Q: How old was Orson Welles when he made the original broadcast?
A: 23
Q: How much was Howard Koch paid for writing the script for the broadcast?
A: 75$
Q: How long was the actual program time?
A: 45 minutes
Q: Where did the first alien object land in the broadcast?
A: Grover's Mill, N.J.
Q: What was the date of the original broadcast?
A: Sunday, October 30, 1938 (not Halloween night)
Terror grips the Nation!!!
It was said that men staggered into the bars mumbling of the end of the world. During the broadcast Kenny Delmar gave a message, impersonating Roosevelt, as "the Secretary of the Interior" giving emergency instructions, enforcing everyone's belief of impending doom. Patients were treated in a hospital in Newark for shock. A woman in Pittsburg was saved by her husband from attempting to swallow poison. In a small Midwestern town, a power outage sent residents screaming into the streets. And, in Boston, families gathered on their rooftops believing they could see the glow of New York as it burned.
In 1939, a similar script called "Palmetto Fantasy" was broadcast in Charleston, South Carolina on WCSC. The show depicted a deadly anti-aircraft ray that went out of control and plunged into the Santee reservoir supposedly killing hundreds of people. Police stations, newpaper offices and the radio station were overwhelmed with phonecalls from frantic listeners.
Eleven years after the original broadcast in Quito, Ecuador, the panic was revived. A similar script was broadcast over Radio Quito, the most popular station in the city, which was owned by the local newspaper. Reports were given by actors with on-the-scene updates of the monsters that were taking over the city. People crowded the streets, some even in their pajamas, believing the drama was real. Once the broadcasters were notified of the hysteria, they made an announcement that the events were fictictious. Rioting commenced and it took tanks and massive doses of tear gas to clear the crowd, only after the building had been set afire. In this tragic event, twenty people died and fifteen others were injured.
Fifty years after the broadcast Welles' dramatization of the prophecies of 16th-century astrologer Nostradamus circulated on videocassette. Thousands of residents of Los Angeles, California left town fearing the coming of the "planetary alignment," earthquakes, and tidal waves.
Many believe the havoc was caused because of the fact that the number one show in 1938, the Bergen-McCarthy hour was aired at the same time as the Mercury Theatre. Fifteen to twenty minutes into the show, a guest artist, usually a singer, was introduced. It was about this time when listeners began switching the channels and stumbled upon the broadcast already in progress, missing the initial announcement that it was a dramatization. Welles has even been accused of planning for this to happen in order to boost the ratings of the show. The ratings were actually pretty low, but Campbell's Soup Company was so impressed with the show's popularity that it took over sponsorship. This event put Orson Welles on the map and his career took off with his movie "Citized Kane". The rest is history.
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