Did Dexedrine destroy Welles's health?

[Orson&Jazz]

Was it Dexedrine or Benzedrine that Orson used to pop every once in a while? I swear, I'm going some where with this, just stick with me for a moment!


I fully believe that if Orson didn't use this crap he would have probably lived longer, and would not have had the weight problem he did.

Both drugs, no matter what one he used, are Amphetamines. They are stimulants and can also be used as appetite surpressants. And as any chubby person knows, if you use any kind of drugs to lose weight, once you quit you gain the weight back three-fold. And god only knows what the hell kind of other drugs Orson used to maintain his weight. Manufactured drugs were in its infancy during the early 30's, so it was all experimental. So, the overall effects and damages that they had on his body through out his life time is only guesswork. And, I read some where on these boards that Orson, prior to his death, lost a lot of weight. I wonder if he used some kind of weight loss drugs? Using these, not matter what kind of drug, probably increased his risk of an early death.


So, my point being is that I absolutely believe his weight gain was the cause of these drugs, and others if he used any more through out his life. And I truly believe that he would have lived longer, because once you think about it, 70 is kind of young compared the life span of, let's say, Bob Hope. I'm sure Orson could have lived for another ten or so years. And who knows what he could have accomplished in those extra ten years?!

[Harvey Chartrand]

In its obituary for Welles, Paris Match wrote: "A 38 ans, il se met à table." (Very loosely translated: At 38, he stops trying to keep his weight under control.) This statement was illustrated by a photo of a mountainous Welles dining in the Arizona desert while shooting scenes for THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND.
Welles' weight soars during the filming of OTHELLO. The handsome, relatively slim leading man of THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI and THE THIRD MAN disappears forever under layers of fat. It's Big Orson (or Orson cubed) from about 1953 on...
I read somewhere that Welles' daughter Beatrice believes it wasn't the excess poundage but the sudden weight loss (on doctor's orders!) that killed him.

[Orson&Jazz]

Yes, that is exactly what I was trying to say.

If he was using these kinds of drugs to maintain his weight, and then suddenly quitting, the weight would have just packed on quickly. Sort of a rebound effect; gaining what you lost and then some. And plus, it is a wonder what all the damages that those previous drugs had already done to his body.


And then if his doctor recommended he lose weight, I wonder what his doctor prescribed to help lose it, and also that quickly? Any rapid weight loss like that is dangerous. I agree with Beatrice's conclusion. I wouldn't doubt that is what truly killed him.

That 'doctor' robbed us of a great man too soon!

[dkovacev]

Amphetamines certainly helped Welles to achieve the incredible 22-hour working days during the shooting of Kane and Ambersons (and possibly later too). Another notorious Benzedrine user was David O.Selznick, especially during the production of Gone With The Wind.
But, prolonged use of Amphetamines can also cause insomnia and serious sleep disorders, even during the periods of abstinence. Welles had chronic problems with sleep for most of his life, and I wonder if this was the result of his earlier Amphetamine use. Very long periods of sleep deprivation surely did irreparable damage to his health.
And Bob Hope had less stressful life than Welles, I guess

[Glenn Anders]

Most of us who have had a weight problem on occasion know that the body has a way of shutting down, achieving a plateau, which will not allow further weight loss. Some people use drastic means, and the human system has a way of retaliating.

My understanding of Welles' condition at the time of his death is that he had a Hobson's Choice. He was going from place to place by ambulance, being moved any distance within a theater or on a set by wheel chair. He HAD to lose the weight quickly or die, but on the other hand, an enforced weight loss, for someone with a weakened heart, is also often a death sentence.

I'm told by someone who knew Bob Hope that, though he might not have had a weight problem, he was a terribly nervous and insecure man, well into old age. When he was one the best known comedians in radio, movies and soon TV, one of the top box office draws of the early 1950's, he expressed to my friend that he was convinced that his whole career was about to collapse, that he was going "to be found out." He feared the talent power brokers would not renew his career.

BTW, another talented performer, sometimes compared in potential as an actor to Welles, was Laird Cregar (HOT SPOT, HANGOVER SQUARE). The Studio wanted to groom him for a kind of moody stardom as a leading man (as they wanted for Welles). They put him on an enforced diet, and his heart gave out. He was the same age as Welles, 29, when he died in 1944.

Glenn

[Christopher]

I have heard from someone who looked after Welles in his last years that he was very seriously ill for a long time before his death and suffered from numerous health problems, including diabetes. So I tend to doubt that a rapid weight loss by itself was the cause of his death. Welles was also a man who lived hard and burned the candle at both ends, existing on three or four hours sleep for most of his life. Such men live at such an accelerated pace that they are not likely to live into old age, especially if they are seriously ill.

[Orson&Jazz]

So, if he was seriously ill prior to his death with a variety of health problems, including a weakend heart, why would a doctor still order dramatic weight loss? Isn't that negligent? They weren't curing the current maladies, but creating an extra one. What the hell kind of doctor ignores serious health problems, and yet orders an old man to lose weight, and quickly? I just don't get it.

And Orson probably thought the Amphetamines he used in his youth were necessary for him to accomplish those long work hours. I doubt that in the 30's the side effects and drug information that is available now, was available back then. So, he probably didn't know the long term effects the drugs would have had on his body. He probably just thought that the drugs were a great way for him to continue the long hours, being the hard worker he was, ignorant to the fact that they were wreaking havoc on his body.


I still think his life was cut a little too short. Even Ruth Warrick didn't pass away until this year, and she was born in the same year as Orson. She lived 20 years longer than he did. But then again, she most likely didn't stress out her body like Orson did.


Personally, the more I think about this, the more I feel angry. Especially at his 'doctor', who ever first suggested Amphetamines, and who ever was his Amphetamine supplier...

[Christopher]

On further checking, it turns out I was misinformed and Orson Welles did not have diabetes at the end of his life.

As for trying to second-guess his doctor's recommendation that Welles lose weight, this seems a futile line of inquiry to me. Finally, Welles was not the only person in movies who took uppers and downers. Think of Judy Garland. An awful lot of pill-popping went on in Hollywood, and still does, not to mention booze and drugs.

[Glenn Anders]

Not to mention, Christopher, that some New York producers, and a number of Hollywood Studios, encouraged the use of amphetamines. Even in the late 1930's and 1940's, it was clear that long term use of such drugs was ruinous. There was an expression (which I don't hear any more): "You need a shot in the arm." In elevated, polite company, it referred to a Vitamin B-12 injection, but my guess is that its origins were in amphetamines.

Marilyn Monroe was another famous and fairly public victim.

Glenn

[Orson&Jazz]

I would never assume that Hollywood was entirely drug free; that would show complete ignorance on my part. Almost country-bumpkinish!

I would on the other hand assume that drugs in Hollywood in the 30's-40's, and even today, would be very easy to obtain for actors/actresses.


And, wow, I did not know that Amphetamine use was actually encouraged. And by the brass too. I don't know if it's the cause of pure ignorance, or because they wanted to keep their stars happy while working through hellish hours, or maybe just to keep them pliant? Crazy.


But regarding Orson, now I'm beginning to wonder if he was encouraged?





I'll still curse that 'bogus' doctor Orson had...........negligence I say!

[Harvey Chartrand]

Another sad case was Montgomery Clift. An ill-advised trip to Mexico in 1939 led to his contracting a very bad case of colitis for which there was no permanent cure. This is what got him started on pills and booze. Clift was first reported drinking on the set of I CONFESS in 1952. In 1956, after a terrible car crash ruined his good looks, Clift fell apart completely, drinking bourbon or vodka mixed with crushed Demerol on the set of all subsequent films he appeared in. It is impossible to watch Clift in THE YOUNG LIONS, LONELYHEARTS, SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER, FREUD and THE DEFECTOR wiithout constantly being reminded of his tragic personal life. He is visibly out of it much of the time, and in serious physical and psychological pain. In SUMMER, he slurs his words and is often sweaty, unsteady and stooped. He died young in 1966 (only 45 years old) but already looked like a sick old man.
As for the obligatory Welles connection, Patricia Bosworth, in her fine biography simply titled "Montgomery Clift", relates a 1938 anecdote of a younger, happier Clift (then a juvenile lead on Broadway) witnessing a parade in New York City, led by Welles and Houseman, who had just been locked out of the theatre in which they planned to perform THE CRADLE WILL ROCK. Welles and company were on their way to an empty theatre uptown to present an unadorned version of the play and make history.

[Christopher]

I seem to remember reading in one of the biographies that Welles started taking amphetemines or something similar during his radio and theater days in New York when he was dashing from the theater to the radio stations and putting in eighteen-hour days. He was also beginning to go on crash diets and the diet pills he was taking might well have damaged his health in the long run.

[Orson&Jazz]

Yes, that yo-yo dieting will have a long term adverse effect on the body.


I cringe when I think of what kind of damages it had done to his body.