This page is dedicated to those who love to overanalyze everything. In this page I will argue that "The Brain" of Pinky and The Brain (P&TB), is actually a rather strange parody of Orson Welles. Most P&TB fans know this already, but I have felt compelled for some reason to put all of the references and some other related stuff together on one page where you, the surfer (and perhaps P&TB fan) can decide for yourself.

I know what you are thinking: you probably think that it's pretty sad that I have actually thought about this long enough to devote a whole page to it, and you're right!

For those who don't know, Orson Welles (1915-85) was a director, producer, writer, actor, and all around genius. He worked in theatre and radio, where was responsible for the famous "War Of The Worlds" panic broadcast in 1938. He also made movies like Citizen Kane, (Considered by some to be the greatest movie ever made.) The Magnificent Ambersons, The Lady From Shanghai, and Touch Of Evil. (To name just a few).

I have collected this information from many sources, as well as my own observations. Cites are listed in
( ). The information denoted by "(BRAIN)" is from Brian Norman's now defunct BRAIN (Bunches of References Accumulated In a Nutshell). This was the cultural reference guide to Pinky and The Brain.

It's a well known fact among PNTB fans that Brain resembles an older Welles. They also share very similar facial expressions (BRAIN). Watch one of Welles' movies and see for yourself.

     

The Voice:

Maurice LaMarche is the voice actor who gives Brain his distinctive voice. LaMarche has actually done several impressions of Welles including the voice of Welles in the film "Ed Wood." His impression was dubbed over the voice of Vincent D'Onofrio, who played Welles. He was also the voice of Welles on the television show "The Critic."(BRAIN).

    "I just want to comment that I noticed the voice Maurice LaMarche uses for the Brain doesn't sound exactly like Orson Welles. I once watched the movie "Arsenic and Old Lace", and the character actor Raymond Massey sounded a lot like Brain. I also recall a radio interview of Mr. LaMarche where the announcer indicated that he thought the development of the Brain voice included some other actor besides Welles - and LaMarche agreed to some extent. The actor mentioned might have been Raymond Massey."

    Brain's voice and appearance are not the only parodies of Welles that can be found in episodes of Pinky and The Brain. The writers have peppered several episodes with references to Welles and his films and some of these references are far from subtle!

1. "Pinky and The Fog" Ep#?

    In this episode, Brain tries to take over the world by "Fogging men's minds." He becomes "The Fog" and tries to take over a radio program called "The Mist." This is an obvious parody of "The Shadow," a radio series that Welles starred in during 1937-38 (BRAIN). In fact, a photograph of Welles as The Shadow and this still from the "Pinky and the Fog" are surprisingly similar (The latter has been made B&W for aesthetic purposes.):

2. "The Third Mouse" Ep# 13.

The title says it all. This black and white ep was based on the 1949 Carole Reed film called The Third Man. The film starred Orson Welles, as the mysterious Harry Lime. Joseph Cotten starred as Holly Martins, Lime's friend.

"Pinky is in the Cotten role and Brain is in the Welles role. The title and various plot elements (including the zither music) are taken from the film. It should also be noted that, aside from the plot, many of the characters are also brought over from the original movie, including the British army officer and his sidekick, the two slightly sinister ci-devant aristocrats, the elderly Vienna native who is done in, the Mysterious Woman, Pinky's riff on Joe Cotten's role, and, naturally, Moe LaMarche having great fun as Harry Lime/Orson Welles. Note the fact that, like the original, the cartoon was rendered in black and white. (The credits sequence is also very well done and a faithful spoof of the original.)" (BRAIN?)

3. "Snowball" ep#?

    In a twist, the Welles references are less connected to the Brain himself. In this episode there is a scene of a "No Trespassing" sign and a house seen through a fence. Then we see Pinky in a bed. He whispers "Br-a-in" as he drops a snow globe with ACME Labs inside. This is almost exactly like the beginning of the movie Citizen Kane, when Orson Welles as Charles Foster Kane utters the infamous word: "Rosebud."

    Also, (Please don't read anything weird into this!) Pinky is very much like Kane's mistress, Susan Alexander (played by Dorothy Comingore),  whereas Snowball is actually the Kane figure. He builds an amusement park for Pinky, as Kane built an opera house for his Susan, who eventually became his second wife. Pinky sits at Snowball's feet putting a simple children's puzzle together. (The kind with shaped blocks that fit into holes of the same shape. ) In the movie, Susan spends a great deal of time putting jigsaw puzzles together.

4. "Yes, Always" Ep# 8A.

According to the BRAIN, the dialogue for this episode was based on commercial  outtakes done by Welles:

"Brain's dialogue is 99% word-for-word from a series of outtakes of Orson Welles doing some really low-grade commercials. Only words like "s____" were changed to "cheese" for obvious reasons. It's hilarious to listen to, especially to hear Orson intone "show me a way to say that and I'll go down on you." Of course you're kind of missing half the joke if you haven't heard the tape."

When Brain mentions getting someone to do impressions, this may be a reference to LaMarche's impression of Welles (BRAIN). It has also been said that LaMarche got started doing his Welles impressions after hearing these out- takes.

Pinky and the Brain interrupt the regularly scheduled program to report that Martians have landed. Rather than causing mass panic, it causes mass fits of laughter. This is obviously a reference to Welles' "The War of the Worlds." broadcast in October of 1938. (BRAIN). Brain actually mentions War of The Worlds to Pinkyn including the fact that it was a Mercury Theater production, although he never mentions Welles by name.

6. "Brain Noir"

This ep is a parody of the film genre known as Film Noir. There many references to famous Noir films, including Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, and Chinatown. Near the end of the episode, Billie the mouse, says: "He was some kind of a mouse." This is almost identical to Marlene Dietrich's line: "He was some kind of a man" from the 1958 Welles film Touch of Evil. This line referred to Welles' character, Hank Quinlan. In the cartoon, Billy is actually speaking of Pinky (Whom she fell in love with in another ep), not the Brain.

7. "Hoop Schemes" Ep #24

In this ep there is a "[R]eference to Peter Bogdanovich, who planned a couple of unrealized projects with Welles, and interviewed Orson for his book titled: This is Orson Welles. He also does an intro, on behalf of Welles, for the short film Return to Glennascaul (ED)*.

8. In "The Mouse of La Mancha"

Brain re-tells the story of Don Quixote. What was the movie Welles was trying to make for years before he died? Don Quixote. (ED)

In this ep (#7A), Pinky and the Brain start a children's TV show. On the first show Brain says "I am the Iconoclast." and is promptly renamed "Noodle Noggin" for obvious reasons. Welles is often referred to as an iconoclast as well, for his maverick approach at making films.

There is a Charlie McCarthy reference in this ep. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that Charlie McCarthy's radio show was the Mercury Theatre's main competitor. (ED)