This is the second episode of "Orson Welles' Sketchbook" in which he discusses the potential hazards involved with being a critic. Originally Aired: May 08, 1955.
This wonderfully charming man was also the Welles who later told people saying hello to him or asking for an autograph to 'go fuck yourself'. A genius, but a contradictory one.
You could search the critic online. Apparently he did die very soon after he criticized the play and people claim that he was cursed but I think he actually died of pneumonia a bit after he criticized the production
One reviewer, Percy Hammond of the Herald Tribune, was negative about the entire cast, accusing the actors of being inaudible and timid. In response, one of the African drummers created a voodoo doll of Hammond, stuck pins in it, and encouraged Welles to take responsibility for any torments Hammond suffered as a result. Welles says he found this amusing, until Hammond died shortly afterward.[3]:109
I think if Welles cared more about his appearance he wouldn't have been the interesting fellow he was. It's the fact he was a naturally charismatic, debonair, articulate, witty, director, writer, actor, conversationalist that made him who he was. He just preferred smoking, drinking and eating with people, rather then spending time in front of the mirror imagining what he was going to say to people. He was too much of a natural for that.
@@LoyalOpposition He didn't smoke cigars? He absolutely did drink, and I'm not just talking about his booze commercials. You can even see him drinking in F for Fake.
@@electricrussell It's said in his biography that he only smoked cigars during interviews because of nervousness. And yeah, I've seen the drunk commercial, which is very sad that he had been reduced to that. I would drink, too, but food was his problem, and by his own words, laziness and gluttony.
@@electricrussell yes I agree he was not terribly vain and he did not have chiseled features to begin with he looked a bit chubby even when young but he was 6 feet tall and could carry the weight and still wore suits and looked well groomed later in life so certainly presentable looking. With a personality like his it should not be overshadowed by just his appearance imo and then you only attract shallow types anyway not interesting sorts who want philosophical intellectual discussions. He was a bit high brow not just some drunken fool.
It's shocking to hear him refer to ethnic performance of Hamlet the way he does. Simply a product of his time, of course. Interesting to see that by the 1980s, Orson would never have spoken that way.
Yes, I realize that. And not only that, Orson was a great champion for civil rights in 1946; some 20 years before MLK and LBJ! (See Isaac Woodward case, Orson Welles commentaries) Truly a legendary guy.
It was Macbeth, not Hamlet. You were obviously so offended you stopped paying attention. And the way he referred to it was no more shocking than seeing someone in the 1950s wear winkle-picker shoes or drainpipe trousers. Fashions in language change as much as fashions in clothes. It is the substance that matters, not the surface, and there is nothing remotely offensive in the substance of Welles' relationship to the black performers.
Now, I am sure his podcasts would be really popular.
After Orsons' critic stories it's no shock this has 0 thumbs down !
This series is wonderful. I've been an Orsen Welles fan since my youth, & had never heard of it. Thank you for posting the episodes.
Thanks for sharing this. Orson Welles was a truly gifted individual and it is a pleasure to see him reflecting on things in the Sketchbook series.
No matter how bad things get or how much technology and loneliness overwhelms our lives. People will never tire of hearing stories.
A remarkable raconteur Welles. A voice that is as timeless as the cosmos. A real "card." Thanks Citizen Kane, for posting
Excelent! Thank you for posting this, Mr Well's
scrap book is like a 10000 Christmas gifrs.
Paul Bacchus esq
Thank you for posting this.
Funny how much his face lights up when he gets to use that Shakespeare quote at the end
This wonderfully charming man was also the Welles who later told people saying hello to him or asking for an autograph to 'go fuck yourself'. A genius, but a contradictory one.
a most natural story teller.
What a man, Truly a legend.
That arrow story was hilarious
Has this been released on DVD-Blu-ray?
That story of the Voodoo drummer killing the critic is certainly a bunch of hooey. But I was enthralled nonetheless! Such a great storyteller.
You could search the critic online. Apparently he did die very soon after he criticized the play and people claim that he was cursed but I think he actually died of pneumonia a bit after he criticized the production
What Welles said was that the story was "circumstantially true".
And it is.
One reviewer, Percy Hammond of the Herald Tribune, was negative about the entire cast, accusing the actors of being inaudible and timid. In response, one of the African drummers created a voodoo doll of Hammond, stuck pins in it, and encouraged Welles to take responsibility for any torments Hammond suffered as a result. Welles says he found this amusing, until Hammond died shortly afterward.[3]:109
I always loved Misses Pale’s Fish-sticks. I hear they’re better raw…
So anybody can play anybody.
Raconteur Troubadour.
Welles was soon to become terminally corpulent, but he was still quite good-looking when these clips were filmed: a shame that his gluttony ran away.
I think if Welles cared more about his appearance he wouldn't have been the interesting fellow he was. It's the fact he was a naturally charismatic, debonair, articulate, witty, director, writer, actor, conversationalist that made him who he was. He just preferred smoking, drinking and eating with people, rather then spending time in front of the mirror imagining what he was going to say to people. He was too much of a natural for that.
@@electricrussell He didn't smoke/drink.
@@LoyalOpposition He didn't smoke cigars? He absolutely did drink, and I'm not just talking about his booze commercials. You can even see him drinking in F for Fake.
@@electricrussell It's said in his biography that he only smoked cigars during interviews because of nervousness. And yeah, I've seen the drunk commercial, which is very sad that he had been reduced to that. I would drink, too, but food was his problem, and by his own words, laziness and gluttony.
@@electricrussell yes I agree he was not terribly vain and he did not have chiseled features to begin with he looked a bit chubby even when young but he was 6 feet tall and could carry the weight and still wore suits and looked well groomed later in life so certainly presentable looking. With a personality like his it should not be overshadowed by just his appearance imo and then you only attract shallow types anyway not interesting sorts who want philosophical intellectual discussions. He was a bit high brow not just some drunken fool.
It's shocking to hear him refer to ethnic performance of Hamlet the way he does. Simply a product of his time, of course. Interesting to see that by the 1980s, Orson would never have spoken that way.
Orson was the one who conceived and directed the ethnic performance of Hamlet back in the 1930s. In his time he was a radical liberal.
Yes, I realize that. And not only that, Orson was a great champion for civil rights in 1946; some 20 years before MLK and LBJ! (See Isaac Woodward case, Orson Welles commentaries) Truly a legendary guy.
to be so hung up on period language is to be stricken with the bugaboo of political correctitude, i.e., the snake that strangles itself
It was Macbeth, not Hamlet. You were obviously so offended you stopped paying attention. And the way he referred to it was no more shocking than seeing someone in the 1950s wear winkle-picker shoes or drainpipe trousers. Fashions in language change as much as fashions in clothes. It is the substance that matters, not the surface, and there is nothing remotely offensive in the substance of Welles' relationship to the black performers.
You sound dreadfully uninformed.