1915-1985
Secret History.

At the time of his death in 1985, Orson Welles was most widely recognized for a series of television commercials selling wine. His delivery of the line "We will sell no wine before its time" and his substantial girth made him fodder for comedians. In many ways it was a fitting end to a genius who had never really been fully appreciated for his work while he was producing it. Although he was given an honorary Academy Award in 1970 "for superlative artistry and versatility in the creation of motion pictures," an American Film Institute Life Achievement Award in 1975, and a British Film Institute fellowship in 1984, Welles's contribution remained relatively unknown to a wider public. Little was known about this prodigy of theater and stage.

Boy Genius.

Born in 1915 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, he displayed a precocious talent, becoming an accomplished pianist and beginning his stage...