Personal life Orson Welles

1 personal life

1.1 relationships , family
1.2 physical characteristics
1.3 religious beliefs

personal life
relationships , family

orson welles , chicago-born actress , socialite virginia nicolson (1916–1996) married on november 14, 1934. couple separated in december 1939, , divorced on february 1, 1940. after bearing welles s romances in new york, virginia had learned welles had fallen in love mexican actress dolores del río.

infatuated since adolescence, welles met del río @ darryl zanuck s ranch after moved hollywood in 1939. relationship kept secret until 1941, when del río filed divorce second husband. openly appeared in new york while welles directing mercury stage production, native son. acted in movie journey fear (1943). relationship came end, among other things, due infidelities of welles. del río returned méxico in 1943, shortly before welles married rita hayworth.

welles married rita hayworth on september 7, 1943. divorced on november 10, 1947. during last interview, recorded merv griffin show on evening before death, welles called hayworth 1 of dearest , sweetest women ever lived … , long time together—i lucky enough have been longer of other men in life.

in 1955, welles married actress paola mori (née countess paola di girifalco), italian aristocrat starred raina arkadin in 1955 film, mr. arkadin. couple began passionate affair, , married @ parents insistence. wed in london may 8, 1955, , never divorced.

croatian-born artist , actress oja kodar became welles s longtime companion both , professionally 1966 onward, , lived of last 20 years of life.

welles had 3 daughters marriages: christopher welles feder (born march 27, 1938, virginia nicolson); rebecca welles manning (december 17, 1944 – october 17, 2004, rita hayworth); , beatrice welles (born november 13, 1955, paola mori).

welles thought have had son, british director michael lindsay-hogg (born may 5, 1940), irish actress geraldine fitzgerald, wife of sir edward lindsay-hogg, 4th baronet. when lindsay-hogg 16 mother reluctantly divulged there pervasive rumors father welles, , denied them—but in such detail doubted veracity. fitzgerald evaded subject rest of life. lindsay-hogg knew welles, worked him in theatre , met him @ intervals throughout welles s life. after learned welles s oldest daughter chris, childhood playmate, had long suspected brother, lindsay-hogg initiated dna test proved inconclusive. in 2011 autobiography lindsay-hogg reported questions resolved mother s close friend gloria vanderbilt, wrote fitzgerald had told welles father. 2015 welles biography patrick mcgilligan, however, reports impossibility of welles s paternity: fitzgerald left u.s. ireland in may 1939 , son conceived before return in late october, while welles did not travel overseas during period.

after death of rebecca welles manning, man named marc mckerrow revealed son, , therefore direct descendant of orson welles , rita hayworth. mckerrow s reactions revelation , meeting oja kodar documented in 2008 film prodigal sons. mckerrow died on june 18, 2010.

despite urban legend promoted welles, not related abraham lincoln s wartime secretary of navy, gideon welles. myth dates first newspaper feature ever written welles— cartoonist, actor, poet , 10 —in february 19, 1926, issue of capital times. article falsely states descended gideon welles, member of president lincoln s cabinet . presented charles higham in genealogical chart introduces 1985 biography of welles, orson welles s father richard head welles (born wells), son of richard jones wells, son of henry hill wells (who had uncle named gideon wells), son of william hill wells, son of richard wells (1734–1801).

physical characteristics

peter noble s 1956 biography describes welles magnificent figure of man, on 6 feet tall, handsome, flashing eyes , gloriously resonant speaking-voice . welles said voice specialist once told him born heldentenor, heroic tenor, when young , working @ gate theatre in dublin forced voice down bass-baritone.

even baby welles prone illness, including diphtheria, measles, whooping cough , malaria. infancy suffered asthma, sinus headaches, , backache later found caused congenital anomalies of spine. foot , ankle trouble throughout life result of flat feet. grew older, brady wrote, ill health exacerbated late hours allowed keep [and] penchant alcohol , tobacco .

in 1928, @ age 13, welles more 6 feet tall , weighed on 180 pounds. passport recorded height 6 feet 3 inches, brown hair , green eyes.

crash diets, drugs, , corsets had slimmed him film roles, wrote biographer barton whaley. gargantuan consumption of high-caloric food , booze. summer 1949, when 34, weight had crept stout 230 pounds. in 1953 ballooned 250 275 pounds. after 1960 remained permanently obese.

religious beliefs

when peter bogdanovich once asked him religion, orson welles gruffly replied none of business, misinformed him raised catholic.

although welles family no longer devout, fourth-generation protestant episcopalian and, before that, quaker , puritan. welles s earliest paternal forebear in america, richard wells, leader of quaker community in pennsylvania. earliest maternal ancestor in america john alden, crew member on pilgrim ship mayflower.

the funeral of welles s father richard h. welles episcopalian.

in april 1982, when interviewer merv griffin asked him religious beliefs, welles replied, try christian. don t pray really, because don t want bore god. near end of life welles dining @ ma maison, favorite restaurant in los angeles, when proprietor patrick terrail conveyed invitation head of greek orthodox church, asked welles guest of honor @ divine liturgy @ saint sophia cathedral. welles replied, please tell him appreciate offer, atheist.

orson never joked or teased religious beliefs of others, wrote biographer barton whaley. accepted cultural artifact, suitable births, deaths, , marriages of strangers , friends—but without emotional or intellectual meaning himself.

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