Orson Welles at Todd School for Boys
Title
Orson Welles at Todd School for Boys
Description
Discovered in an album of photographs from the Diane Treese Collection donated to the Woodstock Public Library. The name on the photograph indicates that it is of Welles, but it is impossible to confirm. The photograph is with other ones from the time period that Orson Welles attended Todd.
The famous actor and director, Orson Welles, is the best-known Todd School graduate. He started at Todd School in 1926 and graduated in 1931 at age 15. In the summer of 1934, he returned to produce the Todd Theatre Festival of Shakespearean plays at the Opera House.
Welles’ first known film, Hearts of Age, was filmed in Woodstock. The building seen in the film is Wallingford Hall on the school campus. The Todd School bell used in the film now resides in front of the Woodstock Presbyterian Church, and the gravestone is in the Calvary Cemetery on Jackson Street.
Welles is perhaps best known for directing and starring in Citizen Kane. In another of his movies, The Stranger, set in a boys’ boarding school, Welles paid homage by including subtle references to Todd School.
Welles was a frequent visitor to the school after graduating, and would eventually serve on the Todd School board and his daughter, Christopher, attended the school. Welles remained friends with Roger Hill, Todd School Headmaster, and the two men collaborated on the Everybody’s Shakespeare.
The Todd School for Boys (1848–1954) was an independent school located in Woodstock, Illinois founded by Reverend Richard Kimball Todd, a Presbyterian pastor. Under the guidance of Headmaster Noble Hill in the 1920s and Hill’s son Roger in the 1930s, it became known as a progressive school that provided students, including Orson Welles, with a creative educational environment that emphasized practical experience over traditional academics. The main Todd School Campus was located on the northeast corner of the Rt. 47 (Seminary Ave) and Rt. 120 (McHenry Ave.) junction.
The famous actor and director, Orson Welles, is the best-known Todd School graduate. He started at Todd School in 1926 and graduated in 1931 at age 15. In the summer of 1934, he returned to produce the Todd Theatre Festival of Shakespearean plays at the Opera House.
Welles’ first known film, Hearts of Age, was filmed in Woodstock. The building seen in the film is Wallingford Hall on the school campus. The Todd School bell used in the film now resides in front of the Woodstock Presbyterian Church, and the gravestone is in the Calvary Cemetery on Jackson Street.
Welles is perhaps best known for directing and starring in Citizen Kane. In another of his movies, The Stranger, set in a boys’ boarding school, Welles paid homage by including subtle references to Todd School.
Welles was a frequent visitor to the school after graduating, and would eventually serve on the Todd School board and his daughter, Christopher, attended the school. Welles remained friends with Roger Hill, Todd School Headmaster, and the two men collaborated on the Everybody’s Shakespeare.
The Todd School for Boys (1848–1954) was an independent school located in Woodstock, Illinois founded by Reverend Richard Kimball Todd, a Presbyterian pastor. Under the guidance of Headmaster Noble Hill in the 1920s and Hill’s son Roger in the 1930s, it became known as a progressive school that provided students, including Orson Welles, with a creative educational environment that emphasized practical experience over traditional academics. The main Todd School Campus was located on the northeast corner of the Rt. 47 (Seminary Ave) and Rt. 120 (McHenry Ave.) junction.
Source
Diane Treese Collection
Collection
Citation
“Orson Welles at Todd School for Boys,” Woodstock Public Library Archives, accessed October 11, 2024, https://woodstockpubliclibraryarchives.omeka.net/items/show/517.
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