Orson Welles with an entirely African American cast, and the political musical "The Cradle Will Rock". In 1937 he and John Houseman founded the Mercury Theatre, an independent repertory theatre company that presented a series of productions on Broadway through 1941. Welles found national and international fame as the director and narrator of a 1938 radio adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel "The War of the Worlds" performed for his radio anthology series "The Mercury Theatre on the Air". It reportedly caused widespread panic when listeners thought that an invasion by extraterrestrial beings was actually occurring. Although some contemporary sources say these
The Campbell Playhouse (radio series) The Campbell Playhouse (radio series) The Campbell Playhouse (1938–40) is a live CBS radio drama series directed by and starring Orson Welles. Produced by Welles and John Houseman, it was a sponsored continuation of "The Mercury Theatre on the Air". The series offered hour-long adaptations of classic plays and novels, as well as adaptations of popular motion pictures. When Welles left at the end of the second season, "The Campbell Playhouse" changed format as a 30-minute weekly series that ran for one season (1940–41). As a direct result of the front-page headlines Orson Welles generated with his 1938 Halloween production