Why did the false legend about Orson Welles being an indulgent, profligate, financially unreliable director persist? Specific facts argued against this, but the negative rep stuck.
Touch of Evil star Charlton Heston repeatedly told interviewers that Welles was actually rigorous and efficient, often shooting quickly and effectively. Heston also noted that while Welles was a genius-level director, he often struggled with studio executives because he was unwilling to show the “tact, grace and humility” they required. Heston believed that while Hollywood hated Welles, Welles also tended to alienate the people who funded his projects.
It is HE’s belief that Welles’ obesity compromised his career more than anything else. A typical adversarial studio executive might have been told by Heston and others that Welles is a highly disciplined helmer, but one look at his hulking 350-pound physique told the executive one thing: “This man obviously can’t control his eating, so how can I trust him to respect a film’s modest budget?”
If Welles had somehow slimmed himself down to the weight he was carrying in The Stranger, his career path would have almost certainly been easier.