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
Orson Welles last campaign rally, speaking at an event November 4 at Boston's Fenway Park before 40,000 people, and took part in a historic election-eve campaign broadcast November 6 on all four radio networks. On November 21, 1944, Welles began his association with "This Is My Best", a CBS radio series he would briefly produce, direct, write and host (March 13 – April 24, 1945). He wrote a political column called "Orson Welles' Almanac" (later titled "Orson Welles Today") for "The New York Post" January–November 1945, and advocated the continuation of FDR's New Deal policies and his international vision, particularly the establishment