Today is the 75th anniversary of the Allied invasion at Normandy and one of Orson Welles’ finest wartime radio broadcasts.
Orson Welles’ Almanac was usually a half-hour variety show, but on June 7, 1944, the day after the D-Day landing in France, Welles presented a special dramatic broadcast.
It featured his longtime Mercury Theatre staple Agnes Moorehead as a mother reading a letter to her son.
Many of the shows originated from U.S. military camps, where Welles and his repertory company and guests entertained the troops with a reduced version of The Mercury Wonder Show.
The 30-minute variety program ran from January 26 through July 19, 1944 with recordings of the many surviving episodes now at the Lilly Library in Indiana.
Almanac was sponsored by Mobilgas and Mobiloil.
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