In the pantheon of cinematic giants, Orson Welles occupies a celestial throne.
As Patrick McGilligan, author of Young Orson: The Years of Luck and Genius on the Path to
Citizen Kane, eloquently says, "If there were a Mount Rushmore of directors, he'd undoubtedly
be one of the four faces."
Yet, beneath the dazzling brilliance of his career, the shadows cast by his professional
successes often darkened his personal connections.
In an astonishing revelation on his deathbed, Welles confessed that he had never truly been
happy.
This startling admission paints a poignant portrait of a man who was tormented by an
unfulfilled quest for happiness despite reaching the heights of fame and creative success.
Join FactsVerse as we delve into the life and legacy of this iconic artist, exploring
the personal demons and tragedies that haunted him and ultimately led to his heart-wrenching
confession.
Shakespearean prodigy Born in 1915 in the quaint town of Kenosha,
Wisconsin, Orson was the offspring of Richard Welles, a visionary inventor, and Beatrice
Ives, an accomplished concert pianist.
From the outset, the couple had no doubt that their second son was destined for extraordinary
achievements.
He was hailed as a wunderkind, drawing the attention of psychologists who sought to study
his extraordinary abilities.
Physically, too, he stood apart: by the age of 14, he had already reached his towering
height of 6 feet, 3.5 inches, and his voice had deepened into the distinctive basso profundo
that would later become his trademark.
In Orson's formative years, Dr. Maurice Bernstein, a close family friend, played a pivotal role
in fostering the young prodigy's gifts.
According to McGilligan, everyone endeavored to cultivate his intellectual and artistic
development.
They encouraged him to pursue art, and he would stage little performances for his parents
and those interested in his development.
Tragedy struck when Orson was just nine years old, as his mother succumbed to hepatitis.
The profound sense of anguished loss he experienced, according to McGilligan, created an emotional
void at the heart of a person, much like it is depicted in Citizen Kane.
At the tender age of ten, he penned opera critiques for the local newspaper.
His fervor for the performing arts began with his first toy theater, and by the time he
was 14, he was adapting and directing plays at school, even tackling a rendition of Shakespeare's
historical dramas.
Before he turned fifteen, Orson faced another heartbreak when his father passed away due
to complications from alcoholism.
Following his father's death, a 16-year-old Orson ventured to Ireland, ostensibly for
a sketching excursion, but in reality, to seek acting opportunities.
Remarkably, he secured a leading role in a play at the esteemed Gate Theatre in Dublin.
Upon returning to Chicago, he published a collection of illustrated Shakespeare textbooks,
which he co-authored with his former headmaster; these texts remained in print for three decades.
In 1938, at the age of 23, Orson captivated listeners with his radio adaptation of H.G.
Wells' The War of the Worlds, marking an early pinnacle in a career encompassing nearly half
a century and over 25 films, including the revered 1941 masterpiece, Citizen Kane.
Additionally, Welles had the remarkable ability to master any subject within hours, delivering
eloquent speeches in languages he had only recently encountered.
As he tackled each medium in his diverse career, he instantaneously grasped their potential,
seamlessly mastering the principles of light, sound, and cinematography.
Though his unwavering determination led to a tarnished reputation in the workplace, his
personal life proved even more tumultuous.
Failed Marriages and Complex Love Affairs
Orson Welles' romantic life was marked by a series of failed marriages and entangled
relationships.
His first love, actress Virginia Nicolson, eloped with him in 1934 when they were both
19.
However, their union was soon marred by Welles' infidelity, as he pursued affairs with actresses
Geraldine Fitzgerald and Dolores del Rio while Nicolson was pregnant.
As Welles' career skyrocketed, Nicolson ultimately divorced him in 1940, stating, "Orson doesn't
have time to be married."
In 1943, Welles married the dazzling screen icon Rita Hayworth, but their relationship
was also plagued by his numerous indiscretions.
By 1948, Hayworth had reached her breaking point and filed for divorce.
Welles' third marriage, to Italian actress and aristocrat Paola Mori was precipitated
by her pregnancy.
Despite their shotgun wedding in 1955, the couple gradually drifted apart.
Yet, even amidst his tumultuous marriages, Welles found a long-term partner in Croatian
actress Oja Kodar, who was 26 years his junior.
For the final 24 years of his life, she remained his lover.
However, Welles never divorced Mori, frequently returning to her and maintaining homes with
both women.
Each of Welles' marriages produced a daughter, though Hayworth's daughter, Rebecca Welles,
maintained that his true love was his mistress Dolores del Rio.
Moreover, Welles fathered an illegitimate son with actress Geraldine Fitzgerald—Sir
Michael Lindsay-Hogg, a baronet and film director.
In his will, Welles bequeathed his movie copyrights to his wife, Mori, while leaving the rights
to his unfinished films to his mistress, Kodar.
This division sparked disputes over his estate that persisted for a very long time, serving
as a testament to the complex tapestry of Orson Welles' personal life.
Hollywood Struggles & a posthumous movie
It may be hard to believe, but the prodigious talent known for his work in theater and radio
faced immense challenges when attempting to break into Hollywood.
Despite his genius and undeniable flair, he found it difficult to fit in among the Hollywood
elite.
Welles' first feature film debut resulted in his blacklisting, and it appeared as though
the forces of old Hollywood were conspiring against him, betraying and undermining his
films.
Projects such as Touch of Evil and The Magnificent Ambersons saw Welles fired and his creative
vision sidelined, as the films were re-shot and re-edited without his input.
As he entered his twilight years, Welles struggled to secure work.
In order to finance his films, he took on guest roles in commercials, TV shows, and
other directors' films.
Unfortunately, due to insufficient funds or his own growing disillusionment, many of his
films remained unfinished.
Welles' life took a darker turn as he became increasingly unhealthy, severely overweight,
and depressed over the fading of his former glory.
In a remarkable turn of events, in 2018, Netflix stepped in to complete one of Welles' final
unfinished films, "The Other Side of the Wind."
This posthumous act of restoration not only paid homage to the legendary director's work
but also allowed modern audiences to witness the cinematic brilliance of a man who, despite
the hardships and obstacles he faced in Hollywood, left an indelible mark on the world of film.
The irony in his most celebrated work, Citizen Kane
The trajectory of Orson Welles' life, marked by a meteoric rise and an eventual decline,
bears a striking resemblance to the narrative of his most celebrated work, Citizen Kane.
The film tells the tragic tale of Charles Foster Kane, a man at the pinnacle of his
success, who could have become president but instead experiences a fall from grace in both
his professional and personal life.
The uncanny parallels between Kane and Welles' life stories illustrate the poignant irony
that pervades the film.
Both Kane and Welles' tragic arcs begin in childhood.
In Citizen Kane, the young Charles Kane is robbed of his youth when his parents send
him away to a business tycoon, intending to secure a prosperous future for him in business
and politics.
This pivotal moment marks the end of his innocence and forces him to grow up prematurely.
In a similar vein, Orson faced enormous expectations from his mother, which propelled him into
a life of greatness.
This pressure led him to excel in various fields, becoming an iconic playwright, radio
producer, filmmaker, magician, maverick, and a true Renaissance man.
The most heartbreaking line in the film occurs at the beginning, with Kane's final words:
"Rosebud."
These words, a reference to his childhood sled, symbolize the innocence and happiness
he experienced before being thrust into the world of business and politics.
The irony lies in the fact that everyone in the story assumes "Rosebud" relates to wealth,
power, or romance, yet it represents the purest and most poignant memory from Kane's life.
In this manner, Citizen Kane foreshadows the eventual downfall of Orson Welles.
Both the character and the creator rise from humble beginnings to attain remarkable success,
only to become outcasts, struggling to reclaim their former glory.
The film's central theme of lost innocence, embodied in the enigmatic word "Rosebud,"
reflects the shared tragedy of Kane and Welles, forever intertwining their fates in a haunting
tale of ambition, triumph, and despair.
Uncontrolled desires and regrets Orson's voracious appetite encompassed work,
art, food, and romantic conquests.
Though modest about his amorous skills, he embodied the quintessential Don Juan: a fleeting
touch, a fleeting love.
His constant desire for novelty doomed his three marriages from the start, exemplified
by his infidelity to Rita Hayworth just a week after their wedding—an act that surely
hinted at a deeply-rooted, peculiar compulsion.
Insecurity appeared to permeate much of Orson's existence, even casting doubt on his own stature
as he often donned platform shoes to accentuate his already impressive height.
When it came to his insatiable appetite—regularly indulging in three steaks in a single meal—it
was neither hunger nor sheer gluttony that drove him.
Instead, he seemed to be attempting to satiate an emotional void that food could never truly
satisfy.
He previously claimed that his physician advised him to refrain from hosting intimate dinners
for four people unless there are three additional people there.
Orson expressed regret over the limited number of films he had made, viewing each as a unique
experiment.
He continued this experimental approach until his final days, but by then, his accomplishments
had been eclipsed by his larger-than-life persona and a series of lowbrow TV commercials
for whisky and frozen peas.
Throughout his life, he dabbled in various pursuits: he was a magician performing in
Vegas, a painter, a writer, a newspaper columnist, a radio comedian, a political activist, a
documentary-maker, and even staged a ballet.
His versatile interests and refusal to adhere to conventions often conflicted with the demands
of the commercial film industry.
This creative divergence further limited his opportunities to work on numerous mainstream
projects.
Moreover, his insistence on maintaining creative control over his films often led to clashes
with studios, producers, and financiers, which in turn hindered his ability to secure consistent
funding for his cinematic endeavors.
Consequently, many of his projects remained unfinished or struggled to find a suitable
platform for distribution.
There you have it.
It's now time to hear from you.
Did you notice the parallels between Welles' life and his most celebrated work, Citizen
Kane?
And are there any other aspects of his life or career that you find particularly intriguing
or poignant?
Let us know below.