The Orson Welles Show (radio series)

Radio show

The Orson Welles Show

CBS Radio promotional photo for The Orson Welles Show (September 5, 1941)

Genre| Anthology series
Almanac
Variety
Running time| 30 minutes
Country of origin| United States
Language(s)| English
Home station| CBS
Hosted by| Orson Welles
Starring| Orson Welles
Blanche Yurka
Conrad Binyon
Brenda Forbes
Hans Conried,
Dolores del Río
other radio, film, and theater personalities
Written by| Orson Welles
Roger Quayle Denny
Carl Glick
others
Directed by| Orson Welles
Produced by| Orson Welles
Original release| September 15, 1941 –
February 2, 1942
No. of series| 1
No. of episodes| 19

The Orson Welles Show (1941–42), also known as The Orson Welles Theater, Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater and the Lady Esther Show (after its sponsor), was a live CBS Radio series produced, directed and hosted by Orson Welles. Broadcast Mondays at 10 p.m. ET, it made its debut September 15, 1941. Its last broadcast was February 2, 1942.[1]

## History

[edit]

Sponsored by Lady Esther cosmetics, The Orson Welles Show presented dramatic adaptations, poetry, history, music, comedy, and a commentary segment by Welles titled "Almanac." Nineteen broadcasts were produced.

Created each week with the same basic crew, The Orson Welles Show featured music by Bernard Herrmann and a regular cast that included Conrad Binyon, Hans Conried, Dolores del Río, Brenda Forbes and Blanche Yurka. On many of the shows, Cliff Edwards recreated the voice of Jiminy Cricket and bantered with Welles between segments. Most of the series was produced while Welles was shooting his second feature film, The Magnificent Ambersons (October 28, 1941 – January 31, 1942), and many of the cast participated in The Orson Welles Show. On January 6, 1942, Welles also began filming Journey into Fear.

The November 17, 1941, broadcast marked the debut of The Hitch-Hiker, an original radio play by Lucille Fletcher (wife of Bernard Herrmann) that has become a classic of suspense. On the broadcast of December 29, 1941, Rita Hayworth was the guest player; this was the first meeting between Welles and Hayworth, who were married in September 1943.[2]: 366–369. 378

Welles concluded the final broadcast of The Orson Welles Show February 2, 1942, with a statement: "Tomorrow night the Mercury Theatre starts for South America. The reason, put more or less officially, is that I've been asked by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs to do a motion picture especially for Americans in all the Americas, a movie which, in its particular way, might strengthen the good relations now binding the continents of the Western Hemisphere."[2]: 369 [a]

## Episodes

[edit]

#  | Date  | Program

|
|

1  | September 15, 1941  | "Sredni Vashtar," story by Saki
"Hidalgo", original play about Mexican history
"An Irishman and a Jew," story by Geoffrey Household
"Boogie Woogie" by Meade Lux Lewis, piano
"Almanac"[2]: 366 [3]: 447 [4]: 115–116
Extant[5]
2  | September 22, 1941  | "The Right Side," with Elliott Lewis (Faust) and Ray Collins (Devil)
"The Sexes," story by Dorothy Parker, with Betty Field and Richard Carlson
"Murder in the Bank," with Ruth Gordon
"The Golden Honeymoon," story by Ring Lardner, with Ruth Gordon (Mother) and Orson Welles (Father)
"Almanac" and Jiminy Cricket (Cliff Edwards)[2]: 366
Presumed lost[6]
3  | September 29, 1941  | "The Interlopers," original radio play, with Elliott Lewis (narrator), Ray Collins and Orson Welles
"Song of Solomon," read by Orson Welles
"I'm a Fool," story by Sherwood Anderson, with Orson Welles and Nancy Gates
"Almanac" and Jiminy Cricket[2]: 367
Extant[7][5]
4  | October 6, 1941  | "The Black Pearl," original story by Norman Foster
"There's a Full Moon Tonight"
"Annabel Lee," poem by Edgar Allan Poe, read by Orson Welles
Cast: Orson Welles, Edgar Barrier, Ray Collins, Dorothy Comingore, Joseph Cotten, Erskine Sanford, Paul Stewart[2]: 367
Extant[7][5]
5  | October 13, 1941  | "If in Years to Come," by Earle Reed Silvers, with Orson Welles, Marsha Hunt and Agnes Moorehead
"Noah Webster's Library," skit with Lucille Ball, Joseph Cotten and Marsha Hunt
Four poems read by Lucille Ball
"Almanac"[2]: 367
Extant[7][5]
6  | October 20, 1941  | "Romance," story by Ellis Parker Butler, with Joseph Cotten (narrator), Tim Holt, Anne Baxter, Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins
"The Prisoner of Assiout," story by Grant Allen, with Orson Welles, Everett Sloane, Ray Collins, Erskine Sanford, Edgar Barrier, Marlo Dwyer
Shakespeare sonnet read by Orson Welles
"Almanac"[2]: 367
Extant[7]
7  | November 3, 1941  | "Wild Oranges," adapted from the novel by Joseph Hergesheimer, with Frances Dee, Ray Collins, Paul Stewart, Gale Gordon, John Woodfolk
"Almanac"[2]: 367
Extant[7]
8  | November 10, 1941  | "That's Why I Left You," story by John Nesbitt, with Ray Collins (narrator), Stuart Erwin, June Collyer, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead
"The Maysville Minstrel," story by Ring Lardner, with Joseph Cotten, Ray Collins, Stuart Erwin, June Collyer
"Almanac"[2]: 367
Extant[7]
9  | November 17, 1941  | The Hitch-Hiker, original radio play by Lucille Fletcher, with Orson Welles and other cast[2]: 367
Presumed lost[6]
10  | November 24, 1941  | A Farewell to Arms, adapted from the novel by Ernest Hemingway
Cast: Ginger Rogers (Catherine), Orson Welles (Frederick Henry)[2]: 367
Presumed lost[6]
11  | December 1, 1941  | "Something's Going to Happen to Henry," story by Wilma Shore and Louis Solomon, with Janet Gaynor, Joseph Cotten, Ray Collins, Glenn Anders
"Wilbur Brown, Habitat: Brooklyn," story by Arthur Stander, with Orson Welles, Ray Collins, Glenn Anders[2]: 368
Extant[7][5]
12  | December 7, 1941  | "Symptoms of Being 35," story by Ring Lardner, with Joseph Cotten
"Leaves of Grass," selected poetry by Walt Whitman read by Orson Welles[2]: 368
Extant[7]
13  | December 22, 1941  | Luke, chapter 2 (The Nativity) read by Orson Welles
"The Happy Prince," story by Oscar Wilde, with Orson Welles, Ray Collins, Agnes Moorehead, Joseph Cotten, Edgar Barrier, Erskine Sanford, Gus Schilling, Tim Holt
Christmas poem by G. K. Chesterton read by Orson Welles[2]: 368
Extant[7][5]
14  | December 29, 1941  | There Are Frenchmen and Frenchmen, story by Richard Connell adapted by Joseph Cotten
Cast: Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Lurene Tuttle, Joseph Cotten[2]: 368
Extant[7]
15  | January 5, 1942  | The Garden of Allah, adapted from the novel by Robert Hichens
Guest stars: Merle Oberon, Cedric Hardwicke[2]: 368
Extant[7]
16  | January 12, 1942  | The Apple Tree, adapted from the story by John Galsworthy
Cast: Orson Welles (Frank), Geraldine Fitzgerald (Megan), Ray Collins (Phil)[2]: 369
Extant[7][5]
17  | January 19, 1942  | My Little Boy, story by Carl Ewald
Cast: Dix Davis, Orson Welles, Ruth Warrick, Ray Collins, Barbara Jean Wong[2]: 369
Extant[7][5]
18  | January 26, 1942  | The Happy Hypocrite, story by Max Beerbohm
Cast: Orson Welles (narrator), John Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Agnes Moorehead, Eustace Wyatt, Everett Sloane[2]: 369
Incomplete[7]
19  | February 2, 1942  | Between Americans, story by Norman Corwin[2]: 369
Incomplete[7]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Welles later wrote that he embarked on the filming of It's All True at the request of Nelson Rockefeller, Jock Whitney and Franklin D. Roosevelt, who put it to Welles in the strongest terms that the project would help inter-American affairs during wartime.[2]: 149–150

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Hickerson, Jay, The Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide to All Circulating Shows. Hamden, Connecticut, second edition December 1992
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Welles, Orson; Bogdanovich, Peter; Rosenbaum, Jonathan (1992). This is Orson Welles. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-016616-9.
3. ^ Callow, Simon (2006). Hello Americans. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-670-87256-3.
4. ^ Wood, Bret (1990). Orson Welles: A Bio-Bibliography. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-26538-0.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h "1941 Orson Welles Show (Lady Esther)". Internet Archive. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
6. ^ a b c "Lilly Library to preserve, share 'lost' Orson Welles radio recordings online". Wellesnet. May 3, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Alphabetical Listing of Tapes, Orson Welles Papers". Lilly Library, Indiana University Bloomington. December 6, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* Orson Welles Show at the Internet Archive

* v
* t
* e

Orson Welles

* Filmography
* Radio credits
* Theatre credits
* Discography
* Bibliography
* Unrealized projects

Feature films|

* Citizen Kane (1941)
* The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
* The Stranger (1946)
* The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
* Macbeth (1948)
* Othello (1951)
* Mr. Arkadin (1955)
* Touch of Evil (1958)
* The Trial (1962)
* Chimes at Midnight (1965)
* The Immortal Story (1968)
* F for Fake (1973)
* Filming Othello (1978)
* The Other Side of the Wind (2018)

Shorts|

* Twelfth Night (1933)
* The Hearts of Age (1934)
* Citizen Kane trailer (1940)
* Around the World (1946)
* The Miracle of St. Anne (1950)
* Magic Trick (1953)
* The Dominici Affair (1955)
* Portrait of Gina (1958)
* An Evening with Orson Welles (1970)
* Orson's Bag
* Vienna (1968)
* The Merchant of Venice (1969)
* One Man Band (1968–1971)
* Moby Dick (1971)
* Orson Welles' Magic Show (1976–1985)
* The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh (1984)

Unfinished films|

* Too Much Johnson (1938)
* It's All True (1942)
* Don Quixote (1957–1969)
* The Heroine (1967)
* The Deep (1967–1970)
* Filming 'The Trial' (1981)
* The Dreamers (1980–1982)

Partly directed|

* Journey into Fear (1943)
* Follow the Boys (1944)
* Black Magic (1949)
* Three Cases of Murder (1955)
* David and Goliath (1960)
* The Southern Star (1969)

Adaptations|

* Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
* Treasure Island (1972)
* Cradle Will Rock (1999)
* The Big Brass Ring (1999)

Television|

* Orson Welles' Sketch Book (1955)
* Around the World with Orson Welles (1955)
* Orson Welles and People (1956)
* The Fountain of Youth (1958)
* In the Land of Don Quixote (1964)
* The Orson Welles Show (1979)

Theatre|

* Marching Song (1932)
* Bright Lucifer
* Voodoo Macbeth (1936)
* Horse Eats Hat (1936)
* The Cradle Will Rock (1937)
* Caesar (1937–1938)
* Too Much Johnson (1938)
* Native Son (1941)
* The Mercury Wonder Show (1943)
* Around the World (1946)
* Othello (1951)
* The Lady in the Ice (1953)
* Moby Dick—Rehearsed (1955)
* Rhinoceros (1960)

Radio|

* Les Misérables (1937)
* The Shadow (1937–1938)
* The Mercury Theatre on the Air (1938)
* "Dracula" (1938)
* "The War of the Worlds" (1938)
* The Campbell Playhouse (1938–1940)
* The Orson Welles Show (1941–1942)
* Ceiling Unlimited (1942–1943)
* Hello Americans (1942–1943)
* The Orson Welles Almanac (1944)
* This Is My Best (1945)
* Orson Welles Commentaries (1945–1946)
* The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air (1946)
* The Adventures of Harry Lime (1951–1952)
* The Black Museum (1951–52)

Spoken-word|

* The Happy Prince (1946)
* The Begatting of the President (1970)

Books|

* This Is Orson Welles (1992)
* Les Bravades (1996)

Related|

* Mercury Theatre
* Rita Hayworth (second wife)
* Paola Mori (third wife)
* Beatrice Welles (daughter)
* Oja Kodar
* Frozen Peas
* Orson Welles Paul Masson advertisements
* It's All True: Based on an Unfinished Film by Orson Welles (1993)
* Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (2014)
* They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)
* Orson Welles (crater)

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template