Editing Orson Welles (section)

== Early career (1931–1935) ==
[[File:Welles-Ireland-1931.jpg|thumb|After graduating, 16-year-old Welles embarked on a painting and sketching tour of Ireland and the [[Aran Islands]], traveling by donkey cart (1931).]]
After his father's death, Welles traveled to Europe using a portion of his inheritance. Welles said that while on a walking and painting trip through Ireland, he strode into the [[Gate Theatre]] in Dublin and claimed he was a Broadway star. The manager of the Gate, [[Hilton Edwards]], later said he had not believed Welles but was impressed by his brashness and an impassioned audition.<ref>[[Micheál Mac Liammóir|Mac Liammóir, Micheál]], ''All For Hecuba: An Irish Theatrical Biography''. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1946, {{ISBN|978-0-8283-1137-3}}</ref>{{Rp|134}} Welles made his stage debut at the Gate Theatre on October 13, 1931, appearing in [[Ashley Dukes]]'s adaptation of ''[[Jud Süß (Feuchtwanger novel)|Jud Süß]]'' as Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg. He performed supporting roles in Gate productions, and produced and designed productions of his own. In March 1932, Welles performed in [[W. Somerset Maugham]]'s ''The Circle'' at Dublin's [[Abbey Theatre]] and traveled to London to find work in the theatre. Unable to obtain a work permit, he returned to the U.S.<ref name="Welles TIOW" />{{Rp|327–330}}

Welles found his fame ephemeral and turned to a writing project at Todd School that became immensely successful, first entitled ''Everybody's Shakespeare'',<ref name="10.1080/17450910600983828">{{cite journal |last1=Courtney |first1=Angela |title=The Boy Genius and the Bard: Orson Welles, Childhood, and Everybody's Shakespeare |journal=Shakespeare |date=December 2006 |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=194–207 |doi=10.1080/17450910600983828 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249018756<!-- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17450910600983828 --> |access-date=July 7, 2024}}</ref><ref name="oldfloridabookshop/11971">{{cite web |last1=Welles |first1=Orson |last2=Hill |first2=Roger |title=Everybody's Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice |url=https://www.oldfloridabookshop.com/product/11971/Everybodys-Shakespeare-Merchant-of-Venice-SIGNED-by-Welles-et-al-Edited-for-Reading-and-Arranged-for-Staging |website=oldfloridabookshop.com |access-date=July 7, 2024 |quote=Published by the press at Todd School, a residential school for boys, attended by Orson Welles in his youth. Black and white illustrations throughout. 28, 64 pp. [92 total] 6 1/4 x 10 3/4 inches First Edition. |archive-date=July 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240707091949/https://www.oldfloridabookshop.com/product/11971/Everybodys-Shakespeare-Merchant-of-Venice-SIGNED-by-Welles-et-al-Edited-for-Reading-and-Arranged-for-Staging |url-status=live }}</ref> for the first three volumes,<ref name="lib.uiowa/">{{cite web |title=The Mercury Shakespeare / edited for reading and arranged for staging. Shakespeare, William 1564-1616., Orson Welles 1915-1985, editor.; Roger Hill 1895-1990, editor. New York; London : Harper & Brothers 1939 |url=https://search.lib.uiowa.edu/primo-explore/fulldisplay/01IOWA_ALMA21304778080002771/01IOWASC |website=[[University of Iowa]] Libraries |access-date=July 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240707094712/https://search.lib.uiowa.edu/primo-explore/fulldisplay/01IOWA_ALMA21304778080002771/01IOWASC |archive-date=July 7, 2024 |quote=[v. 1] The merchant of Venice.--[v. 2] Twelfth night.--[v. 3] Julius Caesar.--[[v. 4]] Macbeth. Facsimiles on lining-papers. "[Volume 1-3] published [in 1934] under the title of 'Everybody's Shakespeare.'."}}</ref> and subsequently, ''The Mercury Shakespeare''. In Spring 1933, Welles traveled via the ''[[American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines#Ships|SS Exermont]]'', a tramp steamer, writing the introduction for the books while onboard. After landing at Morocco, he stayed as the guest of [[Thami El Glaoui]], in the Atlas mountains surrounding [[Tangier]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wellesnet.com/orson-welles-writes-the-introduction-to-everybodys-shakespeare-in-the-north-atlantic/ |title=Orson Welles writes the Introduction to Everybody's Shakespeare in the North Atlantic |date=September 23, 2007 |website=Wellesnet |access-date=April 8, 2018 |archive-date=April 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408210018/http://www.wellesnet.com/orson-welles-writes-the-introduction-to-everybodys-shakespeare-in-the-north-atlantic/ |url-status=live }}</ref> while working on thousands of illustrations for the ''Everybody's Shakespeare'' series of educational books, a series that remained in print for decades.{{citation needed|date= July 2024}}

[[File:Katharine-Cornell-Tour-Map.jpg|thumb|Map of [[Katharine Cornell]]'s [[Katharine Cornell#1933–1934 transcontinental repertory tour|1933–1934 transcontinental repertory tour]], Welles's professional debut on the American stage]]

In 1933, Hortense and Roger Hill invited Welles to a party in Chicago, where Welles met [[Thornton Wilder]]. Wilder arranged for Welles to meet [[Alexander Woollcott]] in New York so he could be introduced to [[Katharine Cornell]], who was assembling a [[repertory theatre|theatre company]] for a [[Katharine Cornell#1933–1934 transcontinental repertory tour|seven-month transcontinental repertory tour]]. Cornell's husband, director [[Guthrie McClintic]], immediately put Welles under contract and cast him in three plays.<ref name="Brady" />{{Rp|46–49|date=April 2014}} ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', ''[[The Barretts of Wimpole Street]]'' and ''[[Candida (play)|Candida]]'' began touring in repertory in November 1933, with the first of more than 200 performances taking place in Buffalo, New York.<ref name="Welles TIOW" />{{Rp|330–331}}

[[File:The Hearts of Age.webm|thumb|thumbtime=293|Welles's earliest film, ''[[The Hearts of Age]]'' (1934)]]
In 1934, Welles got his first job on radio—with ''[[The American School of the Air]]''—through actor-director [[Paul Stewart (actor)|Paul Stewart]], who introduced him to director Knowles Entrikin.<ref name="Welles TIOW" />{{Rp|331|date=April 2014}} That summer, Welles staged a drama festival with the Todd School at the Opera House in Woodstock, Illinois, inviting [[Micheál Mac Liammóir]] and [[Hilton Edwards]] from Dublin's Gate Theatre to appear along with New York stage luminaries in productions including ''[[Trilby (play)|Trilby]]'', ''[[Hamlet]]'', ''[[The Drunkard]]'' and ''Tsar Paul''. At the old firehouse in Woodstock, he also shot his first film, an eight-minute short titled ''[[The Hearts of Age]]''.<ref name="Welles TIOW" />{{Rp|330–331}}

On November 14, 1934, Welles married Chicago socialite and actress Virginia Nicolson<ref name="Welles TIOW" />{{Rp|332}}<ref name="Bright Lights">{{cite news |url=http://brightlightsfilm.com/66/66bookswelles.php#.Un_FuY0-Ngc |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131110180738/http://brightlightsfilm.com/66/66bookswelles.php%23.Un_FuY0-Ngc |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 10, 2013 |title=Book review, ''In My Father's Shadow: A Daughter Remembers Orson Welles'' |last=McBride |first=Joseph |date=November 23, 2009 |website=[[Bright Lights Film Journal]] |access-date=November 21, 2020 }}</ref> in a civil ceremony in New York. To appease the Nicolsons, who were furious at the elopement, a formal ceremony took place December 23, 1934, at the New Jersey mansion of the bride's godmother. Welles wore a [[Morning coat|cutaway]] borrowed from his friend [[George Macready]].<ref name="Feder" />{{Rp|182}}

A revised production of Katharine Cornell's ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' opened December 20, 1934, at the [[Al Hirschfeld Theatre|Martin Beck Theatre]] in New York.<ref name="Welles TIOW" />{{Rp|331–332|date=April 2014}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=10436 |title=Romeo and Juliet |publisher=[[Internet Broadway Database]] |access-date=April 27, 2014 |archive-date=April 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427232609/http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=10436 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Broadway production brought the 19-year-old Welles to the notice of [[John Houseman]], a theatrical producer who was casting the lead in the debut production of one of [[Archibald MacLeish]]'s verse plays, ''[[Panic (1935 play)|Panic]]''.<ref name="Houseman RT">[[John Houseman|Houseman, John]], ''Run-Through: A Memoir''. New York: [[Simon & Schuster]], 1972, {{ISBN|0-671-21034-3}}</ref>{{Rp|144–158}} On March 22, 1935, Welles made his debut on the [[CBS Radio]] series ''[[The March of Time (radio program)|The March of Time]]'', performing a scene from ''Panic'' for a news report on the stage production.<ref name="Brady" />{{Rp|70–71}}

By 1935, Welles was supplementing his earnings in the theatre as a radio actor in [[Manhattan]], working with many actors who later formed the core of his [[Mercury Theatre]] on programs including ''America's Hour'', ''[[Cavalcade of America]]'', ''[[Columbia Workshop]]'' and ''The March of Time''.<ref name="Welles TIOW" />{{Rp|331–332}} "Within a year of his debut Welles could claim membership in that elite band of radio actors who commanded salaries second only to the highest paid movie stars," wrote critic [[Richard France (writer)|Richard France]].<ref name="France">[[Richard France (writer)|France, Richard]], ''The Theatre of Orson Welles''. Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: [[Bucknell University Press]], 1977 {{ISBN|0-8387-1972-4}}</ref>{{Rp|172|date=May 2014}}