Over the past 16 years, Wellesnet has published many fine pieces on The War of the Worlds radio broadcast, which aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System on October 30, 1938.
Recollections by Orson Welles; his eldest daughter, Chris Welles Feder; radio colleague Norman Corwin; radio listeners; and telephone operators have appeared on Wellesnet.
Also, the broadcast is available here on streaming audio, along with a transcript of the Howard Koch radio play and account of the press conferences following the broadcast, as well as some of the letters to the FCC contained in the National Archives.
As the 79th anniversary of The War of the Worlds broadcast nears, here is some of what you can find on Wellesnet:
- Streaming audio of the CBS radio broadcast
- Transcript of the Mercury Theatre On the Air broadcast of Oct. 30, 1938 written by Howard Koch
- Welles’ Halloween press conference; Radio Guide magazine, 1938
- Orson Welles’ Sketch Book 1955 on ‘The Martian Invasion’ – transcript and BBC video
- Chris Welles Feder reflects on her father’s famed broadcast
- Norman Corwin on ‘The War of the Worlds’
- National Archives: The FCC and ‘The War of the Worlds’
- Wellesnet veteran Glenn Anders (aka Alex Fraser) remembers the ‘War’
- Video: AT&T operators recalls ‘The War of the Worlds’
- ‘Broadcast Hysteria’ book utilizes nearly 1,400 letters sent to Orson Welles after ‘War of the Worlds’ broadcast
- Excerpts from David Acord’s book When Mars Attacked – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4
- PBS director-producer Cathleen O’Connell talks about her ‘The War of the Worlds’ documentary
By the way, a great way to celebrate The War of the Worlds anniversary may be visiting Indiana University’s new Orson Welles on the Air website at https://orsonwelles.indiana.edu
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