In the wee hours of the morning in Rhode Island, Orson Welles still rules the radio airwaves.
The 3,500-watt WRIU-FM, 90.3, broadcasts the Orson Welles Hour each Wednesday at 3 a.m.
The late night weekly Welles broadcasts on the college station date back at least several years, according to WRIU’s Michael Duffy.
A broadcast service of the University of Rhode Island, WRIU programs can be heard throughout Rhode Island, as well as parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Long Island. It is also available worldwide via online streaming.
Welles, then 19, began his radio career as an actor in 1934 and appeared in the years that followed on numerous radio programs ranging from The Fall of the City to The Shadow.
In 1937, Welles directed a seven-episode adaptation of Les Miserables and later the weekly Mercury Theatre on the Air, including the famed War of the Worlds. He worked with such actors as Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead and Ray Collins.
Other Welles-directed radio series followed including The Campbell Playhouse, The Orson Welles Show, Hello Americans, Ceiling Unlimited, The Orson Welles Almanac, This is My Best and The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air. His U.S. radio career came to a close in 1946 with Orson Welles Commentaries.
After moving to Europe, Welles performed on British radio in such early 1950s shows as The Adventures of Harry Lime and The Black Museum.
Welles has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for his achievements in film and the other for his radio work.
A sampling of his radio performances can be heard online at wellesnet.com/audio-orson-welles-the-radio-years
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