(George) (1915-1985) US actor and film and theater director. His first film was Citizen Kane 1941, which he produced, directed, and starred in. Using innovative lighting, camera angles and movements, it is a landmark in the history of cinema, yet he subsequently directed very few films in Hollywood, and worked mainly in Europe. His performances as an actor include the character of Harry Lime in The Third Man 1949.
In 1937 he founded the Mercury Theater, New York, with John Houseman, where their repertory productions included a modern-dress version of Julius Caesar. Welles’ realistic radio broadcast of H G Wells’ The War of the Worlds 1938 caused panic and fear of Martian invasion in the US. His films include The Magnificent Ambersons 1942, The Lady from Shanghai 1948 with his wife Rita Hayworth, Touch of Evil 1958, and Chimes at Midnight 1966, a Shakespeare adaptation.
A child prodigy, Welles made his acting debut at 16 in Dublin and toured with Katherine Cornell's company in the US. As his career declined he became a familiar voice and face in US television commercials, and made guest appearances on TV shows. + prikaži više