Orson Welles remembered

Sixty-nine years ago today, Orson Welles' radio show, "Mercury Theater on the Air," made its debut.

About three months later, Welles' inadvertently made history with his "War of the Worlds" broadcast. The late great Orson Welles

The on-air adaptation of H.G. Wells' novella whipped many Americans into hysteria. Welles delivered the fanciful story of Martians invading the Earth in the style of a radio newscast.

Welles went on to become one of the greatest film directors of our time. His 1941 debut film, "Citizen Kane," is consistently ranked by critics as among the best, if not the best, movie ever.

It's often been said "Citizen Kane" was the only Welles' film released according to his liking. The rest of his directorial career was spent battling meddling studio executives.

Since then, several of his films have been restored as closely as possible to his vision. "Macbeth," "Mr. Arkadin" and "Touch of Evil" have all been re-released in revised forms.

Another project, an unfinished film from the '70s called "The Other Side of the Wind," is under restoration and will be released theatrically in 2008. "The Other Side of the Wind" stars the late John Huston and Dennis Hopper.

Welles' career took a downward turn in the '70s, as the once-great artist was reduced to doing wine and beer commercials. His last major role was as the voice of Unicron, a giant planet-destroying robot in the animated "Transformers: The Movie."

He died in 1985, at 70, of a heart attack.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)