Command Performance

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Command Performance was a radio program for the troops overseas. It aired from 1942-1949, broadcast via shortwave, not on commercial radio. It was a star-studded variety show, with a panoply of American showbiz icons performing at the request of servicemen. The various rosters were filled by Bob Hope, Ginger Rogers, Ella Fitzgerald, Gene Autry, Rita Hayworth, and many others.

Welles’s turn came on Dec. 21, 1943. He had just married the gorgeous Rita Hayworth, and was also making forays into geopolitics by writing articles for the journal Free World and by speaking at the Third World Dinner in New York City in October. While he was suffering from both back problems and jaundice, he still found a way to make the guest appearance on Command Performance. He co-starred with Fred Waring and Kate Smith.



Sources
Command Performance. Old Time Radio Catalog.
Higham, Charles. Orson Welles: The Rise and Fall of An American Genius New York: St. Martin’s Press. 1985.
Leaming, Barbara. Orson Welles. New York: Viking. 1985.

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