The Medium and the Magician: Orson Welles, the Radio Years, 1934-1952

by Paul Heyer Wilfrid Laurier University

Overview

Few twentieth-century artists are renowned in such a variety of media as Orson Welles. Well known for his work in film and theater as director, actor, and writer, Welles's influence in the field of radio has often been overlooked for the more glamorous entertainment of his movies. The Medium and the Magician is a comprehensive review of Welles's radio career, devoted to assessing his radio artistry and influence in the field. Paul Heyer offers a new look at the infamous War of the Worlds panic broadcast and a discussion of how Welles's use of sound in radio influenced his motion pictures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461665793
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	01/24/2005
Series:	Critical Media Studies: Institutions, Politics, and Culture
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Paul Heyer is professor of communication studies at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Acknowledgments
Chapter 2 Introduction: A Man for All Media
Part 3 Part I: The Road to CBS
Chapter 4 1 A Voice is Born
Chapter 5 2 Theatrical Notoriety, Radio Anonymity
Chapter 6 3 Mercury Theatre on the Air
Part 7 Part II: Mercury Does Mars: The Panic Broadcast
Chapter 8 4 Genesis
Chapter 9 5 Exodus
Chapter 10 6 Revelation
Part 11 Part III: The Sound in the Fury
Chapter 12 7 Campbell Playhouse
Chapter 13 8 Orson at RKO
Chapter 14 9 The Last Radio Shows
Chapter 15 Epilogue
Chapter 16 Selected Radiography
Chapter 17 Notes
Chapter 18 Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

A very insightful window into a creative period that was all too short.

Communication Booknotes Quarterly

At last Orson Welles's radio work gets the attention it deserves! Paul Heyer makes the compelling case that Welles should be regarded as a formidable creative force in radio as much as he is in film and theater, backing it up with impressive research and a lively, engaging writing style. This fascinating study sheds light not just on Welles's work generally, but on U.S. radio history and the emergence of sound as an art form.

Michele Hilmes

Heyer's brilliance in developing this book is based on formidable research into Welles' creative output, interviews, books, papers, studies, and transcripts of every aspect or person that entered Welles's career.... Impressive

H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online - Anne Leighton

At last Orson Welles's radio work gets the attention it deserves! Paul Heyer makes the compelling case that Welles should be regarded as a formidable creative force in radio as much as he is in film and theater, backing it up with impressive research and a lively, engaging writing style. This fascinating study sheds light not just on Welles's work generally, but on U.S. radio history and the emergence of sound as an art form.--Michele Hilmes, author of Radio Voices: American Broadcasting, 1922-1952

Heyer's brilliance in developing this book is based on formidable research into Welles' creative output, interviews, books, papers, studies, and transcripts of every aspect or person that entered Welles's career.... Impressive--Anne Leighton "H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online "

A very insightful window into a creative period that was all too short.--Communication Booknotes Quarterly

From the Publisher