The Power of Radio (Halloween Reblog)

Uncategorized 1 Minute

88 years ago tonight: On the evening of 30th October 1938, Orson Welles broadcast his famous dramatised production of the H G Wells novel The War of The Worlds on CBS American radio.


The play started conventionally enough with Welles reading the first part of the novel more or less verbatim. The play then reverted to what appeared to be a typical evening of dance band music which was suddenly interrupted by a newsflash of a mysterious object falling to ground in New Jersey.

More newsflashes followed in increasingly dramatic and hysterical fashion and eventually, as legend has it, an entire nation panicked thinking that they were being invaded by Martians. The following morning the newspapers were full of condemnation of Welles for misleading the nation (read that line again, such irony!).


The size of the panic has since been hugely disputed, but the newspapers did their job and Orson Welles became famous overnight.

Unknown's avatar

Published by nostalgicitalian

I'm just a guy who likes the classics. I love Old Time Radio Shows. I love Classic TV. I love Classic Movies. I love songs from the "Great American Songbook". I dig songs from the first decade of Rock and Roll. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to newer things. My musical taste ranges from Classical to Classic Rock and Country to Rap. I love a good book and am always looking for something to read. I tend to lean toward historical fiction, biographies, mysteries, and more. I have always believed that our past (and the things we've experienced in it) make us who we are today. That being said, after reading through some old My Space blogs (yeah, that's about how long it's been since I blogged regularly), I decided that I should once again write. Welcome to my blog. I hope you find it interesting, thought provoking, and entertaining in some way. CONTACT ME AT - nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com

Published

One thought on “The Power of Radio (Halloween Reblog)”

Leave a Reply