Mars in culture by its dramatic red color and by nineteenth century scientific speculations that its surface conditions not only might support life, but intelligent life. Thus originated a large number of science fiction scenarios, among which is H. G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds", published in 1898, in which Martians seek to escape their dying planet by invading Earth. A subsequent US radio adaptation of "The War of the Worlds" on October 30, 1938 by Orson Welles was presented as a live news broadcast, and became notorious for causing a public panic when many listeners mistook it for the truth. Influential
Orson Welles in a film for Cohn for no further fee. The stage show soon failed due to poor box-office, with Welles unable to claim the losses on his taxes. In 1946, Welles began two new radio series—"The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air" for CBS, and "Orson Welles Commentaries" for ABC. While "Mercury Summer Theatre" featured half-hour adaptations of some classic Mercury radio shows from the 1930s, the first episode was a condensation of his "Around the World" stage play, and is the only record of Cole Porter's music for the project. Several original Mercury actors returned for the series, as