American actor, producer, writer, and director
William Alland
|
---|
|
Born
| (
1916-03-04
)
March 4, 1916
|
---|
Died
| November 11, 1997
(1997-11-11)
(aged 81)
|
---|
Occupation(s)
| Producer, writer, actor
|
---|
Notable work
| Look in Any Window
|
---|
William Alland
(March 4, 1916 ? November 11, 1997)
[
citation needed
]
was an American actor, film producer and writer, mainly of
Western
and science-fiction/monster films, including
This Island Earth
,
It Came From Outer Space
,
Tarantula!
,
The Deadly Mantis
,
The Mole People
,
The Colossus of New York
,
The Space Children
, and the three
Creature from the Black Lagoon
films. He worked frequently with director
Jack Arnold
. Alland is also remembered for his acting role as reporter Thompson, who investigates the meaning of "Rosebud" in
Orson Welles
's
Citizen Kane
(1941).
Biography
[
edit
]
Alland was born in
Delmar, Delaware
.
[1]
Alland entered films as an actor, perhaps best remembered as the reporter Jerry Thompson, who investigates the life of newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane in
Orson Welles
's
Citizen Kane
(1941).
[1]
He also directed the film
Look in Any Window
.
In his early 20s, Alland arrived in
Manhattan
and took courses at the
Henry Street Settlement
House, where he met
Orson Welles
. He lent his voice to Welles's
The War of the Worlds
. Alland won a
Peabody Award
as producer of
Doorway to Life
.
[2]
Alland's role as reporter Jerry Thompson in
Citizen Kane
(1941) is unusual because the camera never closes up on his face; in fact, for the majority of his scenes in the film, he shows his back to the camera, and whenever his face can be seen, it is always in long-shot and almost always clouded in shadow. As noted by film critic
Roger Ebert
on the DVD commentary of
Citizen Kane
, Alland once reportedly told an audience that they would probably recognize him if he were to show his back to them. In addition to his role as Thompson in
Citizen Kane
, Alland announces the "News on the March" newsreel segment, a spoof of the then-popular
March of Time
newsreels. In later years, Alland twice provided voiceovers for pastiches of this
News on the March
segment: once for the 1974 Orson Welles film
F for Fake
and again for a 1991
Arena
documentary for the BBC titled
The Complete Citizen Kane
.
In 1953, Alland appeared before a meeting of the
House Un-American Activities Committee
in Los Angeles, acknowledging that he had been a member of the
Communist Party
and naming other people who were involved with the party. The meeting was held behind closed doors, but Alland talked with reporters after his appearance. He said that he was a party member from 1946 to 1949.
[3]
Alland was a decorated combat pilot in the Air Force, flying 56 missions in the Pacific.
[4]
On radio, Alland wrote for
Doorway to Life
[5]
and acted on
The Mercury Theatre on the Air
.
[5]
: 448
He died of complications of heart disease.
[6]
Filmography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Thomson, David (November 25, 1997).
"William Alland: An obituary from Xanadu"
.
The Guardian
. England, London. p. 18
. Retrieved
June 30,
2020
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Variety, November 13, 1997"
.
- ^
"Film Producer Says He Was Red, Lists Others"
.
The Los Angeles Times
. November 24, 1953. p. 1
. Retrieved
June 30,
2020
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Film producer"
.
The Los Angeles Times
. November 24, 1953. p. 10
. Retrieved
June 30,
2020
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
a
b
Dunning, John (1998).
On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio
(Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 207.
ISBN
978-0-19-507678-3
.
- ^
"William Alland; Movie Producer, Actor"
.
Los Angeles Times
. November 13, 1997.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|
External links
[
edit
]