Talk:Orson Welles

Trivia

• Welles's persona and his problems in the 1950s and '60s are paid (under the alter ego of Leander Starr) an extremely witty and affectionate tribute in the 1962 novel Genius by Patrick Dennis, of Auntie Mame memory.

• During Welles's radio years, he often freelanced and would split his time between the Mercury Theatre, CBS, Mutual and NBC, among others. Due to this, Welles rarely rehearsed, instead reading ahead during other actors' lines, a practice used by some radio stars of the time. Many of his co-stars on The Shadow have remarked about this in various interviews. There are a number of apocryphal stories where Welles was reported to have turned to an actor during the mid-show commercial break and commented that this week's story was fascinating and he couldn't wait to "find out how it all ends." Welles admitted to preferring the cold-reading style in his on-air performances as he described the hectic nature of radio work to Peter Bogdanovich in This Is Orson Welles: "Soon I was doing so many [programs] that I didn't even rehearse. I'd come to a bad end in some tearjerker on the seventh floor of CBS and rush up to the ninth (they'd hold an elevator for me), where, just as the red light was going on, somebody'd hand me a script and whisper, 'Chinese mandarin, seventy-five years old', and off I'd go again... Not rehearsing... made it so much more interesting. When I was thrown down the well or into some fiendish snake pit, I never knew how I'd get out."

• Due to his busy radio schedule, he was hard pressed to find ways to get from job to job in busy New York City traffic. In an interview conducted in his later years, Welles tells how he "discovered that there was no law in New York that you had to be sick to travel in an ambulance." Therefore, he took to hiring ambulances to take him, sirens blazing, through the crowded streets to get to various buildings.

• He dated Billie Holiday around the time he was making Citizen Kane. According to Holiday's autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, she saw the film nine times before it ever played in a theater.

• Welles voiced a trailer for The Incredible Shrinking Man in 1957.

• It was Welles who suggested to Peter Bogdanovich that he shoot The Last Picture Show in black and white.

• He was considered for the role of Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972) and by his own account was very disappointed not to have been given it. Some accounts state that he was the first choice of Francis Ford Coppola to play Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now (1979), a film based on the novel Heart of Darkness which Welles was planning to adapt before he wrote Citizen Kane.

• He was originally considered for the part of Darth Vader in Star Wars (1977), but George Lucas thought that Welles's voice would be too recognisable. Welles later lent his voice to the film's trailer.

• Welles narrated Drippy the Runaway Raindrop by Sidney, Mary and Alexandra Sheldon which continues to be a popular English educational series in Japan.

• He performed narration for two songs by the heavy metal band Manowar, a favorite of his niece. The narration of the song "Defender" from Fighting the World, released two years after his death, is among Welles's last performances.

• He died the same day as his Battle of Neretva co-star Yul Brynner.

• Orsonwelles, a genus of linyphiid spiders from the Hawaiian Islands, was named in Welles's honor in 2002. Many species - like Orsonwelles othello, Orsonwelles macbeth, Orsonwelles falstaffius, Orsonwelles ambersonorum- are named after well-known characters played by the late actor.

• Welles's ashes were buried on the property of a long time friend, retired bullfighter Antonio Ordoñez, in Ronda (Málaga), Spain. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.49.145.189 (talk) 18:56, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

• A statue of Welles was recently unveiled in Split, Croatia. It was sculpted by Oja Kodar – Welles’s companion during the final years of his life.

Why don't these warrent? Certainly some should go, i.e. the radio material would serve better being incorporated in the portion of his biography covering that era or the Mercury Theatre on the Air page, but the Spider genus? LamontCranston (talk) 20:36, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

self-contradictory material in article for removal

Section:

In his book, Whatever Happened to Orson Welles?, writer Joseph McBride claims that Welles left America in the 1950s to escape McCarthyism and the blacklist, though Welles himself denied this. According to Welles, he personally asked the House Un-American Activities Committee to allow him to appear and "explain to you why I'm not a communist." They turned him down.

According to McBride, Welles disapproved of many of the excesses of the 1960s, and disliked the counterculture in general. Much of The Other Side of the Wind is taken up with a satirical depiction of countercultural tastes and style. Welles was also extremely puritanical about sex, and told his friend and biographer Peter Bogdanovich that his film The Last Picture Show was "a dirty movie". The only films Welles directed which contain overtly erotic elements are F for Fake and the unfinished Other Side of the Wind, which many attribute to Oja Kodar's influence.

The above material is garbage. The first paragraph is self-contradictory in that it wishes to claim that something is true and at the same time say that it is not true. If the person in question denied what is claimed, its difficult to understand what the point of this is. The second problem is that McBride offers no particular evidence that HUAC turned Welles down or that this offer was in fact ever made.

The second paragraph is even worse. It makes no sense. Welles is presented as a anti-counterculture sex prude even though two contemporary works of his contain erotic elements. Worse yet, we get conspiratorial garbage to the effect that Welles work doesn't reflect Welles but rather "influence" of Oja Kodar.

If anyone wants this material in the article, at a minimum it has to be presented in a coherent manner. The article cannot make claims that it then immendiatly contradicts. The article cannot offer theories about the influence of Oja Kodar. I dont see removing this material as controversial or even worth much discussion. Is anyone out there going to defend it? 70.234.224.231 (talk) 04:46, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

I've re-edited the section to keep the text but remove the contradictions in the text. 70.234.224.231 (talk) 05:06, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

I would say it represented a clear distinction between the statements of a biographer and his subject. Rich Farmbrough, 11:11, 2 February 2010 (UTC).

Refs

Rich Farmbrough, 11:17, 2 February 2010 (UTC).

Hilarious if true

In 1937, he rehearsed Marc Blitzstein's pro-union "labour opera" The Cradle Will Rock.

Since the unions forbade the actors and musicians performing from the stage, The Cradle Will Rock began with Blitzstein introducing the show and playing the piano accompaniment on stage, with the cast performing their parts from the audience.

208.127.59.28 (talk) 00:00, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

No it was the WPA-FTP, and the whole affair is actually blown out of proportion - it was really just some political technicalities and they asked it be delayed a day or two. You dont see the same level of attention being lavished on Living Newspaper which was subject to censorship and condemnation on a number of occasions due to depictions of Italies invasion of Ethiopia and domestic labor strife. LamontCranston (talk) 20:29, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

Ancestry accuracy

Surely his father was not "Richard Head Welles" -- that must be mischief. —Preceding unsigned comment added by You, Me and Everyone Else (talk • contribs) 13:24, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

It should be double-checked, but Head is a surname still around in England. Actor/Singer Murray Head (Judas in the original 1968 album "Jesus Christ Superstar") and his brother Anthony Head (Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) are an example.--WickerGuy (talk) 13:29, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

Yessir. Richard Head Welles. See Orson Welles, a biography by Barbara Leaming--WickerGuy (talk) 13:32, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

Regarding the reference to Gideon Welles, "Perhaps the genesis of the myth dates to a 1970 interview on The Dick Cavett Show during which Welles remarks about his venerable great-grandfather Gideon Welles." In a radio broadcast in 1944 he referred to Gideon as has "great-grand-uncle" which predates this by 26 years, and gives the relationship as being different, and not contradicted by the evidence mentioned in the article. This occurs about 3 minutes into the show, downloadable at http://www.archive.org/download/1944OrsonWellesRadioAlmanacpart1/440503_Lucille_Ball_AFRS_64kb.mp3

96.251.199.205 (talk) 02:34, 21 September 2010 (UTC)billybob —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.251.199.205 (talk) 02:30, 21 September 2010 (UTC)

Treasure Island

I say keep the image - I don't see how it fits speedy deletion criteria. --Scott Free (talk) 14:56, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

Unreferenced "dispute" about The Third Man

Some user accounts are persisting with a claim that there is some "dispute" or vague rumor which states that Welles, rather than Reed, directed The Third Man. This is clearly unsupported -- there is no reliable source for this claim and none has been offered. (One brief speculation by a fringe viewpoint like Dan Schneider does not qualify as a scholarly source nor does it pass Wikipedia criteria forWP:UNDUE). All books and documentaries only mention Reed. More importantly, in his 1969 interview with Peter Bogdanovich (This is Orson Welles, page 220), Welles specifically said he made only minor contributions to the film -- and stated the film was all Greene, Reed and Korda. Without any reliable citations or references, this "dispute" remains a fanciful rumor, violates WP policy on WP:OR and WP:BOP and should be removed. — CactusWriter | ^needles 16:50, 13 July 2009 (UTC)

Apparent contradiction - Citizen Kane

"...making back its budget and marketing, but RKO lost any chance of a major profit. .... Its frequent revivals on television, home video, and DVD have enhanced its "classic" status, and it ultimately recouped its costs."

So did it break even at the time or only after 30 or 40 years? Rich Farmbrough, 11:16, 2 February 2010 (UTC).

Begatting of the President

Who wrote it if not Orson Welles? I am not questioning whether the statement that he was not the writer is true, but rather requesting a citation and a point of information as to the actual author. 69.253.96.227 (talk) 06:38, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

List of awards and nominations received by Orson Welles

This new article has the details of all awards and nominations received by Orson Welles. I think a different article is not necessary and should be merged into Orson Welles.--Nilotpal42 (talk) 19:37, 27 March 2010 (UTC)

Consistent possessive needed

Both "Welles's" and "Welles'" are used within the article. According to the Manual of Style either is legitimate but we should agree on which one to use to make the article consistent. Does anybody have any strong (and useful) opinions?

For my part as the name is mono-syllabic I think that we should settle on "Welles's" as that probably reflects most people in the English speaking world's verbal pronunciation. Blakkandekka (talk) 10:02, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

• I concur. But then I was brought up on Strunk & White which prescribes "Welles's". Herostratus (talk) 18:09, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

I changed all possessives to "Welles's" which seems to be the most standard one. Thanks for bringing this up. Grunge6910 (talk) 14:07, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

Great, thank you. Herostratus (talk) 15:39, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

Unfinished projects tidy-up

A long while ago I started the 'Unfinished Projects' section. Since then it's grown more than a little unwieldy and has been sitting under a refimprove tag for more than a year. I've therefore tidied it up, categorised it and removed the biggest sections of uncited material. The offcuts I've been left with are below. Can references and space for them in other sections (Final Years, perhaps) be found?

Director and friend Henry Jaglom said of this period: "These same stars and whiz kid directors wouldn't help him get one of his movies made. Any one of these people could have made Orson's life so much happier these past 10 years just by nodding their heads." The same theme was repeated by another Welles friend, singer Eartha Kitt after Welles's death: "The way Hollywood treated him was a form of envy, jealousy. He died a frustrated man. In the eyes of Hollywood he never achieved Citizen Kane again, but ironically Hollywood wouldn't let him achieve another great success like Kane."

In his later years Welles became a regular fixture at the Hollywood restaurant "Ma Maison" (part owned by chef Wolfgang Puck) where he would try to enlist the aid of financiers, producers and directors to back his various film projects. Although he was unable to obtain any funding, Welles came close with two of them: The Big Brass Ring and The Cradle Will Rock. Producer Arnon Milchan agreed to produce The Big Brass Ring if any one of six actors—Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, or Burt Reynolds—would sign on to star. All six declined for various reasons.

Independent funding for The Cradle Will Rock had been obtained and actors had signed on, including Rupert Everett to play the young Orson Welles. Location filming was to be done in New York City with studio work in Italy. While pre-production went smoothly, three weeks before filming was to begin the money fell through. Allegedly, Welles approached Steven Spielberg to ask for assistance in rescuing the film, but Spielberg declined. The scripts to both films were published posthumously. After a studio auction, he complained that Spielberg spent $50,000 for the Rosebud sled used in Citizen Kane, but would not give him a dime to make a picture. Welles retaliated by publicly announcing the sled to be a fake, the original having been burned in the film.

The 1995 documentary Orson Welles: One-Man Band, included on the Criterion Collection DVD release of F for Fake, features scenes from several of these unfinished projects, as well as footage of Welles reading chapters from Moby-Dick; and a comedy skit taking place in a tailor shop and co-starring Charles Gray. One short, also included in the documentary, is a comedy routine in which Welles (filmed in the 1970s) plays a reporter interviewing a king, also played by Welles, but in footage shot in the 1960s. Welles finished the skit and edited it together years later. The documentary also includes two completed and edited sequences from the unreleased The Other Side of the Wind, and footage from an unbroadcast television pilot for a talk show (he is shown interviewing The Muppets and discussing his rationale for doing the talk show, which was produced in the round). The documentary is built around a college lecture given by Welles not long before his death, in which he displays frustration at being unable to complete so many projects and having spent so much of his career raising money for films rather than doing creative work.

Blakk and ekka 14:27, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

Orson Welles height in feet/inches/centimeters

If first it says that he was "6 feet (180 cm)" tall, how come that further below in the same paragraph it says that other sources claim that he was "6 feet 4 inches (193 cm)", and "6 feet 1 inch (185 cm)" if 1 inch = 2.5 cm?

I mean 6 feet 4 inches should be approx. 190 cm (not 193 cm), and 6 feet 1 inch should be approx. 182,5 cm (and not 185 cm).

No, it's actually the first figure that's incorrect: 6 feet is approx. 182.88 cm (see here: Feet Inches to Centimeters Conversion Calculator and Table)

--Wayfarer (talk) 01:02, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

1974 BBC Interview

There's a 1974 Parkinson interview with Orson Welles on YouTube here: [1]

"Influenced" section of infobox

There appears to be a lot of action recently in the "Influenced" section of the infobox that, to me, appears POV. I would think there is no limit to the number of people "influenced" by Orson Welles. Is there some standard that would warrant the inclusion of particular names? — WFinch (talk) 01:20, 24 July 2012 (UTC)

There's surely a case for just removing both the 'influenced' and 'influenced by' sections. Neither could be distilled down to three or four names adequately and still be NPOV. 'Influenced by Shakespeare' seems to be redundant for a start (who isn't?).Blakk and ekka 16:17, 24 July 2012 (UTC)

I agree that removing those two sections should be considered. Those fields have been left blank in the article infobox for Laurence Olivier, a comparable artist notable in multiple fields. The template guidelines advise, "Only use those parameters that convey essential or notable information about the subject." The names of most of the people listed in this article infobox in the 'influenced' and 'influenced by' sections don't appear in the body of the article, and those that do (John Ford, William Shakespeare) aren't present because of their influence on Welles. Orson Welles's notability is not related to his influence on the people listed. As they read right now, those two sections of the infobox do not convey "essential or notable information about the subject of the article." — WFinch (talk) 09:27, 26 July 2012 (UTC)

Request for comment at Template talk:Infobox person

A discussion is under way: RfC: Should the "influences" & "influenced" parameters be removed?

An abbreviated version of the Infobox person template, lacking those fields, is used in the Orson Welles article. For at least a year now, these fields have been persistently added to the infobox by anonymous editors and unsourced, subjective lists of names have been contributed. Comments are requested on the infobox person template talk page (scroll down to the "Survey" section). — WFinch (talk) 13:06, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

Following a survey and discussion, the "influences" and "influenced" parameters have been removed from the Infobox person template and are no longer supported. — WFinch (talk) 00:14, 23 July 2013 (UTC)

Radio Broadcast Claim

I refer to the line " The War of the Worlds (1938), the most famous broadcast in the history of radio ". I'd like to see some references to back up this claim please. While it may very well be true, as it stands, it reads more like someone's personal opinion. Robvanvee (talk) 17:15, 7 October 2012 (UTC)

It's been 5 days since I last posted on this issue. As of yet no one has commented. If there are no objections, I'm going to edit the sentence to read " The War of the Worlds (1938), possibly the most famous broadcast in the history of radio " in 7 days time. Unless someone can provide references to back this statement up. Robvanvee (talk) 08:58, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

I wouldn't object to you doing it now. Off the top of my head Herbert Morrison's Hindenberg disaster commentary and We shall fight on the beaches (which Churchill adapted for radio) are equally notable and there must be many others. Blakk and ekka 11:03, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

Thanks Blakkandekka. I'll wait to see if anyone can provide references or to see if there are any objections, if that's ok with you? Robvanvee (talk) 11:26, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

I'd agree with either "possibly the most" or "one of the most famous broadcasts" — although I think I'd prefer the latter since there's no air of POV about it. — WFinch (talk) 12:18, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

Agreed Wfinch Robvanvee (talk) 13:02, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

When his mother died

Welles tells Cavett, in interview done sometime in the 70s, that his mom died when he was seven. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1fauAc48tA&list=PL0563F28E249DFDC4&index=3 (at the 2 min. 42 sec. mark of clip)

(Not necessarily with determining this particular fact, but in general; I suspect, given his personality, line of work, and type of life experiences, that 'facts would not get in the way of a good story' with Welles - perhaps that cliche was started in reference to Mr Welles. He is likely not the most source for facts even regarding, or perhaps particularly so, his own life.) Mayumashu (talk) 19:54, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

Editing With Wikipedia's New VisualEditor

The edits I made on 07:51, 16 June 2013‎, were the first that I've done with Wikipedia's new VisualEditor. One thing I noticed is that it changed a lot of the spacing and some mark-up automatically. I guess it's an improvement to the original article, but if anyone sees a problem, feel free to revert my edits.

The only purposeful edits I did were the ones that were copyedits.

Jeremy Butler 12:58, 16 June 2013 (UTC)

Infobox image

I've restored the Carl van Vechten image of Orson Welles to the infobox. This 1937 photograph presents Welles on the eve of his fame and shows the imposing presence he possessed at age 21. Perhaps consensus is needed to continue its use as the article's signature image, which it has been for many years. — WFinch (talk) 01:44, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

I prefer the Kane image by far over van Vechten's since it's much better IMO, and because it represents him at his career's highest point. Why show him in a bland pose on the eve of his fame when you can show him at the moment of it? The rationale for removing it because the other was by a "notable photographer" is irrelevant, even if the photo was good by comparison. --Light show (talk) 03:35, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

The recently uploaded publicity photo of Welles, copied from eBay, is a stock photograph from Photofest distributed by the A&E Network to promote its Biography series in 1994. It is a scan of a copy of a photograph with a source that is unattributed; nothing on the front or back even identifies the image as being from Citizen Kane. The Van Vechten photograph, from the collection of the Library of Congress, is regarded as a fine image and suits an article that encompasses Welles's life and achievements in stage and radio as well as film. — WFinch (talk) 00:03, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

I revised the photo's description removing the reference to Citizen Kane, and set its date as circa 1940. I think the fact that A&E Network chose it to publicize their televised biography, speaks strongly of the quality of the image. --Light show (talk) 03:55, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

Both are impressive photos but personally I would prefer an non-character image of Welles (or at least while only performing his 'Orson Welles' character) at the article head. Blakk and ekka 08:58, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

Height

He was never 6'3.5". (CWLilius (talk) 18:30, 21 February 2015 (UTC))

Religion

This infobox says that he's Christian, but we also have that quote which says that he's an atheist (stated later in life). So wouldn't the latter be true? My guess is that Welles started off with some form of belief in Christianity in his early life, but lost it towards the end.

Template:Infobox person advises that the religion field be completed "only if relevant". I frankly don't think it's enough of a leading characteristic to be called out in the infobox at all. His height was recently removed from the infobox as not being relevant, and that wasn't challenged; perhaps the religion field can be left blank, as well. — WFinch (talk) 01:10, 18 May 2015 (UTC)

Regarding Too Much Johnson

If The Immortal Story remains counted in the template as a feature film, why is Too Much Johnson still considered a short? The latter is (apparently) 66 minutes, which would actually make it longer than the former.

Very interesting. I can't think of it as an unfinished feature film, though; as the National Film Preservation Board puts it, "This 2014 edit of the Too Much Johnson work print is one rough guess at how the three films—the short silent movies intended to precede each act of the 1938 stage production—might have looked if Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre colleagues had completed them." — WFinch (talk) 14:00, 9 July 2015 (UTC)

There are actually two versions that have been released: a 66-minute version, and a 35-minute version. The 35-minute version is clearly a short, and has been fully edited by George Eastman House. The 66-minute version is simply an amalgamation of all the surviving footage, run from end to end without editing - it includes multiple takes of the same scenes. So it's fairer to say that it is a short. Added to which, it was never intended to be a standalone film, but just a series of filmed inserts (albeit very elaborate ones!) for the play. Debonairchap (talk) 07:55, 17 May 2016 (UTC)

External links modified

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Mother's Birth Date

The article gives his mother's birth date as September 1, 1881. An efn notice has been placed there noting that the article is going by the year on her headstone. The "Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947" database gives her date of birth as September 1, 1883 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3CV-JXT). Her headstone only includes the year 1881, with no date. Her marriage certificate gives her age on November 21, 1903 as 23, which would correspond to her being born before November 21, 1880 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N74D-56L). What is Wikipedia's policy with such discrepancies? Typically in my own genealogical research, I tend to go with the source which is most specific (i.e. If there's a headstone with only a year but a death record with a day, a month, and a different year than the headstone, I'm going to go with the death record.)VladJ92 (talk) 02:38, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

The Wikipedia policy calls for a reliable source, preferably a reliable secondary source. Fortunately, in the years since this information was entered (by me), one has been published: Patrick McGilligan's Young Orson (2015), the only biography that acknowledges the contradictions. Regarding Beatrice's birth, he writes (page 9), "Though accounts vary, the baby girl was most likely born on September 1, 1883."

A grave marker dated 1881 rather than 1883 is quite a contradiction, though. In addition to the fact that her husband (not to mention Dr. Bernstein) would have ordered the stone, a primary source supports the 1881 date. The 1900 Federal Census taken in Chicago on June 4, 1900, states Beatrice's date of birth as September 1881 (only the month and year are requested), and her age as 18. Robert L. Carringer (The Magnificent Ambersons: A Reconstruction, page 8) obliquely supports 1881 as Beatrice's birth year by writing that she was 42 when she died on May 10, 1924.

Barbara Leaming (Orson Welles, page 15) and Jonathan Rosenbaum (This Is Orson Welles, page 326) state that Beatrice was 43 at the time of her death, which would mean that she was born in 1880.

Some biographers obliquely state 1882 as the birth year by stating her age at the time of her marriage on November 21, 1903. These include Charles Higham, who did a good deal of genealogical research for Orson Welles: The Rise and Fall of an American Genius. He deliberately contradicts the age listed in the Cook County Marriages Index when he writes (page 33) that Beatrice was "just twenty-one in 1903". David Thomson concurs, writing in Rosebud: The Story of Orson Welles (page 7) that Beatrice was "married in November 1903 … she was twenty one". Simon Callow (The Road to Xanadu, page 7) directly states that Beatrice was born in 1882.

Frank Brady (Citizen Welles, page 8) writes that Beatrice was "just barely forty" when she died, which seems to support 1883 as the year of her birth.

So, with all that now on the record, I agree that the most reliable birthdate for Wikipedia purposes is September 1, 1883, supported by McGilligan, and I'll correct the article and the note. I'm glad this came up — what a tangle! — WFinch (talk) 15:59, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

Politics

Should the refimprove template still be up for this section? It appears most statements are sourced. The ones that aren't can be tagged with "citation needed". AndrewOne (talk) 16:16, 28 March 2017 (UTC)

I trimmed the template and added calls for citations at two points. The sources are present, as you say; but this section could sure use some development. — WFinch (talk) 19:20, 29 September 2017 (UTC)

Marriage templates in infobox

The infobox used in this article is Template:Infobox person, currently used on more than 302,000 pages. The template documentation states that the spouse field be completed as follows:

Name of spouse(s), followed by years of marriage. Use the format Name (married 1950–present) for a current spouse, and Name (married 1970–99) for former spouse(s). Use article title (if linking) or common name. For multiple entries, use an inline list. For deceased persons still married at time of death, close the date range with death year.

In recent years, various editors have reformatted the information in the spouse field of the Orson Welles infobox by using the Template:Marriage. This template provides a great deal more detail, and is today being used on approximately 23,000 pages.

I would ask that editors who wish to use the marriage template in the Infobox:Person template propose the change and argue the merits at Template talk:Infobox person. The idea of using the marriage template as an alternative for presenting the spouse information has been raised before, but doesn't appear to have gone anywhere. — WFinch (talk) 13:18, 24 April 2018 (UTC)

No changes to propose, no merits to argue, as it is already there. It has been many years (more than half of Wikipedia's lifetime) since an example was added to the Template:Infobox person documentation showing how an editor would use Template:Marriage when populating Template:Infobox person. Furthermore, the day Template:Marriage was created all those years ago (and still there today, slightly updated), it included the opening statement that "The Template:Marriage would typically be in an infobox, such as in Infobox person's spouse field." This was added early in the life of Infobox person and has been present ever since - because it has been an informative tool, proven to be used-and-useful for thousands of editors, applied in this two-template tandem, for more than half of Wikipedia's lifetime. Jmg38 (talk) 00:09, 15 March 2019 (UTC)

Please get consensus for using Template:Marriage at Template talk:Infobox person. — WFinch (talk) 16:30, 16 March 2019 (UTC)

Dick Cavett Interview

Anything from this interview worth adding to the article - his interactions with Churchill, Roosevelt, even his forgettable meeting of Hitler? MartinezMD (talk) 00:49, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:

• Orson Welles, 1960.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 11:06, 16 September 2019 (UTC)

Same-day death.

Welles died the same day as actor Yul Brynner, who was five years younger than Welles.Maccb (talk) 04:09, 8 December 2019 (UTC)