[removed]

643. Orson Welles and John Houseman signed radio drama agreement. 4 pp typed agreement between Orson Welles and John Houseman dated December 2, 1938 for a performance on radio programs to be sponsored by the Campbell Soup Company. Welles founded the Mercury Theatre with John Houseman in New York City in 1937. After an initial success in theatre productions, the troupe progressed into their best-known period as The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series that included one of the most notable and infamous radio broadcasts of all time, The War of the Worlds, broadcast on October 30, 1938. The notoriety of this broadcast had a welcome side effect of netting the show the sponsorship of Campbell's Soup, guaranteeing its survival for a period, and beginning on December 8, 1938, the show was retitled The Campbell's Playhouse. A wonderful and historic association. $600 - $800