Orson Welles And the Pre-Internet “War of the Worlds”

War of the Worlds Orson Welles On October 30 in 1938, the 23-year-old Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater Company broadcast a radio version of H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds on CBS. Famously, the radio broadcast would cause some people to panic, believing that the world actually was being invaded by Martians.

Orson Welles did not intend the broadcast as a hoax, even though it was broadcast like a news story. At the start of the show at 8:00 p.m., an announcement introduced the program as a reworking of the H.G. Wells story. But many viewers turned in late, including those who changed the station after listening to Edgar Bergen and his ventriloquist dummy Charlie McCarthy on an NBC show that ended at 8:12 p.m.

Reportedly, up to a million people around the country believed the radio broadcast covered a real invasion, and people panicked, doing such things as trying to get gas masks. During the broadcast, Welles went on the air again to remind viewers it was fiction. Slate, however, recently wrote about how the legend about mass panic really grew out of a very small number of instances.

After the broadcast, Welles worried that the reactions would ruin his career. But, like today, most media attention is good attention. And Welles of course went on to bigger and better things.

Today, sit back, close your eyes and imagine you are hearing the broadcast for the first time on the radio, with no cable news, Internet, or cell phone to let you immediately check everything.

What is your favorite hoax? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Paul McCartney (and Famous Folks) in “Queenie Eye” Video

    Paul McCartney recently released his video for the song “Queenie Eye,” which appears on his new album New (2013). The title of the song comes from a childhood game, and the video features a number of famous folks, including Maryl Streep and Johnny Depp. Check it out.

    If that is not enough Paul McCartney for you, check out the video about the “Making of ‘Queenie Eye.'”



    Is “Queenie Eye” another McCartney classic or just so-so? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Lou Reed RIP: “Dirty Boulevard”

    Lou Reed Dirty Boulevard The legendary Lou Reed passed away today at the age of 71. His catalog of music with Velvet Underground and by himself and others like Metallica includes a number of classics, such as “Sweet Jane” and “Walk on the Wild Side.” One of my favorite Lou Reed songs is “Dirty Boulevard,” which appeared on his 1989 album New York.

    In the following clip, he performs “Dirty Boulevard” on saxophonist David Sanborn’s short-lived NBC TV series, Night Music, in 1989.

    For more on Reed’s career, check out today’s Rolling Stone article. RIP.

    What is your favorite Lou Reed song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Bonanza’s Hoss With The Three Stooges

    Dan Blocker Three Stooges Anyone who has ever watched the TV series Bonanza could not help being fond of Eric “Hoss” Cartwright, played by Dan Blocker. Born Bobby Dan Davis Blocker in Bowie County, Texas, the actor was known as a caring man like his Bonanza character.

    The real man, however, was much more intelligent than the character.  Blocker earned a Master’s degree and worked as a teacher before starting acting. Wikipedia reports that Blocker, who earned a Purple Heart in the Korean War, also was active in political causes, such as taking a stand against the Vietnam War.

    Blocker was best known for his role as the middle son on Bonanza, a role that Blocker tried to infuse with kindness. But Blocker appeared in other roles, and he almost appeared in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove.

    One of his very early roles, though, had him appearing in a Three Stooges short called Outer Space Jitters in 1957 during the era when Joe Besser joined Moe and Larry. Blocker’s role as “The Goon” zombie lacks the endearing qualities we would see in Hoss, but it is still fun to see Blocker on screen with the Stooges.

    In this short, Blocker first appears around the 7:45 mark looking very un-Hoss-like. Check it out.

    Blocker died at the age of 43 in 1972 of a pulmonary embolism after gall bladder surgery. At the time, Bonanza was about to start filming its final season. Although actor Lorne Greene did not think the show could continue without Blocker, the show completed that season.

    The series, of course, had to address the absence of Blocker’s character. So, an episode revealed that Hoss died in an accident. Mental Floss reports the episode as the first time in TV history that a show dealt with the death of an actor and mentioned the death of a character.

    What is your favorite Dan Blocker scene? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Cool Cats Dancing On the Big Screen

    Saturday Night Fever Travolta Check out this short video, “Dancing and Cool in Movies,” compiled by MovieCool.Final2. The video does a good job of exploring how “cool” is expressed in movies though dancing scenes. Movies discussed include Jailhouse Rock (1957), Grease (1978), and Pulp Fiction (1994). Check it out.

    For a full list of the movies in the video, head over to Slate.

    Onscreen dances are used to convey other messages besides cool, of course. I find it hard to select a favorite dance scene from a film, although it is hard to top Gene Kelly in Singin’ in the Rain (1952). Few movie scenes have conveyed the happiness of being in love as well.

    Another film uses dance to show a different type of happiness. When the cast of The Big Chill (a film that had a recent anniversary) begin moving to the Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” one cannot help but smile. Of course, “older” people dancing to the music from their younger days is the antithesis of the “Dancing and Cool in Movies” theme exploring the intersection of hippness and dance. But, like Gene Kelly’s dance, the dance creates a great expression of joy.

    What is your favorite dance scene in a movie? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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