People of all ages have heard about the 1938 broadcast of the radio drama, “The War of the Worlds”, based on a science fiction novel by H.G. Wells and narrated by Orson Welles. It aired as a Halloween edition of The Mercury Theatre on the Air.
Per Wikipedia, “The first two-thirds of the one-hour broadcast was presented as a series of simulated news bulletins, which suggested an actual alien invasion by Martians was currently in progress.” Since The Mercury Theater aired without commercial interruptions, it seemed all the more real to listeners, especially those who missed the introduction of the broadcast as a radio drama.
Orson Wells and The Mercury Theatre on the Air
Popular legend has it that the program caused widespread panic and hysteria. People were rumored to have rioted and committed suicide in the belief that the Earth had been invaded by Martians. Subsequent research has cast doubt on the actual extent of the program’s impact. At the time, however, the rolling news flash in Times Square read “Orson Welles Causes Panic.”
In any case, “In the days following the adaptation, there was widespread outrage in the media.” The news bulletin format was targeted as being intentionally deceptive, and there were calls for regulation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In the three weeks following the broadcast, no fewer than 12,500 articles were written on the subject.
In the end, the saying “There’s no such thing as bad publicity” proved to be true. The episode made Orson Welles a familiar figure to the American public, and it secured his reputation as a dramatist.
Experience the magic of RadioVizion™ in The Frequency of Death! running March 25 through April 3, 2016 at the Bath House Cultural Center, with a special encore performance April 4, 2016 at the Eisemann Center in Richardson.