Yes, he was.

About his metamorphosis, see Simon Callow's The Road to Xanadu: "He now boasted a complete command of the Irish language and a rich accent that became the epitome of an Irish acting voice, though in truth it was unlike any Irish voice to be heard in the streets – and certainly not the streets of what he now claimed was his native city, Cork" (p.91.) Or Christopher Fitz-Simon's The Boys:A Double Biography, about Mac Liammóir and Hilton Edwards.

That's extraordinary, Francois!

How clever of Alfred, whoever he really is -- and we seldom know here, unless we alert Quarto Negro.

Perhaps, Danny Huston will get to play Michael MacLiammoir on screen one day, as he has now done Orson Welles, in FADE TO BLACK. Our Alfred would like that, I suspect.

[We might add, checking the IMDb (at last), that Simon Callow was MacLiammoir's dresser when he toured in his one man show, The Importance of Being Oscar.]

The Sky Reviewer Rob Daniels rather fancied FADE TO BLACK, btw, saying it had been unfairly trashed by the media:

"It is fitting that Orson Welles should be the star of Fade to Black as the film’s troubled history mirrors that of many a Welles movie: originally intended for a 1999 release, financing fell through, and although completed in 2006 it is only now seeing release. Unfairly slammed by critics, the film is a fun romp through post-war Italy (played by the ruins of Belgrade), a spirited cast chewing on the bonkers plot and cine-buff friendly in-jokes coming thick and fast.

"When a politically well-connected actor dies on the Black Magic set, Orson Welles (Huston) smells a rat and together with disillusioned ex-cop Tommaso (Luna) begins an investigation that will take them to the actor’s beautiful adopted daughter Lea (Vega), the shadowy dealings of the Christian Democratic Party, Communists hard-nuts and the opportunistic American occupiers, headed by early-CIA operative Brewster (Walken).

"While the plot makes sense of sorts, the fun comes from the actors carving thick slices of ham, the comic book visuals and a clever use of film as the Great Detecting Tool.

"Danny Huston looks nothing like Welles, but captures his handsome egotism, complete with humbling asides about his expanding waistline and the Rita Hayworth split. Luna looks suitably haunted and Walken reigns in his typical schtick to give a morally elastic turn as a prototype Donald Rumsfeld.

"While references to The Third Man and other Welles movies pepper the movie, what’s missing is the great showman’s mad Midas touch. The Lady from Shanghai and Touch of Evil pack similarly loopy plotting, but the inspired filmmaking and poisonous dialogue made them movie gold.

"Fade to Black is as sleek and attractive as the chrome polished vintage cars Huston travels in, but never truly gets in gear."

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But though the movie continues to be shown in more and more countries, there is still no sign of an American release.

*******

Yes, indeed, Todd, we shall lift our glasses on Sunday, in several places, to Mac, Alfred, Peter, Larry, Viktor, Spartacus, and Osborne Cox! And many another Wellesnetter who can not make it to the Castle or the to the Crowley-crackered hallowed cellar of the Ha-Ra. Why not mix the Scotch, Irish, and Gin with a Guinnes, to create "a Mac Liammoir," in the manner of Welles' inspiration Preston Sturges when he made THE SIN OF HAROLD DIDDLEBOCK with Harold LLoyd?

I can see you plying those beautiful blonde pool maidens now.

"A little more MacLiammoir, m'dear?"

Glenn

Sorry for the backtrack, but I just caught up with this thread. I’m guessing Glenn intentionally encapsulated here one of Welles’s key themes, if not his defining theme.