''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 George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

. Broadcast Mondays at 10 p.m. ET, it made its debut September 15, 1941. Its last broadcast was February 2, 1942.Hickerson, Jay, ''The Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide to All Circulating Shows''. Hamden, Connecticut, second edition December 1992

History

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 Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely r ...

and a regular cast that included Conrad Binyon,

Hans Conried Hans Georg Conried Jr. (April 15, 1917 – January 5, 1982) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for providing the voices of George Darling and Captain Hook in Walt Disney's ''Peter Pan'' (1953), Snidely Whiplash in Jay Ward's '' Dud ...

, Dolores del Río,

Brenda Forbes Brenda Forbes (14 January 1909 – 11 September 1996) was a British-born American actress of stage and screen. Personal life Born as Dorothy Brenda Taylor in Wandsworth, London, the daughter of Ernest John and Ethel Louise Taylor. Her m ...

and

Blanche Yurka Blanche Yurka (born Blanch Jurka, June 19, 1887 – June 6, 1974) was an American stage and film actress and director. She was an opera singer with minor roles at the Metropolitan Opera and later became a stage actress, making her Broadway debu ...

. On many of the shows,

Cliff Edwards Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards (June 14, 1895 – July 17, 1971), nicknamed "Ukulele Ike", was an American singer, musician and actor. He enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop standar ...

recreated the voice of

Jiminy Cricket Jiminy Cricket is the Disney version of the " Talking Cricket" (Italian: ''Il Grillo Parlante''), a fictional character created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi for his 1883 children's book ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'', which Walt Disney adap ...

and bantered with Welles between segments. Most of the series was produced while Welles was shooting his second feature film, ''

The Magnificent Ambersons ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington, the second in his ''Growth'' trilogy after ''The Turmoil'' (1915) and before ''The Midlander'' (1923, retitled ''National Avenue'' in 1927). It won the Pulitzer Prize for fict ...

'' (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 Violet Lucille Fletcher (March 28, 1912August 31, 2000) was an American screenwriter of film, radio and television. Her credits include ''The Hitch-Hiker,'' an original radio play written for Orson Welles and adapted for a notable episode of ' ...

(wife of Bernard Herrmann) that has become a classic of suspense. On the broadcast of December 29, 1941,

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...

was the guest player; this was the first meeting between Welles and Hayworth, who were married in September 1943. Welles concluded the final broadcast of ''The Orson Welles Show'' February 2, 1942, with a statement: "Tomorrow night the

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury als ...

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 The Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, later known as the Office for Inter-American Affairs, was a United States agency promoting inter-American cooperation (Pan-Americanism) during the 1940s, especially in commercial and econ ...

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."

Episodes

Notes

References

External links

Orson Welles Show
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orson Welles Show, The 1941 radio programme debuts 1942 radio programme endings 1940s American radio programs American radio dramas CBS Radio programs Works by Orson Welles