Orson Welles Orson Welles George Orson Welles (; May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, writer, and producer who worked in theatre, radio, and film. He is remembered for his innovative work in all three: in theatre, most notably "Caesar" (1937), a Broadway adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"; in radio, the legendary 1938 broadcast "The War of the Worlds"; and in film, "Citizen Kane" (1941), consistently ranked as one of the greatest films ever made. In his 20s, Welles directed a number of high-profile stage productions for the Federal Theatre Project, including an adaptation of "Macbeth"
Orson Welles to complete the film on Jeanne Moreau's refusal to participate in its dubbing. "Dune", an early attempt at adapting Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel by Chilean film director Alejandro Jodorowsky, was to star Welles as the evil Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Jodorowsky had personally chosen Welles for the role, but the planned film never advanced past pre-production. In 1978 Welles was lined up by his long-time protégé Peter Bogdanovich (who was then acting as Welles's "de facto" agent) to direct "Saint Jack", an adaptation of the 1973 Paul Theroux novel about an American pimp in Singapore. Hugh Hefner and Bogdanovich's then-partner Cybill