The Mercury Theatre on the Air is a radio series of live radio dramas created and hosted by Orson Welles. The weekly hour-long show presented classic literary works performed by Welles's celebrated Mercury Theatre repertory company, with music composed or arranged by Bernard Herrmann. The series began July 11, 1938, as a sustaining program on the CBS Radio network, airing Mondays at 9 pm ET. On September 11, the show moved to Sundays at 8 pm.
Orson Welles (July 1938)
The company rehearses "Treasure Island", the second program in The Mercury Theatre on the Air series, presented July 18, 1938.
Orson Welles, arms upraised, directs a rehearsal of CBS Radio's The Mercury Theatre on the Air. Bernard Hermann conducts the CBS Radio orchestra; actors at the microphone include Ray Collins and Richard Wilson.
Bernard Herrmann
Videos
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest film composers. Alex Ross writes that "Over four decades, he revolutionized movie scoring by abandoning the illustrative musical techniques that dominated Hollywood in the 1930s and imposing his own peculiar harmonic and rhythmic vocabulary."
