today is the birthday of perhaps the world's finest radio performer: Orson Welles. He would have been ninety, but then, he wouldn't have been orson.

i think his best effort was the mercury theatre's seven part adaptation of les miserables. he narrated and played jean vel jean, and bernard herrmann did the music. fabulous.

i love all his early mercury theatre shows, as well as his great work on suspense!, and the '50's bbc shows the black museum and the third man. the third man is especially funny, casting harry lime as a loveable rogue, instead of the morally bankrupt scoundrel from the film.

happy birthday, orson.

and, say, if you want to talk about orson all day, join the orson welles tribe. love to have ya.