Welles, Orson

1. A twentieth-century American actor and filmmaker. His masterpiece is Citizen Kane, the story of a newspaper tycoon (widely thought to be based on William Randolph Hearst), which he directed and in which he played the title role.

For Halloween of 1938, Welles wrote a famous radio dramatization of The War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells, the story of an invasion of the Earth by warriors from Mars. Welles's play included several fictional radio news reports about the invasion. Many listeners who missed the beginning of the play thought that they were hearing about an actual Martian attack and panicked.

Example Sentences

“I’ve got nothing against Orson Welles. Orson Welles was a genius and if everybody doesn’t know that, I don’t know what to say.”

From Seattle Times

The sale was stopped by Beatrice Welles, Orson’s youngest daughter and sole heir.

From Washington Post

In 1938 a radio drama adapted from that novel by another man named Welles--Orson, that is--panicked many Americans who believed that a real Martian invasion was under way.

From Time Magazine Archive

In 1938 a radio adaptation of that novel by another man named Welles -- Orson, that is -- panicked many Americans who believed that a real Martian invasion was under way.

From Time Magazine Archive