By MIKE TEAL
Thirty nine years after his passing at age 70, Orson Welles continues to attract admirers because of his impact on theater, radio and motion pictures.
Here is a sampling of just some of the Welles-related plays, books, home video releases and other news chronicled by Wellesnet during 2024.
January
Mo Henry, the legendary negative cutter on The Other Side of the Wind, passed away at age 67.
https://www.wellesnet.com/mo-henry-death/
February
The University of Michigan highlighted Orson Welles as Family Man in an exhibit at the Hatcher Gallery in Ann Arbor.
https://www.wellesnet.com/orson-welles-family-man/
March
Austin Pendleton’s play Orson’s Shadow marked its 25th anniversary with a two-week Off-Broadway run directed by Pendleton himself.
https://www.wellesnet.com/orson-shadow-25th/
Twelfth Night footage shot by teenage Orson Welles in 1932 was uncovered by Todd Tarbox and uploaded to YouTube.
https://www.wellesnet.com/orson-welles-twelfth-night/
April
Footage of Orson Welles’ three-week run at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas appears online.
https://www.wellesnet.com/orson-welles-riviera/
May
Welles and Wells, a new play by Amy Crider about the 1940 meeting between Orson and H.G., had a successful run in Chicago, with talk of staging it elsewhere.
https://www.wellesnet.com/wells-and-welle/
June
Orson Welles is the first celebrity to be honored with a spot on the Wisconsin Entertainers Wall of Fame.
https://www.wellesnet.com/wisconsin-wall-of-fame/
July
Filmmaker Mark Cousins launches new book entitled Dear Orson & Other Essays.
https://www.wellesnet.com/mark-cousins-book/
August
The Third Man returned to US and UK theaters as part of its 75th anniversary. A commemorative book was also published and released to mark the occasion.
https://www.wellesnet.com/third-man-75th-theaters/
September
Another lost Orson Welles Cartrivision film was found online and donated to the Orson Welles Estate. Three of the six Cartrivision films made by Welles in 1970 have now been recovered.
https://www.wellesnet.com/another-cartrivision-film/
October
British writer-director Sam Judd is raising money for his film short, “My Friend Orson Welles,” through online crowdfunding.
https://www.wellesnet.com/my-friend-orson-welles/
November
Dead Air, a new book by William Hazelgrove about the War of the Worlds broadcast, was released, rebutting the growing belief that the panic caused by the broadcast was overstated.
https://www.wellesnet.com/dead-air-interview/
December
Don Quixote materials housed in U.S. and European archives are being catalogued in anticipation of a scholar-supported assembly and restoration.
https://www.wellesnet.com/don-quixote-restoration/
For collectors of physical media, there were also several new Blu-ray or UHD editions worth checking out in 2024:
Macbeth, https://www.wellesnet.com/macbeth-kino-lorber/
The Third Man, https://www.wellesnet.com/third-man-4k-uhd-studiocanal/
Journey Into Fear, https://www.wellesnet.com/journey-into- … n-blu-ray/
The Lady From Shanghai, https://www.wellesnet.com/lady-shanghai-4k-uhd/
Touch of Evil, https://www.wellesnet.com/touch-evil-4k-reissue/
The documentary American https://www.wellesnet.com/american-odyssey-blu-ray/
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