"I beg pardon, sir, but New Jersey has just fallen."

During Christmas, the BBC rebroadcast the Orson Welles Sketchbook, a series of 15-minute episodes in which Welles tells anecdotes about his life and career illustrated with his own sketches. It's mesmerizing viewing. Some of the stories seem too outlandish to be true. His charisma and keen knowledge of the theater are fully on display, and watch how he captures expressions and mannerisms in his impersonations. There's also a delightfully devilish smile that appears every now and again, almost as a commentary on the person or situation being described. Brilliant.

In this episode, Welles recounts the mayhem that ensued over his broadcast of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds:





Other episodes:
Episode 1/1, 1/2, 2/1, 2/2, 4/1, 4/2, 5/1, 5/2