Every generation has its special people ... its
geniuses. The 20th century was fortunate to have
had the genius of ORSON WELLES. Actor, writer,
director, producer, artist ... there was nothing
creative that he could not do and do to perfection!
This page is done in an effort to repay this fine
talented man for sharing his genius with the world.
*Taken from the Autobiography of "Orson Welles"..
gang who does this sound like???
If you answered-Mr.Bill "Wallace" Thompson you'd
be correct!
NOW AS TOLD BY WALLACE TO BEN TYLER
here's a bit of amazing W&L history...
Did You Know...Orson Welles was a Wallace Watcher?
Pats sitting in the office one day and the phone
rings..he answers and a voice says,"This is Orson
Welles speaking, may I talk to Captain Super please."
Well even though the guy sounded a lot like Orson
Welles, Pat hung up on him...thinking that it had
to be me (Wallace) trying to put one over on him
again. Crank call, right? About five minutes later
the phone rings again...this time it's a woman,
"This is Mr. Orson Welles personal secretary he
would like to speak to the actor who plays Captain
Super about a role in a film being shot here in
Phoenix." Now Pat's begining to take this seriously,
she gives him a phone number. Later he tells me
(Wallace) & Ladmo but we think Pat's now putting
us on! This wasn't very long after the Beatle prank
that I(Wallace) pulled on Pat and Mike, so everyone
thought they were getting set up for the gag. Pat
calls the secretary, she gives him a time and
place..he hangs up, and by the way he's looking at
me(Wallace) I can tell he thinks this a practical
joke set up by me. As it turned out the day he
was set to shoot was the day my wife, Katie, and I
were going to be married. Still certain this is a
joke, Pat says: "Hey Wal, I know you'd like to meet
Orson Welles. Why don't you join us on the set after
the ceremony? I'll call back and clear it with Orson
(snicker, snicker)" I said, "Sure, we'd love to!"
Well we show up at the movie set and sure as heck,
there is Joseph Cotten and all the actors that
worked with Welles over the years. Pat's stupified,
only time I've ever seen him speechless. Orson
sees us, and in that familiar booming voice of his,
he announces: "Everyone, this is Wallace and Katie.
They have chosen to share their wedding night with
us." We got a nice round of applause, sat down and
watched Pat shoot his scene. It was a lot of fun!
*A Few notes:
1.Pat was told to meet a limosine under the Tempe
bridge (couldn't do that today,it's under 25 feet
of water) from there he would be driven to the
movie location at a private home in Carefree.
2.The movie was titled "West Of The Wind".
3.Pat is in the opening scene.
4.Wallace and Katie met John Houston, Edmond O'Brian,
and Warren Oates.
5.Welles was staying at a hotel in Scottsdale and
regularly watched the W&L Show during this time.
He had his secretary track down Pat.
A wonderful story! Rob
PS-Desert Rat actually lived in a home once owned
by Orson Welles in Sedona, Arizona...near Poco
Diablo on Doodle-Bug Island next to Oak Creek.
As the story goes one day Oak Creek flooded, and
Orson plus the family pooch had to climb upon the
roof of the house, & a big crane had to remove
them to safety!
Story Permission Granted By Wallace,Ben Tyler, and Rob Cook
Stay Tune 4 The Rest Of The Story