Four Uncomfortable Facts About Orson Welles

He was a flawed genius

A photograph of Orson Welles by Carl Van Vechten, 1937 (Wikimedia Commons)

Orson Welles was a wonderfully entertaining individual with an abundance of talent. He’s best known as the director and star of Citizen Kane (1941), but he made plenty of other outstanding films throughout his career.

This ingenious filmmaker also had many flaws. His larger-than-life personality led to multiple creative clashes, and his romantic life was loaded with lustful acts of infidelity.

1. Orson Welles Gained Notoriety For a Controversial Radio Broadcast

A photograph of Orson Welles during the War of the Worlds press conference by an unknown photographer, 1938 (Wikimedia Commons)

In 1938, Welles came up with the simple but novel idea of presenting H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds as a series of increasingly panicked news bulletins, turning the sci-fi classic into a realistic broadcast for his CBS Mercury Theatre of the Air.

Owing to the strength of the performances, some of the more gullible listeners were terrified, for they genuinely believed the Earth was being invaded. The media shoved the twenty-three-year-old Welles under the spotlight, with certain newspapers arguing the broadcast was deceptive.