Orson Welles flew to Paris to discuss the project personally with the Russian author. Orson Welles George Orson Welles (; May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, writer, and producer who worked in theatre, radio, and film. He is remembered for his innovative work in all three: in theatre, most notably "Caesar" (1937), a Broadway adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"; in radio, the legendary 1938 broadcast "The War of the Worlds"; and in film, "Citizen Kane" (1941), consistently ranked as one of the greatest films ever made. In his 20s, Welles directed a number of high-profile
The War of the Worlds (radio drama) the consequence is you can still play with ideas of terror and conflict... It's a natural thing to do until you're right up against it." "Until it ceases to be a game," Welles said, a phrase that Wells repeated. Britain and France had then been at war with Nazi Germany for more than a year. As the Mercury's second theatre season began in 1938, Orson Welles and John Houseman were unable to write the "Mercury Theatre on the Air" broadcasts on their own. They hired Howard Koch, whose experience in having a play performed by the Federal Theatre Project in