The Orson Welles Show (radio series) debut of "The Hitch-Hiker", an original radio play by Lucille Fletcher (wife of Bernard Herrmann) that has become a classic of suspense. On the broadcast of December 29, 1941, Rita Hayworth was the guest player; this was the first meeting between Welles and Hayworth, who were married in September 1943. Welles concluded the final broadcast of "The Orson Welles Show" February 2, 1942, with a statement: "Tomorrow night the Mercury Theatre starts for South America. The reason, put more or less officially, is that I've been asked by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs to do a motion
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