The Mercury Wonder Show

Last updated
Advertising herald for The Mercury Wonder Show (August 1943) Mercury-Wonder-Show-1943.jpg
Advertising herald for The Mercury Wonder Show (August 1943)

The Mercury Wonder Show for Service Men was a 1943 magic-and-variety stage show by the Mercury Theatre, produced by Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten as a morale-boosting entertainment for US soldiers in World War II. Directed by Welles, the show starred Welles ("Orson the Magnificent"), Cotten ("Jo-Jo the Great"), Agnes Moorehead ("Calliope Aggie") and Rita Hayworth, whose part was later filled by Marlene Dietrich. Jean Gabin also worked on the show backstage, as a propman. The show ran to 150 minutes.

Contents

Background

Orson Welles leaving his Army physical examination after being judged unfit for military service (May 6, 1943) Welles-Draft-1943.jpg
Orson Welles leaving his Army physical examination after being judged unfit for military service (May 6, 1943)

In early 1943, the two concurrent radio series ( Ceiling Unlimited , Hello Americans ) that Orson Welles created for CBS to support the war effort had ended. Filming also had wrapped on Jane Eyre and that fee, in addition to the income from his regular guest-star roles in radio, made it possible for Welles to fulfill a lifelong dream. He approached the War Assistance League of Southern California and proposed a show that evolved into a big-top spectacle, part circus and part magic show. He offered his services as magician and director, [1] : 40  and invested some $40,000 of his own money in an extravaganza he called The Mercury Wonder Show for Service Men. Members of the U.S. armed forces were admitted free of charge, while the general public had to pay. [2] : 26  The show entertained more than 1,000 service members each night, and proceeds went to the War Assistance League, a charity for military service personnel. [3]

"It was just like a circus — I would have adored it if I'd been a member of the audience, I know that," Welles later told filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich. [4] : 177 

The development of the show coincided with the resolution of Welles's draft status in May 1943, when he was finally declared 4-F — unfit for military service — for a variety of medical reasons. "I felt guilty about the war," Welles told biographer Barbara Leaming. "I was guilt-ridden about my civilian status." [5] : 86  He had been publicly hounded about his patriotism since Citizen Kane , when the Hearst press began persistent inquiries about why Welles had not been drafted. [6] [7] [8] : 66–67 

Welles's fascination with illusion dated back to childhood; Harry Houdini gave him his first lessons in magic. [9] His 1941 debut at the California State Fair (assisted by Dolores del Río) was a hit and, as "The Ace", he continued practicing his performance skills at vaudeville theaters and army camps. By 1943 Welles had developed a two-hour magic show. [2] : 26 

Rehearsal and previews

George (Shorty) Chirello, Joseph Cotten, Eleanor Counts and Orson Welles Mercury-Wonder-Show-Welles-Cotten.jpg
George (Shorty) Chirello, Joseph Cotten, Eleanor Counts and Orson Welles

The show's name was a nod to Howard Thurston's The Wonder Show of the Universe. Welles adapted at least five of Thurston's illusions for his own show, and adopted his use of showgirls as stage extras. [11] : 162–163 

For The Mercury Wonder Show, Welles selected Rita Hayworth, one of the most popular women in motion pictures, as his chief assistant. [1] : 40  [2] : 26  In April 1943 he began teaching illusions to Hayworth, who was then living with him. [11] : 163  The couple practiced the Houdini Substitution Trunk routine in the 125-seat private theater of Bill Larsen, a successful Los Angeles attorney and magician who operated Thayer's Studio of Magic. [11] : 163 

Other cast included co-producer Joseph Cotten and, in his stage debut as comedy assistant, Welles's chauffeur, George (Shorty) Chirello. [11] : 165  Welles hired Keye Luke — an accomplished visual artist as well as an actor — to design culturally authentic scenery and graphics, in contrast to the fake-Oriental visuals typically seen in Western magic shows. [11] : 167 

The show was rehearsed for 17 weeks. [1] : 40  Welles leased the Playtime Theatre (later the Las Palmas Theatre), a 350-seat house in Hollywood. Welles initially planned a moderate-sized magic show, open only to service members, that would run six weeks at the theatre and then tour army camps. [11] : 164–165  Welles and the cast rehearsed from 7 p.m. until 2 or 3 a.m.; back home, Welles would spend the rest of the night improving the magic act and working out new bits of business. He tested 18 different openings before he was satisfied. [11] : 167 

Previews began in June. [5] : 87  As the show came together Welles began calling it "the biggest magic show on earth", and the cast and crew grew to 31 people. [11] : 164–165  Welles bought or commissioned $26,000 worth of props and put $14,000 into the tent, scenery, costumes and rental of circus equipment. He also rented an entire menagerie, from a canary to a lion. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer donated the venue, a lot near the Hollywood Canteen on Cahuenga Boulevard. [1] : 40 

Production

Mercury-Wonder-Show-Welles.jpg
"Hello, suckers!" Orson the Magnificent welcomes the audience to The Mercury Wonder Show [10] : 56 
Welles-Hayworth-Cotten-1943.jpg
Wedding of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, with best man Joseph Cotten (September 7, 1943)

Last year Mr. Welles went to work for Lockheed — building airplanes by acting, producing and a directing a radio show. With this stint of vocal welding and literate riveting behind him he was ripe for a magic show of his own, to be full of sound and fury, corn and canaries. The night of Aug. 3 saw that show light up the Los Angeles dimout.

—  The New York Times Magazine , August 29, 1943 [12]

The Mercury Wonder Show ran August 3–September 9, 1943, in an 80-by-120-foot tent [3] located at 9000 Cahuenga Boulevard, in the heart of Hollywood. [2] : 26  [4] : 377  The brand-new, two-pole Big Top offered 1,100 bleacher seats — all of them free — to service members. In the center were 400 folding chairs for the public, with tickets priced at $1.65 to $5.50 for adults and 55 cents for children. For opening night only, the public seats were $5.50 and $11. [11] : 170  Charity-minded Hollywood celebrities could pay $30 (the equivalent of $528 today) for one of the 25 to 30 seats in the sucker section; [4] : 177  it cost $50 or $100 for one of the two super-sucker seats nailed down directly behind the massive tent poles. [11] : 171  Welles recalled subjecting this highest-paying public — "usually Sam Goldwyn or Jack Warner or somebody like that" — to humiliations that included having eggs broken over their heads. "And they had to pretend it was all good fun, because our boys in khaki were there, you know. We really gave it to them." [4] : 177 

After performing in the official premiere August 3, [11] : 171, 177  Rita Hayworth was thereafter forbidden to appear in The Mercury Wonder Show by Columbia boss Harry Cohn. When her lawyer confirmed that Hayworth could indeed be sued for breach of contract — filming was then under way for Cover Girl — Welles persuaded her not to jeopardize her entire career by going on anyway, as she vowed to do. [5] : 88  He phoned his friend Marlene Dietrich and asked her to fill in. "Come teach me the tricks and I do it," Dietrich replied. [5] : 89  "She was the good soldier of all time," Welles said. [13] : 268 

At intermission September 7, 1943, KMPC radio interviewed audience and cast members of The Mercury Wonder Show — including Welles and Hayworth, who were married earlier that day. Welles remarked that The Mercury Wonder Show had been performed for approximately 48,000 members of the U.S. armed forces. [4] : 378  [14] : 129 

Looking back on the experience 30 years later, Welles said the show was primarily made "for fun", but that "it's one of our great works" and that the Mercury Theatre were "as proud of that as anything we ever did." [4] : 177 

A reduced version toured army bases around the U.S. Several episodes of the 1944 CBS Radio show The Orson Welles Almanac that were performed live before audiences of servicemen were also called the Mercury Wonder Show. [15] [16]

Cultural references

"The Trunk Murder"

Welles wrote, directed and performed in a plug for The Mercury Wonder Show that ran in Look magazine November 16, 1943. In "The Trunk Murder", the magician solves the double murder of Joseph Cotten and showgirl assistant Eleanor Counts. George (Shorty) Chirello, Death Valley Mack, Merry Hamilton and Tommy Hanlon Jr. appear in the five-photo crime puzzle. "Don't be embarrassed if you can't work it," readers are advised, "since [Welles] admits he has never yet solved a LOOK Photocrime." [10] [11] : 637 

Follow the Boys

Poster for Follow the Boys (1944) Follow the Boys Poster01.jpg
Poster for Follow the Boys (1944)

A portion of the stage show was filmed and included in the 1944 variety film, Follow the Boys . The film segment was directed by Welles, uncredited.

Welles and Dietrich agreed to appear in the film while The Mercury Wonder Show was still running. The seven-minute segment was shot on the Universal lot in late September 1943. Welles traded his robe and fez for white tie and tails, and brought along a crew from the show — Shorty Chirello, Tommy Hanlon, Professor Bill and his Circus Symphony, Death Valley Mack, two female assistants and eight chorus girls. Welles performed a few illusions; his own appearance on stage and the comic version of the sawing-a-woman-in-half illusion featuring Dietrich were achieved with trick photography. [11] : 184  Welles received $30,000 for his part in the film. The segment was to be shot in four or five days, but Welles stretched filming to 16 days to give additional pay to his crew. [11] : 185–186 

Memorabilia

A framed copy of the playbill for The Mercury Wonder Show was sold at auction October 31, 2002, for $1,610. [17] In an auction April 26, 2014, the advertising herald was sold for $1,062.50; [18] the item was among those found in boxes and trunks of Welles's personal possessions by his daughter Beatrice Welles. [19]

A scrapbook kept by George (Shorty) Chirello was offered as part of the "TCM Presents … There's No Place Like Hollywood" auction November 24, 2014, at Bonhams in New York. Chirello worked for Welles from about 1942 to 1952; his scrapbook begins in August 1943 with clippings about The Mercury Wonder Show, and includes a copy of the playbill. Chirello managed props for the show, [20] and acted as Welles's comedy assistant on stage and in the film Follow the Boys. [11] : 165, 184  The scrapbook and a directors chair inscribed "Orson Welles" were sold as a single lot and brought $13,750 at auction. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Cotten</span> American actor (1905–1994)

Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of The Philadelphia Story (1939) and Sabrina Fair (1953). He then gained worldwide fame for his collaborations with Orson Welles on three films, Citizen Kane (1941), The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), and Journey into Fear (1943), which Cotten starred in and for which he was also credited with the screenplay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orson Welles</span> American actor and filmmaker (1915–1985)

George Orson Welles was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Houdini</span> Hungarian-American escapologist and stuntperson

Erik Weisz, known as Harry Houdini, was a Hungarian-American escape artist, illusionist, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Henning</span> Canadian illusionist (1947–2000)

Douglas James Henning was a Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rita Hayworth</span> American actress (1918–1987)

Rita Hayworth was an American actress. She achieved fame in the 1940s as one of the top stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and appeared in 61 films in total over 37 years. The press coined the term "The Love Goddess" to describe Hayworth after she had become the most glamorous screen idol of the 1940s. She was the top pin-up girl for GIs during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Copperfield (illusionist)</span> American magician (born 1956)

David Seth Kotkin, known professionally as David Copperfield, is an American magician, described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Stewart (actor)</span> American actor (1908–1986)

Paul Stewart was an American character actor, director and producer who worked in theatre, radio, films and television. He frequently portrayed cynical and sinister characters throughout his career.

This timeline of magic is a history of the performing art of illusion from B.C. to the present.

<i>The Magnificent Ambersons</i> (film) 1942 film by Orson Welles, Robert Wise

The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1942 American period drama written, produced, and directed by Orson Welles. Welles adapted Booth Tarkington's Pulitzer Prize–winning 1918 novel about the declining fortunes of a wealthy Midwestern family and the social changes brought by the automobile age. The film stars Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead and Ray Collins, with Welles providing the narration.

<i>The Other Side of the Wind</i> 2018 satirical drama film

The Other Side of the Wind is a 2018 satirical drama film co-written, co-edited, and directed by Orson Welles, and posthumously released in 2018 after 48 years in development. The film stars John Huston, Bob Random, Peter Bogdanovich, Susan Strasberg, and Oja Kodar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Dietrich</span> American stage magician and escapologist (born 1969)

Dorothy Dietrich is an American stage magician and escapologist, best known for performing the bullet catch in her mouth and the first woman to perform a straitjacket escape while suspended hundreds of feet in the air from a burning rope. She was the first woman to gain prominence as an escape artist since the days of Houdini, breaking the glass ceiling for women in the field of escapes and magic.

<i>Journey into Fear</i> (1943 film) 1943 film by Norman Foster

Journey into Fear is a 1943 American spy film noir directed by Norman Foster, based on the 1940 Eric Ambler novel of the same name. The film broadly follows the plot of the book, but the protagonist was changed to an American engineer, and the destination of his journey changed from France to the Soviet Union - reflecting the changes in the war situation since the original Ambler book was written. The RKO Pictures release stars Joseph Cotten, who also wrote the screenplay with Orson Welles. The Mercury Production was also produced by Welles, again uncredited.

<i>Orson Welles Sketch Book</i> British TV series or programme

Orson Welles' Sketch Book is a series of six short television commentaries by Orson Welles for the BBC in 1955. Written and presented by Welles, the 15-minute episodes present the filmmaker's commentaries on a range of subjects. Welles frequently draws from his own experiences and often illustrates the episodes with his own sketches.

<i>The Orson Welles Show</i> (radio series)

The Orson Welles Show (1941–42), also known as The Orson Welles Theater, Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater and the Lady Esther Show, was a live CBS Radio series produced, directed and hosted by Orson Welles. Broadcast Mondays at 10 p.m. ET, it made its debut September 15, 1941. Its last broadcast was February 2, 1942.

George Schindler is an American stage magician, magic consultant, comedian, actor, ventriloquist and writer based in New York. In addition to creating noteworthy illusions and publishing many books on magic, Schindler has performed at venues around the world and is currently "lifetime dean" of the Society of American Magicians, having previous tenure in the "S.A.M. Hall of Fame" as well as president and spokesperson. From the 1950s to the 1960s, he had also been a frequent contributor to Billboard Magazine's comedy, magic and vaudeville columns.

<i>Ceiling Unlimited</i>

Ceiling Unlimited (1942–1944) is a CBS radio series created by Orson Welles and sponsored by the Lockheed-Vega Corporation. The program was conceived to glorify the aviation industry and dramatize its role in World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orson Welles radio credits</span>

This is a comprehensive listing of the radio programs made by Orson Welles. Welles was often uncredited for his work, particularly in the years 1934–1937, and he apparently kept no record of his broadcasts.

Radio is what I love most of all. The wonderful excitement of what could happen in live radio, when everything that could go wrong did go wrong. I was making a couple of thousand a week, scampering in ambulances from studio to studio, and committing much of what I made to support the Mercury. I wouldn't want to return to those frenetic 20-hour working day years, but I miss them because they are so irredeemably gone.

Magic Trick is a short film made in 1953 by Orson Welles, for use in a show by magician Richard Himber. It involves Welles on-screen interacting with Himber off-screen as the two play a card trick, and would have been projected life-size during Himber's touring stage show in the 1950s.

<i>The Orson Welles Almanac</i> 1944 radio series

The Orson Welles Almanac is a 1944 CBS Radio series directed and hosted by Orson Welles. Broadcast live on the Columbia Pacific Network, the 30-minute variety program was heard Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET January 26 – July 19, 1944. The series was sponsored by Mobilgas and Mobiloil. 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 performances of the all-star jazz band that Welles brought together for the show were an important force in the revival of traditional New Orleans jazz in the 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orson Welles theatre credits</span>

This is a comprehensive listing of the theatre work of Orson Welles.

There isn't one person, I suppose, in a million, who knows that I was ever in the theatre.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Charvet, David, "Orson Welles and The Mercury Wonder Show". Magic, An Independent Magazine for Magicians , Volume 2 Number 12, August 1993
  2. 1 2 3 4 Wheldon, Wynn Pierce, "Orson Welles the Magician". Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine , Volume 63 Number 2, February 15, 2000
  3. 1 2 Welles Dishes Magic, Sawdust at Mercury Bow. Abbott, Sam, Billboard, August 14, 1943, page 4. 14 August 1943. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Welles, Orson, and Peter Bogdanovich, edited by Jonathan Rosenbaum, This is Orson Welles . New York: HarperCollins Publishers 1992 ISBN   0-06-016616-9.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Leaming, Barbara, If This Was Happiness: A Biography of Rita Hayworth. New York: Viking, 1989 ISBN   0-670-81978-6
  6. ↑ "Orson Welles Rejected by Army (May 6, 1943)". Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2011. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  7. ↑ "70 years ago: Orson Welles' patriotism, military service made headlines". Wellesnet, May 3, 2013. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  8. ↑ McBride, Joseph, What Ever Happened to Orson Welles? A Portrait of an Independent Career. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2006, ISBN   0-8131-2410-7
  9. ↑ "Orson Welles Sketch Book Transcripts, Episode 4". Orson Welles' Sketch Book at Wellesnet: The Orson Welles Web Resource. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  10. 1 2 3 Welles, Orson (November 16, 1943). "The Trunk Murder: Orson the Great summons up corpses". Look . 7 (23): 56, 58–59, 68.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Whaley, Barton, Orson Welles: The Man Who Was Magic. Lybrary.com, 2005, ASIN   B005HEHQ7E
  12. ↑ Berch, Barbara, "Orson the Great". The New York Times Magazine , August 29, 1943, page 11.
  13. ↑ Leaming, Barbara (1985). Orson Welles, A Biography . New York: Viking Press. ISBN   978-0-618-15446-3.
  14. ↑ Wood, Bret, Orson Welles: A Bio-Bibliography. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1990 ISBN   0-313-26538-0
  15. ↑ "Orson Welles Almanac—Part 1". Internet Archive . Retrieved 2014-02-09.
  16. ↑ "Orson Welles Almanac—Part 2". Internet Archive . Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  17. ↑ "The Mercury Wonder Show for Service Men. Orson the Magnificent. (Lot 241)". Magic—The Manny Weltman Houdini Collection (Sale 1949), Swann Galleries . Retrieved 2014-06-09.
  18. ↑ "An Orson Welles Herald from The Mercury Wonder Show, 1943 (Lot 46018)". Entertainment & Music Memorabilia Signature Auction, New York (#7089), Heritage Auctions. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  19. ↑ Tang, Terry (March 31, 2014). "Orson Welles' camera, other items up for auction". Associated Press . Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  20. ↑ "TCM Presents … There's No Place Like Hollywood" (PDF). Bonhams, sale 22196, lot 278, catalog for auction November 24, 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
  21. ↑ "Print Results, TCM Presents … There's No Place Like Hollywood". Bonhams, sale 22196, lot 278, November 24, 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.