 10. About 40 people, including members of Woodstock Celebrates Inc., attended the afternoon dedication of the Orson Welles Stage at the Woodstock Opera House in Woodstock, Illinois. Woodstock Celebrates, which spearheaded […]
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 […]
By RAY KELLY Kudos to Woodstock, Illinois, officials, who voted to dedicate the stage at the Woodstock Opera House in honor of Orson Welles. The City Council agreed to the measure on Tuesday night. The Woodstock Opera House Advisory Commission recommended the dedication at its October 16 meeting. The vote comes as Woodstock Celebrates readies […]
By RAY KELLY Earlier this year, Wellesnet and Woodstock Celebrates put out the call for a U.S. postage stamp to honor Orson Welles on May 6, 2015, the 100th anniversary of his birth. The stamp would be issued in Woodstock, Illinois, where Welles attended the Todd School for Boys. The stamp would be just part […]
By RAY KELLY With the approach of the Orson Welles Centenary in 2015, nowhere does the anniversary of his birth seem as special as Woodstock, Illinois, where the young Welles spent his formative years at the Todd School for Boys. A citizens’ group, Woodstock Celebrates, is planning events in May 2014, marking the 80th anniversary […]
By a 5-to-1 vote, the Woodstock, Illinois, City Council approved a special use permit that necessitated the demolition of Grace Hall at the former Todd School for Boys. The 7,300-square-foot Prairie style structure was once a dormitory at the Todd School. Among its notable residents were Orson Welles, who spent part of his childhood in […]
A few months ago I found several old issues of Theatre Arts magazine in the tenderloin district of San Francisco, a few short blocks from where Wellesnet “legend” Glenn Anders lives. The mags were priced at a big 100% mark-up over their original price. Well, since the original price was only .50 cents, they were […]
Grace Hall, is the last remaining building of the Todd School, in Woodstock, Illinois, where Orson Welles studied, wrote, and essentially formulated his whole future life and career, under the direction of headmaster Roger Hill. The Woodstock City Council will meet on April 21 2009 to decide the fate of Grace Hall. Some options include […]
My real interest in life is education. I want to be a teacher. All this experience I’ve been piling up is equipping me for that future …I shall know how to dramatize the art of imparting knowledge. One day I shall leave all this behind me, go back (to Todd School) and give full rein […]
September 4 The Chicago Tribune reported about “The Historic dorm for boys at the Todd school attended by Orson Welles, in Woodstock that faces demolition.” Going back nearly 75 years to the summer of 1934, we find that the Chicago Tribune was also reporting on Welles and the Todd School. They were there – to […]
Having heard from several concerned citizens in Woodstock, Illinois, who have expressed their concern about the proposed demolition of Grace Hall, I thought I’d try to bolster their case before the city council by highlighting some of the remarkable achievements Orson Welles made in Woodstock. To begin, here is an overview of Welles relationship with […]
This weekend a new documentary Prodigal Sons, about Orson Welles grandson, Marc McKerrow Welles, was screened at the Telluride Film Festival. I haven’t seen the film yet, but based on the synopsis from the press kit, it can probably be best described in the same terms as Orson Welles’s first movie: “It’s Sensational.” In fact, […]
Q: Where is home for you? ORSON WELLES: I have lots of homes …I suppose its Woodstock, Illinois, if it’s anywhere. I went to school there for four years, and if I think of home, it’s there. It may be a tedious cliché to say that school days are the happiest days of your life, […]
Joseph McBride needs no introduction to readers of Wellesnet as one of the leading international scholars on the life and work of Orson Welles. He has written three excellent books about Orson Welles, along with articles too numerous to mention. Today, as Ray Kelly has pointed out on the Message board, Grace Hall, the last […]
