By RAY KELLY
A previously unknown recording of the radio series Frank Sinatra In Person with Orson Welles as a featured guest has been unearthed.
The September 6, 1944 radio broadcast aired remotely from a U.S. Naval base in San Diego, California, before an audience of 1,000 WAVES. (The WAVES – Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service – was the U.S. Naval Reserve women’s branch established in 1942 to free up men for sea duty during World War II.) The recording of the radio broadcast was taken from Sinatra’s own transcription disc and recently posted on YouTube by Sinatra enthusiast Jim Mahoney.
Wellesnet readers will remember it was Mahoney who several months back shared with us the lost premiere episode from August 9, 1944 with Welles and Gloria DeHaven as guests. He previously had posted Welles’ third appearance from October 18, 1944 online.
The three vintage radio shows were preserved by noted Sinatra expert Ric Ross. In 2017, Mahoney purchased Ross’ vast archive, one of the world’s most complete collections of Sinatra music and memorabilia.
Welles is introduced in the second half of the September 6, 1944 broadcast. He is bantering with Sinatra and orchestra leader Axel Stordahl with some good natured shots taken at Welles’ vanity and being a “ham.” It begins:
Sinatra: The name Orson Welles has come to mean a lot of different things to a lot of people. Last summer, he gave thousands of servicemen a free magic show. He sawed Marlene Dietrich and Rita Hayworth in half three times a day, then married Rita. He’s written, produced, and directed motion pictures. He’s had plenty of attention and publicity. While some folks kept saying Welles cannot last. So far, he’s lasted 10 years, and he’s still going great. And to many people who know about things like that, Orson Welles is a truly fine actor, an actor of understanding, variety, and depth. And I’m extremely happy and proud to have a man of such standing with us this evening – ladies, Mr. Orson Welles.
Welles: This is this is very flattering, Frank, but doesn’t it seem a little immodest for me to stand here and listen to all those nice things — however true?
Sinatra: Come again, sir?
Welles: Well, I said, You think it’s quite modest for me to stand here and listen to all this flattery?”
Sinatra: Hey Axel, can you imagine Orson Welles tired of flattery?
Stordahl: No, I can’t. I imagine he’s just tired of standing!
Sponsored initially by Vimms vitamins, Frank Sinatra In Person aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System between summer 1944 and spring 1945.
Newspaper advertisements of that era reveal the half-hour series aired on Wednesday nights. Ol’ Blue Eyes welcomed Hollywood guests like Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Carmen Miranda, Lionel Barrymore, Dinah Shore, Lou Costello and Bob Hope, according to a script book that was on the auction block in 2019.
Welles’ multiple appearances on the radio show are hardly surprising since he and Sinatra were good friends.
The pair campaigned together for President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the fall of 1944. A decade later, Sinatra provided financial support for Welles’ Don Quixote and served as godfather of Welles’ youngest daughter, Beatrice. Sinatra also was the host of the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony honoring Welles in 1975.
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