Later career (1970–1985) Orson Welles

welles returned hollywood, continued self-finance film , television projects. while offers act, narrate , host continued, welles found himself in great demand on television talk shows. made frequent appearances dick cavett, johnny carson, dean martin , merv griffin.

welles s primary focus during final years other side of wind, unfinished project filmed intermittently between 1970 , 1976. written welles, story of aging film director (john huston) looking funds complete final film. cast includes peter bogdanovich, susan strasberg, norman foster, edmond o brien, cameron mitchell , dennis hopper. financed iranian backers, ownership of film fell legal quagmire after shah of iran deposed. while there have been several reports of legal disputes concerning ownership of film being settled, enough disputes still exist prevent release.

welles invokes war of worlds host of s out there? (1973), award-winning nasa documentary short film robert drew likelihood of life on other planets

welles portrayed louis xviii of france in 1970 film waterloo, , narrated beginning , ending scenes of historical comedy start revolution without me (1970).

in 1971, welles directed short adaptation of moby-dick, one-man performance on bare stage, reminiscent of 1955 stage production moby dick—rehearsed. never completed, released filmmuseum münchen. appeared in ten days wonder, co-starring anthony perkins , directed claude chabrol, based on detective novel ellery queen. same year, academy of motion picture arts , sciences gave him honorary award superlative artistry , versatility in creation of motion pictures . welles pretended out of town , sent john huston claim award, thanking academy on film. huston criticized academy awarding welles, while refused give welles work.

in 1972, welles acted on-screen narrator film documentary version of alvin toffler s 1970 book future shock. working again british producer, welles played long john silver in director john hough s treasure island (1972), adaptation of robert louis stevenson novel, had been second story broadcast mercury theatre on air in 1938. last time played lead role in major film. welles contributed script, writing credit attributed pseudonym o. w. jeeves . in versions of film welles s original recorded dialog redubbed robert rietty.

orson welles in f fake (1974), film essay , last film completed.

in 1973, welles completed f fake, personal essay film art forger elmyr de hory , biographer clifford irving. based on existing documentary françois reichenbach, included new material oja kodar, joseph cotten, paul stewart , william alland. excerpt of welles s 1930s war of worlds broadcast recreated film; however, none of dialogue heard in film matches broadcast. welles filmed five-minute trailer, rejected in u.s., featured several shots of topless kodar.

welles hosted british syndicated anthology series, orson welles s great mysteries, during 1973–74 television season. brief introductions 26 half-hour episodes shot in july 1973 gary graver. year 1974 saw welles lending voice year s remake of agatha christie s classic thriller ten little indians produced former associate, harry alan towers , starring international cast included oliver reed, elke sommer , herbert lom.

in 1975, welles narrated documentary bugs bunny: superstar, focusing on warner bros. cartoons 1940s. in 1975, american film institute presented welles third lifetime achievement award (the first 2 going director john ford , actor james cagney). @ ceremony, welles screened 2 scenes finished other side of wind.

in 1976, paramount television purchased rights entire set of rex stout s nero wolfe stories orson welles. welles had once wanted make series of nero wolfe movies, rex stout—who leery of hollywood adaptations during lifetime after 2 disappointing 1930s films—turned him down. paramount planned begin abc-tv movie , hoped persuade welles continue role in mini-series. frank d. gilroy signed write television script , direct tv movie on assurance welles star, april 1977 welles had bowed out. in 1980 associated press reported distinct possibility welles star in nero wolfe tv series nbc television. again, welles bowed out of project due creative differences , william conrad cast in role.

in 1979, welles completed documentary filming othello, featured michael macliammoir , hilton edwards. made west german television, released in theaters. same year, welles completed self-produced pilot orson welles show television series, featuring interviews burt reynolds, jim henson , frank oz , guest-starring muppets , angie dickinson. unable find network interest, pilot never broadcast. in 1979, welles appeared in biopic secret of nikola tesla, , cameo in muppet movie lew lord.

beginning in late 1970s, welles participated in series of famous television commercial advertisements. 2 years on-camera spokesman paul masson vineyards, , sales grew 1 third during time welles intoned became popular catchphrase: sell no wine before time. voice behind long-running carlsberg best lager in world campaign, promoted domecq sherry on british television , provided narration on adverts findus, though actual adverts have been overshadowed famous blooper reel of voice recordings, known frozen peas reel. did commercials preview subscription television service seen on stations around country including wclq/cleveland, kndl/st. louis , wsmw/boston. money ran short, began directing commercials make ends meet, including famous british follow bear commercials hofmeister lager.

in 1981, welles hosted documentary man saw tomorrow, renaissance-era prophet nostradamus. in 1982, bbc broadcast orson welles story in arena series. interviewed leslie megahey, welles examined past in great detail, , several people professional past interviewed well. reissued in 1990 orson welles: stories of life in film. welles provided narration tracks defender manowar s 1987 album fighting world , dark avenger on 1982 album, battle hymns. name misspelled on latter album, credited orson wells .

during 1980s, welles worked on such film projects dreamers, based on 2 stories isak dinesen , starring oja kodar, , orson welles magic show, reused material failed tv pilot. project worked on filming trial, second in proposed series of documentaries examining feature films. while shot these projects, none of them completed. of them released filmmuseum münchen.

in 1984, welles narrated short-lived television series scene of crime. during years of magnum, p.i., welles voice of unseen character robin masters, famous writer , playboy. welles s death forced minor character largely written out of series. in oblique homage welles, magnum, p.i. producers ambiguously concluded story arc having 1 character accuse of having hired actor portray robin masters. also, in penultimate year released music single, titled know young (but don t know old) , recorded under italian label compagnia generale del disco. song performed nick perito orchestra , ray charles singers , produced jerry abbott (father of guitarist dimebag darrell abbott).

the last film roles before welles s death included voice work in animated films enchanted journey (1984) , transformers: movie (1986), in played planet-eating robot unicron. last film appearance in henry jaglom s 1987 independent film love, released after death produced before voice-over in transformers: movie. last television appearance on television show moonlighting. recorded introduction episode entitled dream sequence rings twice , partially filmed in black , white. episode aired 5 days after death , dedicated memory.

in mid-1980s, henry jaglom taped lunch conversations welles @ los angeles s ma maison in new york. edited transcripts of these sessions appear in peter biskind s 2013 book lunches orson: conversations between henry jaglom , orson welles.

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