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N0KFQ > TODAY 01.11.14 05:13l 100 Lines 4684 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Oct 30
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Sent: 141101/0507Z 39011@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.60
Oct 30, 1938:
Welles scares nation
Orson Welles causes a nationwide panic with his broadcast of "War
of the Worlds"_a realistic radio dramatization of a Martian
invasion of Earth.
Orson Welles was only 23 years old when his Mercury Theater
company decided to update H.G. Wells' 19th-century science
fiction novel War of the Worlds for national radio. Despite his
age, Welles had been in radio for several years, most notably as
the voice of "The Shadow" in the hit mystery program of the same
name. "War of the Worlds" was not planned as a radio hoax, and
Welles had little idea of the havoc it would cause.
The show began on Sunday, October 30, at 8 p.m. A voice
announced: "The Columbia Broadcasting System and its affiliated
stations present Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater on the air
in 'War of the Worlds' by H.G. Wells."
Sunday evening in 1938 was prime-time in the golden age of radio,
and millions of Americans had their radios turned on. But most of
these Americans were listening to ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and
his dummy "Charlie McCarthy" on NBC and only turned to CBS at
8:12 p.m. after the comedy sketch ended and a little-known singer
went on. By then, the story of the Martian invasion was well
underway.
Welles introduced his radio play with a spoken introduction,
followed by an announcer reading a weather report. Then,
seemingly abandoning the storyline, the announcer took listeners
to "the Meridian Room in the Hotel Park Plaza in downtown New
York, where you will be entertained by the music of Ramon
Raquello and his orchestra." Putrid dance music played for some
time, and then the scare began. An announcer broke in to report
that "Professor Farrell of the Mount Jenning Observatory" had
detected explosions on the planet Mars. Then the dance music came
back on, followed by another interruption in which listeners were
informed that a large meteor had crashed into a farmer's field in
Grovers Mills, New Jersey.
Soon, an announcer was at the crash site describing a Martian
emerging from a large metallic cylinder. "Good heavens," he
declared, "something's wriggling out of the shadow like a gray
snake. Now here's another and another one and another one. They
look like tentacles to me ... I can see the thing's body now.
It's large, large as a bear. It glistens like wet leather. But
that face, it... it ... ladies and gentlemen, it's indescribable.
I can hardly force myself to keep looking at it, it's so awful.
The eyes are black and gleam like a serpent. The mouth is kind of
V-shaped with saliva dripping from its rimless lips that seem to
quiver and pulsate."
The Martians mounted walking war machines and fired "heat-ray"
weapons at the puny humans gathered around the crash site. They
annihilated a force of 7,000 National Guardsman, and after being
attacked by artillery and bombers the Martians released a
poisonous gas into the air. Soon "Martian cylinders" landed in
Chicago and St. Louis. The radio play was extremely realistic,
with Welles employing sophisticated sound effects and his actors
doing an excellent job portraying terrified announcers and other
characters. An announcer reported that widespread panic had
broken out in the vicinity of the landing sites, with thousands
desperately trying to flee. In fact, that was not far from the
truth.
Perhaps as many as a million radio listeners believed that a real
Martian invasion was underway. Panic broke out across the
country. In New Jersey, terrified civilians jammed highways
seeking to escape the alien marauders. People begged police for
gas masks to save them from the toxic gas and asked electric
companies to turn off the power so that the Martians wouldn't see
their lights. One woman ran into an Indianapolis church where
evening services were being held and yelled, "New York has been
destroyed! It's the end of the world! Go home and prepare to
die!"
When news of the real-life panic leaked into the CBS studio,
Welles went on the air as himself to remind listeners that it was
just fiction. There were rumors that the show caused suicides,
but none were ever confirmed.
The Federal Communications Commission investigated the program
but found no law was broken. Networks did agree to be more
cautious in their programming in the future. Orson Welles feared
that the controversy generated by "War of the Worlds" would ruin
his career. In fact, the publicity helped land him a contract
with a Hollywood studio, and in 1941 he directed, wrote,
produced, and starred in Citizen Kane_a movie that many have
called the greatest American film ever made.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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