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
The Orson Welles Almanac label, all of them recorded August–November 1944 by the group Ertegun renamed Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band. "Viewed in perspective," Ertegun later wrote, "they are among the most significant jazz records ever made: they gave eloquent proof of the continuing vitality of New Orleans jazz at a time when such proof was needed." Broadcast July 19, 1944, from the Coast Guard camp in Long Beach, California, the final episode of "The Orson Welles Almanac" ends with a five-minute reading by Welles, "a short story, especially written for me to broadcast by one of the first talents in American literature, John