Henry Jaglom, Orson Welles’s Longtime Lunch Date, Dead at 87

by

Henry Jaglom, the independent filmmaker known for movies like *A Safe Place*, *Déjà Vu*, and *Can She Bake a Cherry Pie*, has passed away at the age of 87. His daughter, Sabrina Jaglom, told *The Hollywood Reporter* that he died peacefully at his home in Santa Monica. She described him as a loving, fun, and uniquely supportive father and champion.

I first heard about Jaglom through Peter Bogdanovich – apparently, Bogdanovich wanted him to be in his film *Targets*, but ended up taking the role himself! Once Jaglom got to Los Angeles, though, he quickly fell in with the exciting new wave of filmmakers coming out of Roger Corman’s studio. He became really good friends with Jack Nicholson and even helped edit *Easy Rider*! From there, Jaglom decided to forge his own path as a writer and director, and he made some fantastic films with a lot of those same New Hollywood stars, like Dennis Hopper, Karen Black, and of course, Nicholson.

Henry Jaglom was as well-known for his social life in Los Angeles as he was for his filmmaking. For the final two years of Orson Welles’ life, Jaglom met with him for regular lunches, which he recorded. These conversations were later turned into the book *My Lunches With Orson*. That famous quote of Welles sharply criticizing Woody Allen – the one that often reappears online whenever Allen is mentioned – comes from that book.

You know, beyond sharing meals at Ma Maison, Alexander Jaglom and Orson Welles actually collaborated on films too. It’s amazing to think Welles’ last on-screen performance was in Jaglom’s *Someone to Love* back in 1987. And interestingly, Jaglom appeared in Welles’ final, long-delayed film, *The Other Side of the Wind*, which we finally got to see in 2018. It’s a small world for cinephiles, isn’t it?

Read More

2025-09-25 05:55