The Orson Welles Almanac guest when he returned to the show April 11, 1943. Orson Welles's variety show was auditioned in New York December 2, 1943, with the Compton advertising agency representing Mobilgas. The cast included Welles (host) and Duke Ellington (music), with guest spots by Rita Hayworth and Jimmy Durante on an audition record. "Billboard" reported that plans were under way for scheduling the show. The 30-minute program was heard Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET January 26 – July 19, 1944. The wartime variety show presented readings from classic works, drama, music, sketch comedy, magic, mindreading and personal commentary by Welles. Many of
This is Orson Welles of Welles's career; a summary of the alterations made in Welles's 1942 masterpiece, "The Magnificent Ambersons"; and notes on each chapter by film scholar Jonathan Rosenbaum, who edited the volume. A second edition of "This is Orson Welles" was published in paperback in 1998, with a new introduction by Bogdanovich and excerpts of a 58-page memo Welles wrote Universal Pictures about the editing of his 1958 film "Touch of Evil". The memo was used to create a director's cut of the film released in 1998. The 1992 audiobook version of "This is Orson Welles" was nominated for a Grammy Award