Orson Welles

This radio show for hardcore fans of the medium of radio plays a small role in the Orson Welles story. The Columbia Workshop was just that, a place for playwrights and others to lend their artistic touch to the then-new medium of radio. It prided itself on, and became known for, its high production values. It aired on the network that christened it, the Columbia Broadcasting Network, CBS. Welles made an appearance on the show, playing Hamlet in his own adaptation of the play. Irving Reis directed.

Seeming to have more hours in his day than a mere mortal, Welles racked up a dizzying array of projects. One of them was the CBS radio program “This Is My Best,” of which he hosted 6 episodes. The show’s run was from ‘44 to ‘46, and it was sponsored by the Cresta Blanca Winery. The show’s original format involved contemporary authors choosing various literary scripts to adapt into radio plays, a highbrow guest DJ concept. However, when Welles hosted, he made all the choices of material, which did not ingratiate him to his bosses, and which kept his stint on the program brief. One project he was adamant about was Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness , which he’d struggled to bang into shape for a film.