Welles was born May 6, 1915, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, son of Richard Hodgdon Head Welles (1873, Missouri – December 28, 1930, Chicago, Illinois) and Beatrice Ives (1882 or 1883, Springfield, Illinois – May 10, 1924, Chicago, Illinois). His family was raised Roman Catholic. Despite his parents’ affluence, Welles encountered many hardships in childhood. In 1919, his parents separated and moved to Chicago.
October 30, 1938 radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells brought Welles instant fame. The combination of the news bulletin form of the performance with the between-breaks dial spinning habits of listeners from the rival and far more popular Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy program, was later reported in the media to have created widespread confusion among listeners who failed to hear the introduction, although the extent of this confusion has recently come into question. Panic was reported to have spread (after citation from rumors) among many listeners who believed the news reports of a Martian invasion. The myth of the result created by the combination was reported as fact around the world and disparagingly mentioned by Adolf Hitler in a public speech a few months later. The 1970s “docu-drama” The Night That Panicked America was based on events centering around the production of, and events that resulted from, the program.
In the 1940′s, Welles organized the Mercury Wonder Show, a touring magic and variety act put together to entertain U.S. soldiers going to war. He performed on many television shows and even had a prime time magic special taped (that unfortunately never aired).
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ya mean…derren STOLE that routine?
somehow, tho, he was more convincing than orson welles.
I love watching old interviews with Orson Welles on you tube, he was always so charming and such a great story teller, there’s a funny little story he tells about cold reading while being interviewed by David Frost, loved how intelligent, interesting and clever he was
When CBS ran a revised version of “The Twilight Zone” there was an episode that was a thinly disguised parody of Orson Welles and Mercury Theater. It was entitled ‘Cold Reading’ and involved a radio producer with a rep for realism who gets more than he wanted for his radio drama, to wit: “Remember what’s on page 13?” “The Leopard Queen’s ritual dance?” “No, you idiot, the earthquake!” If you can find if, its worth the search.
I always loved Orson’s theatrical voice and movements, much like Eugene Burger today (in a more mellow way) and I always hated russian roulette effects! And this one (except for the performance) is truly substandard and easily reproduced.
With all due respect to Derren — where I found the lead up of his special to the actual effect very nice and entertaining to watch. However the russian roulette it self just doesn’t make sense! It proved to me that no matter whether the best mentalism performer (Derren) performs it, Orson Wells or a hobbyist at a party, it’s all too cheesy and senseles…
The audience knows what the outcome is really. It will only be interesting when you take that expectation and flip it upside down and predict where you will be shot and by whom at what time.
To mark OW’s birthday I’ve done a caricature sketch of the great man: http://singleservingjack.blogspot.com/2011/05/orson-welles-sketch.html
I wonder just how many people have “tried this at home”?