Orson Welles Commentaries

Orson Welles Commentaries (1945–46) is an ABC radio series produced and directed by Orson Welles. Featuring commentary by Welles, with reminiscences and readings from literature, the 15-minute weekly program aired Sunday afternoons at 1:15 p.m. ET beginning September 16, 1945. Lear Radio sponsored the program through the end of June 1946 when it failed to find a larger audience. The series was continued by ABC as a sustaining show through October 6, 1946. Orson Welles Commentaries was the last of Welles's own radio shows.

Orson Welles Commentaries

Orson Welles (October 29, 1945)
Genre	Social commentary, political commentary, reminiscences and readings
Running time	15 minutes
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
Home station	ABC
Hosted by	Orson Welles
Written by	Orson Welles
Directed by	Orson Welles
Produced by	Orson Welles
Original release	September 16, 1945 (1945-09-16) – October 6, 1946 (1946-10-06)
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	56

Episodes

Welles's five broadcasts on the beating and blinding of decorated U.S. Army veteran Isaac Woodard in South Carolina (July 28 – August 25, 1946) brought significant national attention to the case.

#	Date	Program	Recording	References
1	September 16, 1945	Welles begins his weekly series of social and political commentary and readings, and discusses matador Fernando López.	[1]	[2]: 366 [3]: 141
2	September 23, 1945	Welles tells The Story of Bonito, the Bull by Robert J. Flaherty, the only part of the unfinished omnibus film It's All True he ever presented to an audience. Welles later told the story of Bonito in the final episode of his 1955 BBC-TV series, Orson Welles' Sketch Book.	[4]	[3]: 141 [5][6]: 418
3	September 30, 1945	Cast: Orson Welles	[7]	[3]: 141
4	October 7, 1945	Cast: Orson Welles	[8]	[3]: 141
5	October 14, 1945	Cast: Orson Welles	[9]	[3]: 141
6	October 21, 1945	Cast: Orson Welles	[10]	[3]: 141
7	October 28, 1945	Cast: Orson Welles	[11]	[3]: 141
8	November 4, 1945	Welles discusses the ousting of Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas.	[12]	[2]: 366 [3]: 141
9	November 11, 1945	Welles reads a letter from Louis Armstrong in which he recounts his early days, while Barney Bigard, Zutty Singleton, Fred Washington and others play "Perdido Street Blues".	[13]	[3]: 141 [2]: 366
10	November 18, 1945	Cast: Orson Welles	[14]	[3]: 141
11	November 25, 1945	Cast: Orson Welles	[15]	[3]: 141
12	December 2, 1945	Cast: Orson Welles	[16]	[3]: 141
13	December 9, 1945	A broadcast from the U. S. Naval Training and Distribution Center, Treasure Island, San Francisco, California, via KGO, featuring Commodore Robert W. Cary, USN, commander of the center. The three theatre complexes are named to honor three World War II heroes killed in action: John Basilone (Theatre Three), Edward O'Hare (Theatre Two) and Doris Miller (Theatre One), the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross. Includes a conversation on race prejudice with Miller's father, Connery Miller, via WACO in Waco, Texas.	[17]	[3]: 142 [5][18][19]
14	December 16, 1945	Cast: Orson Welles	[20]	[3]: 142
15	December 23, 1945	Cast: Orson Welles	[21]	[3]: 142
16	December 30, 1945	Cast: Orson Welles	[22]	[23]
17	January 6, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[24]	[3]: 142
18	January 13, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[25]	[3]: 142
19	January 20, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[26]	[3]: 142
20	January 27, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[27]	[3]: 142
21	February 3, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[28]	[3]: 142
22	February 10, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[29]	[3]: 142
23	February 17, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[30]	[3]: 142
24	February 24, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[31]	[3]: 142
25	March 3, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[32]	[3]: 142
26	March 10, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles		[3]: 142
27	March 17, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[33]	[3]: 142
28	March 24, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[34]	[3]: 142
29	March 31, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[35]	[23]
30	April 7, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[36]	[23]
31	April 14, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[37]	[23]
32	April 21, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[38]	[23]
33	April 28, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[39]	[3]: 143
34	May 5, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[40]	[3]: 143
35	May 12, 1946	Due to illness, Welles is replaced by George Hays.	[41]	[3]: 143
36	May 19, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[42]	[3]: 143
37	May 26, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[43]	[3]: 143
38	June 2, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[44]	[3]: 143
39	June 9, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[45]	[3]: 143
40	June 16, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[46]	[3]: 143
41	June 23, 1946	Welles calls for protest on the end of the Office of Price Administration.	[47]	[3]: 143 [5][48]
42	June 30, 1946	Welles protests the end of OPA price controls and the imminent atomic test at Bikini Atoll—with his wife Rita Hayworth's image on the A-bomb, nicknamed "Gilda".	[49]	[50][6]: 397 [51]
43	July 7, 1946	Lear Radios does not renew its sponsorship option due to low audience numbers, but ABC continues the program. Welles's pay is cut from $1,700 to $50 per show.	[52]	[3]: 144
44	July 14, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[53]	[3]: 144
45	July 21, 1946	Don Hollenbeck substitutes for Welles, who is ill. Topics include compromise on OPA rent and price controls, and unrest in Bolivia.	[54]	[3]: 144 [5][55]
46	July 28, 1946	First episode about the Isaac Woodard case. Welles reads an affidavit sent to him by the NAACP signed by Isaac Woodard, a black veteran who was beaten and blinded by South Carolina police hours after he had been honorably discharged from the U.S. Army. Welles promises to root out the officer responsible and makes the case a major focus of his weekly show. Bret Wood: "Welles took up the cause, having always been outspoken on issues of racism and turned the event into a scathing attack on postwar racism and ingratitude".	[56]	[3]: 144 [5][57]: 329–331 [58]
47	August 4, 1946	Second program related to the Woodard case. Welles remarks on world peace negotiations and Congress.	[59]	[3]: 145 [57]: 329–331 [6]: 398
48	August 11, 1946	Third program related to the Woodard case. Welles reads from his July 1944 editorial, "Race Hate Must Be Outlawed".	[60]	[3]: 145 [57]: 329–331 [61][6]: 398
49	August 18, 1946	Fourth program related to the Woodard case. Welles reads and responds to a letter from a white supremacist, and reads from his December 1943 editorial, "The Unknown Soldier".	[62]	[3]: 145 [57]: 329–331  [63][6]: 399
50	August 25, 1946	Fifth and last program related to the Woodard case. Museum of Broadcasting: "The NAACP felt that these broadcasts did more than anything else to prompt the Justice Department to act on the case".	[64]	[3]: 145 [65]: 66
51	September 1, 1946	Welles is told in September that ABC is unable to continue his sustained program after the October 6 show.	[66]	[3]: 146 [57]: 331
52	September 8, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[67]	[3]: 146
53	September 15, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[68]	[3]: 146
54	September 22, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[69]	[3]: 146
55	September 29, 1946	Cast: Orson Welles	[70]	[3]: 146
56	October 6, 1946	Last show of the series, and the last of Welles's own radio shows	[71]	[3]: 146 [6]: 401