Cult filmmaker Jess Franco, director of more than 180 films, died today in Málaga,Spain, at the age of 82. Franco made his feature directing debut with “We Are 18 Years Old” in 1959. His final film, “Al Pereira Vs The Alligator Women,” opened last month in Spain. His other films include “Necronomicon,” (1967), “Count Dracula” […]
By RAY KELLY A half hour guide on gambling hosted by Orson Welles and filmed some 35 years ago for Caesars Palace has gone viral. The acclaimed actor-director provided a lively and colorful how-to on card playing, craps, baccarat, roulette, and slot machines for the famed Las Vegas casino. Why Welles? As he explains at […]
Inspired by the groundbreaking Federal Theatre Project’s production, The American Century Theater in Arlington, Virginia, is currently offering up its own take of “Voodoo Macbeth.” While the production is set in an era and location removed from Orson Welles’ landmark 1936 version, it is getting high marks for pushing the boundaries of theater – something […]
Rich Phoenix, president of the New Jersey Radio Museum, will discuss “The War of the Worlds” radio broadcast at the Wyckoff Free Public Library in New Jersey next week. “The Radio Broadcast That Terrorized America,” Orson Welles’ radio dramatization of H. G. Wells’ science fiction novel “War of the Worlds,” will be the subject of […]
By RAY KELLY Wellesnet.com is now home to more than 30 radio shows featuring Orson Welles. The new radio pages span his career from “Les Misérables” in 1937 for the Mutual Network to “The Adventures of Harry Lime” in 1952 on BBC. The programs selected for inclusion are a mix of dramatic presentations, variety shows, […]
By RAY KELLY Filmmaker Henry Jaglom, whose recorded conversations with Orson Welles form the basis of an upcoming book, graciously agreed to field a few questions about his late, great friend. Jaglom’s relationship with Welles dates back to his freshman 1971 film “A Safe Place.” In the interview, he discussed those legendary lunches with Welles […]
“What does ‘Rosebud’ mean in ‘Citizen Kane’?” It is perhaps the question most often fielded by Wellesnet. The most detailed answer given by Orson Welles was contained in a press statement released by RKO Radio Pictures prior the film’s release in May 1941.
Orson Welles attended the Todd School for Boys from 1926 to 1931. He formed a lasting friendship with his mentor, headmaster Roger “Skipper” Hill. His 95-year-old daughter, Joanne Hill Tarbox Styles, has written an essay on Welles’ time in Woodstock, Illinois. Styles was married for than 50 years to Welles’ childhood rival, Hascy Tarbox. Wellesnet […]
By RAY KELLY It is a poorly kept secret that Wellesnet.com is smitten with Woodstock Celebrates Inc., a non-profit Illinois group organizing major events to mark the 80th anniversary next year of the 1934 Todd Theatre Festival at the historic Woodstock Opera House, as well as the 100th anniversary in 2015 of Orson Welles’ birth. […]
By MIKE TEAL The Illinois stage where a 19-year-old Orson Welles launched his professional theatrical career was dedicated in his honor on Sunday, February 10. About 40 people, including members of Woodstock Celebrates Inc., attended the afternoon dedication of the Orson Welles Stage at the Woodstock Opera House in Woodstock, Illinois. Woodstock Celebrates, which spearheaded […]
By RAY KELLY Orson Welles author-confidant-filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich returns to the big-screen at the helm of a new Jennifer Aniston film. Bogdanovich will direct Aniston, Cybill Shepherd, Brie Larson and Owen Wilson in “She’s Funny That Way,” from a screenplay he wrote with his ex-wife, Louise Stratten. The comedy, earlier titled “Squirrel to the Nuts,” […]
By RAY KELLY Recently, we looked at the impressive Library of Congress online collection related to the Federal Theatre Project. However, it is not the only government website that allows us to revisit Orson Welles’ work in the 1930s. The National Archives offers online visitors a glimpse into two of the more than 600 letters […]