The Rise and Fall Of Orson Welles

Orson Welles was a man who lived his life taking big bites. He also resembled the kid who is allowed to eat his dessert first- the rest of the meal tends to be a letdown. The big bites Welles took allowed him accomplishments by artists much further in their careers than Welles. His early successes often gained more notoriety than acceptance by his supposed peers.

Welles was born in Kenosha, WI, in 1915. Both of Welles' parents were intelligent and worldly persons. Richard Welles made a respectable fortune by inventing a carbide lamp for bicycles, but lost it to drink. Beatrice was a concert pianist, and supported her son by playing after the couple split. She took her son to Chicago where she played accompaniment to lectures. Beatrice passed away soon after Orson's ninth birthday. The precocious young man was entrusted to a series of guardians who provided him with an eclectic but somewhat advanced education. Always an exceptionally bright lad, Orson won a scholarship to Harvard, but chose to spend the remains of his inheritance to travel through Europe.

Low on funds in 1931, Orson Welles walked into the Gate Theater in Dublin and declared himself to be a Broadway star. It was obvious he was not, but his brashness impressed the production company enough to give him work. Soon his reputation as an real actor reached American shores. Returning to his native land, Welles toured with off-Broadway companies. He gained the attention of John Houston, who hired him to the Federal Theater Project.

Allowed to direct, Welles began to take artistic risks, usually successfully. He directed an African American company in what would be known as The Voodoo Macbeth, set in Haiti. After he and Houston formed the Mercury Theater company. The company's first production, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar set in fascist Italy, won terrific acclaim. Welles, who had a powerful baritone voice, began playing The Shadow (anonymously) on Mutual. The success of The Mercury Theater attracted CBS to allow the company a weekly hour to present adaptations from classic literary works.

Welles left what had been retitled Campbell's Playhouse in 1940 over creative differences with the sponsor. Moving to Hollywood, he gave his picture his full attention. The result was one of the greatest motion pictures of all time, Citizen Kane. At the time, it was also one of the most controversial. The story was loosely based on the life of publisher William Randolph Hearst. The publisher felt he was shown unfavorably, and threw the weight of his empire toward blocking the release of the film.

The Shadow was paying the bills, but Welles seemed to feel it was beneath his considerable dramatic talents. The Mercury Theater On The Air has been called a high point in radio's development as a dramatic medium, but the program struggled for ratings. Until Welles attempted a radical adaptation of H.G. Wells The War Of The Worlds.

The novel told the story of Martian invaders attacking London. Welles choose to place the story in New Jersey, presenting it as a breaking news report. He also took advantage of his own shows low listenership. Knowing that fans of Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy would scan their dials during the commercial breaks, Welles timed the most compelling action portions of his program to coincide with the ventriloquist's breaks. Many listeners were caught, and having not heard the disclaimer that it was all a joke, believed their planet was under attack. The 1938 “Halloween Prank” caught the attention of sponsors- Campbell's Soup put their name and money on Mercury Theater. The notoriety also received attention in Hollywood, and RKO offered the young director an unheard of contract, with complete artistic control of his first picture.

Citizen Kane went on to become a classic, but the motion picture industry resented Welles for his youthful success and the flap with Hearst. He would continue to work, but never again with the creative freedom he enjoyed with Citizen Kane. He would continue to work in radio, but never with the gravitas of the original Mercury Theater of the Air. His baritone voice and acting style would be heard in several memorable roles, including the Suspense classic “The Hitch Hiker”, many appearances on The Columbia Workshop, and programs in support of the War Effort such as Hello Americans and Ceiling Unlimited. He was a popular guest on dramas and comedies. He recalled the vaguely sinister persona of The Shadow in The Third Man Harry Lime.

As successful as these later efforts were, they paled in comparison to the creative successes Welles enjoyed in his early and mid 20s. However he never quit trying. In 1985, Welles appeared for an interview on the Merv Griffin Show. That evening he was found slumped over his typewriter, dead of a heart attack. He had been working on a new movie script.