On This Day: The radio invasion that fooled listeners

The news bulletins sounded urgent, and the danger seemed real. But the Martians arriving in America were part of a radio play.

Imagine switching on the wireless and hearing reports of an alien invasion. Without the opening introduction, you might have wondered what on earth was happening.

On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles directed and narrated a radio adaptation of H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds for The Mercury Theatre on the Air.

Broadcast across America on CBS, the drama used simulated news bulletins and eyewitness accounts to tell its story. The familiar delivery gave an extraordinary fictional event the sound of breaking news.

Some listeners believed Martians were invading New Jersey, despite announcements explaining that the programme was a play.

Yet the often-repeated story of nationwide panic deserves caution. A telephone survey that evening found only about two per cent of households surveyed were listening, and most knew it was fiction. Sensational newspaper reports helped establish a much larger legend.

Eighty-eight years later, the broadcast remains a fascinating reminder of how persuasive a trusted voice can be.

The witches arrive on Broadway

On October 30, 2003, Wicked officially opened at New York’s Gershwin Theatre, starring Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth.

The musical reconsidered the witches of Oz through an unlikely friendship, with Defying Gravity among its standout songs. Australian audiences welcomed their own production in July 2008, when Amanda Harrison and Lucy Durack took the leading roles at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre.

A heavyweight comeback

On October 30, 1974, Muhammad Ali reclaimed the world heavyweight title by defeating George Foreman in Kinshasa, in what was then Zaire.

The “Rumble in the Jungle” matched the 32-year-old challenger against a younger, heavily favoured champion. Ali used the ropes to help absorb attacks as Foreman tired, before securing an eighth-round knockout and one of boxing’s most famous victories.

Born on this day

Henry Winkler turns 81, remembered as the Fonz in Happy Days.

Grace Slick, whose distinctive voice powered Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit and Somebody to Love, turns 87.

Harry Hamlin, familiar from LA Law and Clash of the Titans, turns 75.

Do you remember?

Which radio dramas had your family gathered around the wireless?