Orson Welles

Originally broadcast on NPR stations on October 30, 1988, fifty years to the day from the original broadcast directed by Orson Welles and and written by Howard Koch.

Welles’ first radio series with full creative control, First Person Singular, aired in 1938, offering one-hour adaptations of literary works like Dracula and The Thirty-Nine Steps. It ran for nine episodes before becoming The Mercury Theatre on the Air.

In 1946, Welles produced a short-lived, thirty-minute series sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon. It aired on CBS and featured dramatic adaptations. The first episode was Around the World in 80 Days, which Welles also promoted in his introduction while working on the stage version.

The Mercury Theatre on the Air became the Campbell Playhouse after gaining sponsorship from Campbell Soup. The War of the Worlds broadcast impressed them, leading to a new episode adaptation of Rebecca. Welles was praised as a genius and shared his unique radio drama philosophy.

The radio home of Welles's ground-breaking Mercury Theatre Company. Following the success of Welles's radio adaptation of Hugo's Les Miserables, CBS requested a 13-episode run with Welles starring and directing, transferring the already well-regarded Mercury Theatre to the radio.