War of the Worlds Radio Anniversary

As you may know, I'm a huge fan of vintage radio shows, and Orson Welles. Here's an anniversary I observe every year, by listening to it, either online or now with an MP3 . :


October 30th, the anniversary of the infamous 1938 Mercury Theatre's live radio broadcast of HG Wells' "War of the Worlds". Conceived and directed by star Orson Welles as a dramatic way to pull away audience from the "Chase and Sanborn Hour", featuring ventriloquist act Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy.

The adaptation was done as an 'emergency news' special report - the only glimpse behind the curtain was the intro, epilogue, and brief intermission. So authentic was the performance, it led some listeners to believe the Martian Invasion was real, prompting 'mass hysteria' on the U.S. eastern seaboard (the invasion was set in Grover's Mill, New Jersey).

The event rocketed Welles to international stardom, paving the way for him to have the clout to get "Citizen Kane" in production (it also jeopardized his radio career, oddly enough - the producers of "The Shadow" moved to replace him with an unknown actor Bill Johnstone). The phenomenon has also been analyzed by scholars and media theorists worldwide.


PS - October 30, 1938 was a Sunday, as is October 30, 2005