
Orson Welles
A Biography
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Narrated by:
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Grace Conlin
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By:
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Barbara Leaming
About this listen
Here he confides his most intimate feelings and recollections of his extraordinary life. With remarkable detail and intimacy, Barbara Leaming reveals the private Welles: from child prodigy and young lion in Dublin and New York, to the succès de scandale of his The War of the Worlds broadcast; from his auspicious directing debut with the legendary Citizen Kane in his 20s, to the sabotage of his further directing career by the Hollywood studios; from his affairs, carousing, and stormy marriage to Rita Hayworth, to his association with Roosevelt and aspirations to the presidency.
It is a picture with an all-star cast, including Olivier, Monroe, Dietrich, Garbo, Warren Beatty, Charlie Chaplin, Princess Margaret, and Prince Aly Khan.
©1985 Barbara Leaming (P)1996 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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- Life Lessons
- By: Neil Strauss - contributor, Kevin Hart
- Narrated by: Kevin Hart
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Superstar comedian and Hollywood box-office star Kevin Hart turns his immense talent to the written word by writing some words. Some of those words include: the, a, for, above, and even even. Put them together and you have the funniest, most heartfelt, and most inspirational memoir on survival, success, and the importance of believing in yourself since Old Yeller.
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Best Audiobook I Ever Listened To
- By Sam Clear on 07-13-17
By: Neil Strauss - contributor, and others
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The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell
- By: Kenya Barris, Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Kenya Barris, Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
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Join Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell as they bypass pleasantries and promotional banter to deliver raw, unfiltered conversations with some of today’s most influential figures. Featuring titans across a spectrum of professions (from Olympic gold medalists to trailblazing Fortune 500 CEOs and everything in between), The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell pulls back the curtain to offer listeners unprecedented access to the minds of the world’s most extraordinary individuals and their distinct paths to success.
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UNusually Great!
- By Angela C. on 01-30-25
By: Kenya Barris, and others
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Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Jack Weatherford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
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Golden Horde/Platinum Listen
- By Cynthia on 12-11-13
By: Jack Weatherford
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My Mom's Murder
- By: AYR Media
- Narrated by: Lauren Malloy
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
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When a mysterious stranger unveils a long-hidden truth, Lauren Malloy’s life is thrown into chaos. For years, Lauren believed her mother, Lori, died of natural causes, but the shocking reality is that her loving mother was brutally murdered when Lauren was just an infant. Now, 30 years later, Lauren is on a relentless quest for justice. Over the past four years, she’s embarked on an emotional journey filled with unexpected twists, recording hundreds of hours of interviews with law enforcement, family, friends, and even potential suspects.
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The raw interviews.
- By knapper on 11-12-24
By: AYR Media
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Evil Has a Name
- The Untold Story of the Golden State Killer Investigation
- By: Paul Holes, Jim Clemente, Peter McDonnell
- Narrated by: Paul Holes, Jim Clemente
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
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For his victims, for their families and for the investigators tasked with finding him, the senselessness and brutality of the Golden State Killer's acts were matched only by the powerlessness they felt at failing to uncover his identity. Then, on April 24, 2018, authorities arrested 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo at his home in Citrus Heights, Calif., based on DNA evidence linked to the crimes. Amazingly, it seemed, evil finally had a name. Please note: This work contains descriptions of violent crime and sexual assault and may not be suitable for all listeners.
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Audible Raises The Bar On True Crime Genre
- By R. Squyres on 11-16-18
By: Paul Holes, and others
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The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- As Told to Alex Haley
- By: Malcolm X, Alex Haley
- Narrated by: Laurence Fishburne
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Experience a bold take on this classic autobiography as it’s performed by Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne. In this searing classic autobiography, originally published in 1965, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and Black empowerment activist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Human Rights movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American dream and the inherent racism in a society that denies its non-White citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
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it's Nearly perfect
- By Kerry on 09-16-20
By: Malcolm X, and others
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Elvis and Me
- By: Priscilla Beaulieu Presley
- Narrated by: Priscilla Beaulieu Presley
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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The inspiration for the major motion picture Priscilla directed by Sofia Coppola, this New York Times best seller reveals the intimate story of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley, told by the woman who lived it.
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What a story!
- By Pen Name on 08-28-22
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The Demon Next Door
- By: Bryan Burrough
- Narrated by: Steve White
- Length: 2 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Bryan Burrough recently made a shocking discovery: The small town of Temple, Texas, where he had grown up, had harbored a dark secret. One of his high school classmates, Danny Corwin, was a vicious serial killer. In this chilling tale, Burrough raises important questions of whether serial killers can be recognized before they kill or rehabilitated after they do. It is also a story of Texas politics and power that led the good citizens of the town of Temple to enable a demon who was their worst nightmare.
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Odd narration choice
- By Amanda Fredericks on 03-08-19
By: Bryan Burrough
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The Phantom Prince
- My Life with Ted Bundy
- By: Elizabeth Kendall, Molly Kendall - contributor
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Kendall, Barrie Kreinik, Molly Kendall
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The Phantom Prince chronicles Elizabeth Kendall’s intimate relationship with Ted Bundy and its eventual unraveling. As much as has been written about Bundy, it’s remarkable to hear the perspective of people who shared their daily lives with him for years. This gripping account presents a remarkable examination of a charismatic personality that masked unimaginable darkness.
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Same Planet, Different Worlds
- By Christine E. Lee on 01-29-20
By: Elizabeth Kendall, and others
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The Wonder of Stevie
- By: Wesley Morris
- Narrated by: Wesley Morris, Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
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The year 1972 saw the beginning of a five-year span in which Stevie Wonder released five groundbreaking, critically acclaimed albums, garnering him more than half a dozen Grammys and more than 10 million albums sold, securing his place as one of the most important American musicians and songwriters in history. For the first time, uncover the untold story of an extraordinary artistic journey that shaped the greatest creative era in popular music history.
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Good but not great
- By Anonymous User on 09-14-24
By: Wesley Morris
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The Story of Grunge
- By: Michael Stewart Foley, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Michael Stewart Foley
- Length: 3 hrs
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You can’t truly understand the last decade of the 20th century without a look at the muddy, electrifying rock music that would come to define it: grunge. For such a short-lived genre—at least in the mainstream—grunge had a lasting impact on American music and culture. It also provides a unique lens through which to examine the post-Reagan, pre-internet America of the 1990s. In the six lectures of The Story of Grunge, you’ll explore the rise and evolution of the genre, tracing it from Seattle subculture to MTV and the Billboard charts, all the way to its decline and evolution into new forms.
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A Scholarly Study of Grunge
- By Mark on 03-07-25
By: Michael Stewart Foley, and others
What listeners say about Orson Welles
Highly rated for:
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Overall
- A
- 09-12-10
A Mesmerizing Tale read by a wonderful narrator
A wonderfully told tale by author Barbara Leaming, made all the more enjoyable by narrator Grace Conlin's patiently nuanced reading. It's easy to lose the thread of a story when the world is the stage - as it certainly was for Welles - and the players so numerous and varied, but Ms. Conlin's pacing and delivery keeps the detailed action compelling throughout the long and winding journey of Welles' extraordinary life
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5 people found this helpful
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- Lisa Hodges
- 07-15-19
Outstanding
I can not express how much I enjoyed this work. Thank you for providing such an outstanding experience
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- Todd R. Reis
- 06-05-22
Interesting, enlightening, but still incomplete.
As a Welles fan, never knew much about him. This book, well written & read, helped fill in a lot of info & background, but also skated over some people & incidences I would have liked to know more about. As an example, I have the AFI Tribute on VHS. The focus that night was repeatedly on The Ambersomss movie, not Citicen Kane which was hardly mentioned if at all. I wondered if the Hearst Org had something to do with that and how he really reacted since,,per this bio, the studio had totally changed it via editing from his version.
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1 person found this helpful
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- B. Briggs
- 09-28-23
Excellent
Slow start, but then it became immensely interesting. I found the narrator to possess a very pleasant voice!
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- Tim Simpson
- 09-29-22
A huge
One of if not the best Orosn Wells biography very touching and very informing you simply must listen I it!
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-28-23
Beautifully read and fascinating
I only give it four stars for the story because I got lost in the middle due to my own overall ignorance on the topic. It is so detailed that someone who doesn’t know all of the players of Hollywood and you work at that time can get lost. However, it is more than worth it to follow it to the end. Can’t wait to get a hard copy and look at it again more closely.
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- Toni Hitchcock
- 07-31-24
Amazing book!
What a story, of course. Did not disappoint at all. Narration was excellent. Highly recommended.
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- Troy
- 07-30-14
More Than Just a Biography... a Collaboration
This might be the most heartbreaking review I ever write. I discovered the golden age of radio, The War of the Worlds, and The Shadow through Orson Welles. I discovered Welles at the end of his life when I was 12, when he performed the voice of the monster planet Unicron in Transformers: The Movie. It's not Citizen Kane, and it would never be anything remotely close. I get that, but that's how I came to appreciate one of the greatest geniuses the entertainment world has ever known. My love of radio happened because of this man. This man changed my life and expanded my world.
This biography is truly something special because it has something that other biographies don't have: Welles himself. Author Barbara Learning was able to contact and collaborate with Welles on this biography through means that typifies Welles' life story, and he gave her free reign and resources because he understood that there is Welles the man, Welles the legend, and his own memory, none of which were in alignment. He was curious to learn about all three aspects. More insightful than the story of Welles' life are the inserted dialogues between Welles and Learning, which adds both gravitas and that personal flourish that makes all the difference. Welles was an extraordinary man by any measure, and his life was as equally bizarre.
On a personal note... the epilogue shattered my childhood. After going through the highs and lows, after getting the personal reminiscences from greatness to virtual unemployment, the hardest part was hearing him refer to my first experience with him as "that horrible little project about Japanese robots that transform into vehicles and such" and how at least it'll help him to buy groceries or something. It was one of the last things he performed before he passed, and he didn't live long enough to see it released. I knew all along he wasn't pleased with it, and I get it, I really do. I can see how a man of Welles' star caliber might think that a string of voiceovers in commercials and cartoons would be something terrible, even after a long stretch of failure and unemployment. But to have his own commentary on it is rough. I like to think that it's little projects like this that will ultimately lead people of later generations to find his work through the back alleys when they might otherwise not seek out the likes of Citizen Kane. After all, that's how I discovered his work. And just like nobody could have predicted something like that, nobody could have predicted the kind of twists and turns Welles' life would take. I thought I knew about Welles before. This book expanded on so much I only thought I knew. As biographies go, this one's a treasure.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Michael
- 11-17-12
Leaming & Conlin Bring Orson Back Into Our Lives
If you could sum up Orson Welles in three words, what would they be?
Brilliant, Driven, Humanitarian
Who was your favorite character and why?
Orson is the most important and my favorite character. No one was more collectively brilliant than he. In his early life he was as ego centric as most are at that age, but he did not stay there. Later on, (thou still driven) he would reach out to others. Was more caring and giving. Hi last phone call (the night he died( was to the mother of a close director friend, asking how she was and reminding her to take her meds. I have loved Orson for over 50 years of my life. Orson was yet another example of the good that God gave to us. My friend has been gone for over 25 years and I miss him still....
What about Grace Conlin’s performance did you like?
What a blessing that our reader was Grace Conlin. She seemed to very much understand the nature and depth of this great man. A performer (in this case) has only their voice to tell the story. However, dear Ms. Conlin read Leaming's words like she had known Orson all her life. This wonderful lady is such an artist. At times, I was so drawn buy her ability to communicate it seemed like she and I were sharing wonderful memories of this man I have loved for so long. Thank you so much Ms. Conlin. There just are NO words to describe your abilities and care..
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
NO! The book was over 20 hours long. Actually I wanted to take my time. Knowing early on that this audio book was a pleasure I did not want end anytime soon.
Any additional comments?
If you are into the theater, old time radio, or the movies, this book is for you. It is well worth the money and your time. Do yourself a favor. If you love the fine arts, this book is for you.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Karen
- 03-21-11
Great book; average narration
I had read this book several years ago in print--and enjoyed it very much--so was happy to see an audio version available. It's still a great book, but I grew increasingly frustrated with the reader, who had an annoying habit of occasionally emphasizing (to me) the wrong words in sentences--or using an "arch" tone when one wasn't (again, to me) really called for. I found myself editing her narration in my mind, or frequently wondered what the great director himself might have thought of her reading! So, while it's not terrible, a different narrator--say, Edward Herrmann--might have brought this material to life in a way that Ms. Conlin doesn't.
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8 people found this helpful