CBS Radio

Radio broadcasting company

CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadcasting since the 1970s.

Welles’ first radio series with full creative control, First Person Singular, aired in 1938, offering one-hour adaptations of literary works like Dracula and The Thirty-Nine Steps. It ran for nine episodes before becoming The Mercury Theatre on the Air.

First Person Singular

Dramatized radio theater anthology

Complete Series

In 1946, Welles produced a short-lived, thirty-minute series sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon. It aired on CBS and featured dramatic adaptations. The first episode was Around the World in 80 Days, which Welles also promoted in his introduction while working on the stage version.

Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air

Dramatized radio theater anthology

Complete Series

The Mercury Theatre on the Air became the Campbell Playhouse after gaining sponsorship from Campbell Soup. The War of the Worlds broadcast impressed them, leading to a new episode adaptation of Rebecca. Welles was praised as a genius and shared his unique radio drama philosophy.

Campbell Playhouse

Dramatized radio theater anthology

Complete Series

The radio home of Welles's ground-breaking Mercury Theatre Company. Following the success of Welles's radio adaptation of Hugo's Les Miserables, CBS requested a 13-episode run with Welles starring and directing, transferring the already well-regarded Mercury Theatre to the radio.