Orson Welles

1915 – 1985 · died at about 70^[1][2]

Film & Entertainment

Fun Facts About Orson Welles

• Orson Welles said he began his acting career by walking into Dublin's Gate Theatre and claiming to be a Broadway star; the manager did not believe him but was impressed by his brashness.^[1]
• One of Welles's last film roles was the voice of Unicron, a planet-eating supervillain, in The Transformers: The Movie (1986).^[1]
• Welles was a lifelong magician, and on the day he married Rita Hayworth in 1943 he was performing in his own magic and circus show for servicemen in Hollywood.^[1]
• Louis B. Mayer of MGM and other studio executives offered RKO cash to destroy the negative and all prints of Citizen Kane.^[1]
• While directing his Voodoo Macbeth, Welles dashed between Harlem and midtown Manhattan three times a day for radio jobs that paid him up to $2,000 a week.^[1]
• In 1943 Welles filled in as host of The Jack Benny Program, radio's most popular show, when Benny came down with pneumonia.^[1]
• Orson Welles was alive at the same time as Kim Jong Un — their lives overlapped for 1 year (1984–1985).^[1][2][3][4]
• Orson Welles shares a birthday with Sigmund Freud: both were born on May 6.^[1][2][5][6]

George Orson Welles was an American actor and filmmaker. Remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre, he is considered among the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time.^[1]

Contemporaries

Georgia O'Keeffe

70 yr overlap

Jorge Luis Borges

70 yr overlap

Hirohito

70 yr overlap

Bob Hope

70 yr overlap

Salvador Dalí

70 yr overlap

Simone de Beauvoir

70 yr overlap

Dorothy Hodgkin

70 yr overlap

Mother Teresa

70 yr overlap

Akira Kurosawa

70 yr overlap

Jacques Cousteau

70 yr overlap

Rosa Parks

70 yr overlap

Frank Sinatra

70 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Orson Welles

When was Orson Welles born?

Orson Welles was born on May 6, 1915, and died on October 10, 1985.

How old was Orson Welles at death?

Orson Welles was born on May 6, 1915, and died on October 10, 1985, at age 70.

What was Orson Welles known for?

Orson Welles was known for: Citizen Kane, War of the Worlds broadcast. George Orson Welles was an American actor and filmmaker. Remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre, he is considered among the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time.

Who was alive at the same time as Orson Welles?

Orson Welles's closest contemporary was Georgia O'Keeffe. Their lives overlapped for 70 years.