Orson Welles

In 1937, amid his run with the Federal Theatre Project but before Mercury Theatre and Mercury Theatre on the Air, Welles wrote, produced, and directed a seven-episode version of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. It aired on The Mutual Network. The episodes were The Bishop 7/23/37 Javert 7/30/37 The Trial 8/6/37 Cosette 8/13/37 The Grave 8/20/37 The Barricade 8/27/37 Conclusion 9/3/37

“The Fred Allen Show” ran under its various names from 12-25-32 to 6-26-49. Fred Allen was a sharp wit, but was also influenced by Will Rogers and accordingly brought topical political humor into his repertoire. Another big part of his show was the Allen’s Alley segments, starring Alan Reed, and John Brown. Over the years, he had more big guests to name, but some included Edward G. Robinson, Jack Benny, Bing Crosby, Ozzie & Harriet Nelson, and Carmen Miranda. Orson Welles guested on: 11-8-39 10-18-42 3-3-46 The 10-18-42 show was aimed at the troops in WWII, and Welles starred in a production of “Les Miserables.” At the top of the show, Allen billed him as “a boy prodigy who lived up to it.” The program kicked off with Irving Berlin’s “This is the Army, Mr. Jones.” The 3-3-46 episode centered around another rendering of “Les Mis,” included an Allen’s Alley sketch, and began with a segment of Allen’s monologue in which he skewered Jack Benny, mostly by insulting his intellig

May 2011 is the 70th anniversary of ther release of Citizen Kane, widely considered the greatest motion picture ever made. Orson Welles’ artistic genius cannot be denied, and it should be considered this genius is both a product and ahead of its time. The film originally raised controversy for its less than favorable portrayal of media mogul William Randolph Hearst. However the greatness of the film has outlasted Hearst’s own influence. The character of Charles Foster Kane as a mirror of Hearst is well known. What is less apparent are the parallels between Kane and Welles’ life. Kane was born into poverty in his parent’s boarding house in Colorado. When a piece of worthless land belonging to his mother yields “the world’s third largest gold mine,” she has young Kane sent to the East for his education as a ward of Mr. Bernstein, a banker. When Kane gains full control of his inheritance at the relatively young age of 25 he dedicates his fortune to building a newspaper empire based on