Les Miserables Part I: The Bishop with Orson Welles—07/23/1937

Breaking Walls

On Friday, July 23rd, 1937 at 10PM eastern time from the Mutual Broadcasting System’s flagship station WOR in New York, a seven-part adaptation of Victor Hugo’s famed novel Les Misérables debuted. It was written, directed, and starred a twenty-two year-old Orson Welles. The production also marked the radio debut of the Mercury Theatre troupe It co-starred Martin Gabel as Javert, Alice Frost as Fantine, Virginia Nicolson Welles as the adult Cosette, and Ray Collins, Agnes Moorehead, Everett Sloane, Betty Garde, Hiram Sherman, Frank Readick, and Richard Widmark. Welles' Les Miserables adaptation was considered to be one of the finest dramatic anthologies ever broadcast. It cemented Welles as a very rare "quadruple threat." He could write, produce, direct, and act. The humanizing way in which he played Jean Valjean, emphasized both the tones of the story, and the ability of the actor. Les Miserables increased the cache of the Mutual Broadcasting System, and soon landed Welles another role of a lifetime. On Sunday September 26th, 1937, Three weeks after the broadcast of the final chapter of Les Miserables from WOR, Orson Welles debuted as a new crime-fighting hero, The Shadow, on the same network.