Orson Welles was an American film director, actor, writer, and producer who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. He received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, Peabody Award, and Grammy Award as well as nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award.
He has also received numerous honors including the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1975, the British Film Institute Fellowship in 1983, and the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 1984. He was inducted into both the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1979, and the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1988. Welles was presented with France's Legion of Honour in 1982.
Major associations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.1941 Best Director Citizen Kane Best Actor Best Original Screenplay 1970 Academy Honorary Award
Directed Academy Award performancesUnder Welles' direction, these actors have received Academy Award nominations for their performances in their respective roles. +YearPerformerFilmResultAcademy Award for Best Actor1941HimselfCitizen KaneAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress1942Agnes MooreheadThe Magnificent Ambersons
BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1968 Best Foreign Actor Chimes at Midnight
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1981 Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Butterfly
Grammy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.1971 Best Comedy Album The Begatting of the President 1976 Best Spoken Word Album Immortal Sherlock Holmes 1977 Great American Documents 1979 Citizen Kane 1980 Orson Welles & Helen Hayes at Their Best 1981 Obediently Yours 1982 Donovan's Brain 1993 This is Orson Welles "Rock to opera, a full list of nominees"; USA Today, January 8, 1993This is Orson Welles, HarperAudio (1992) (audiocassette)
Miscellaneous accolades Cannes Film Festival Year Category Nominated work Result 1952 Palme d'Or Othello 1959 Best Actor Compulsion 1966 Tribute Chimes at Midnight 1966 C.S.T. Prize Chimes at Midnight 1966 Palme d'Or Chimes at Midnight
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Year Category Nominated work Result 1978 Career Achievement Award Orson Welles
National Board of Review Year Category Nominated work Result 1942 Best Actor Citizen Kane
New York Film Critics Circle Year Category Nominated work Result 1941 Best Picture Citizen Kane
Venice Film Festival Year Category Nominated work Result 1947 Golden Lion The Stranger 1962 Golden Lion The Trial 1970 Golden Lion Career Achievement
Honorary awards Year Association Award 1933 Chicago Drama League Prize for Twelfth Night Recipient 1945 Interracial Film and Radio Guild Award for Contributions to Interracial Harmony through Radio Recipient "Straus Given Trophy". Broadcasting, June 4, 1945, page 24. 1938 The New York Drama Study Club Award Recipient 1939 Essex County Symphony Society's Achievement Award Recipient 1958 Peabody Award for The Fountain of Youth Recipient 1972 American Theater Hall of Fame Inaugural member 1975 American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient 1979 National Association of Broadcasters Broadcasting Hall of Fame Induction 1982 Order of Commander of the Légion d'honneur Recipient 1983 Académie des Beaux-Arts Inducted 1983 British Film Institute Fellowship Recipient 1984 Directors Guild of America's D. W. Griffith Award Recipient 1984 The Academy of Magical Arts Special Fellowship 1985 National Board of Review Career Achievement Award Recipient 1988 National Radio Hall of Fame Inducted
Special recognitions 1958: Although Universal Pictures did its best to prevent Touch of Evil from being selected for the 1958 Brussels World Film Festival—part of the Expo 58 world's fair—the film received its European premiere and Welles was invited to attend. To his astonishment, Welles collected the two top awards. Touch of Evil received the International Critics Prize, and Welles was recognized for his body of work. 1963: He reiceved the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) for The Trial, at the Festival international du film de Valladolid and Best Film" by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics in 1964. 1998: In 1998 and 2007, the American Film Institute ranked Citizen Kane as the greatest American movie. These other Welles films were nominated for the AFI list: The Magnificent Ambersons (1942, director/producer/screenwriter); The Third Man (1949, actor); Touch of Evil (1958, actor/director/screenwriter); and A Man for All Seasons (1966, actor). 1999: The American Film Institute acknowledged Welles as one of the top 25 male motion picture stars of Classic Hollywood cinema in its survey, AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars. 2002: Welles was voted the greatest film director of all time in two British Film Institute polls, of directors and critics. 2002: A highly divergent genus of Hawaiian spiders Orsonwelles was named in his honor. 2003: A crater on Mars was named in his honor. 2007: A statue of Welles sculpted by Oja Kodar was installed in the city of Split, Croatia. 2013: On February 10, 2013, the Woodstock Opera House in Woodstock, Illinois, dedicated its stage to Welles, honoring the site of his American debut as a professional theatre director. 2015: Throughout 2015, numerous festivals and events observed the 100th anniversary of Welles's birth. 2017: A survey of critical consensus, best-of lists, and historical retrospectives finds Welles to be the second most acclaimed director of all time (behind Alfred Hitchcock).
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