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 Orson Welles Show The Orson Welles Show The Orson Welles Show was an unsold television talk show pilot directed by Orson Welles. It has never been broadcast or released in its entirety. Filming began in September 1978 and the project was completed around February 1979. It ran 74 minutes and was intended for a 90 minute commercial time slot. Welles was listed in the credits under the pseudonym "G. O. Spelvin." Cinematography was by Welles' long-time cameraman Gary Graver. Editing (and uncredited direction of some scenes) was by Stanley Sheff. Shot partly before a live audience, Welles interviewed Burt Reynolds (taking several questions