George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985)

“The War of the Worlds”, Orson Welles’s realistic radio drama
of a Martian invasion of Earth, was originally broadcast live on
the CBS network, Sunday evening, October 30, 1938.

Welles was only 23 years old when his Mercury Theater company
decided to update H.G. Wells’ 19th-century science fiction novel
The War of the Worlds for national radio. Despite his age, Welles
had been in radio for several years, most notably as the voice of
“The Shadow” in the hit mystery program of the same name. “War
of the Worlds” was not planned as a radio hoax, and Welles had
little idea of how legendary it would eventually become.

Orson Welles as he was interviewed after the “War of the Worlds” broadcast in 1938. (Daily News)

Kolchak: The Night Stalker is a television series that aired on ABC
during the 1974–1975 season. The series followed wire service
reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) who investigates
mysterious crimes with unlikely bizarre causes, particularly those
involving  the supernatural or science fiction, including fantastic
creatures.

The series was preceded by the two television movies, The Night
Stalker (1972) and The Night Strangler (1973). Although the series
lasted only a single season, it rapidly achieved cult status and has
remained very popular in syndication.

Chris Carter cited Kolchak as a “tremendous influence” in creating
his franchise The X-Files. Following that success in 2005, The X-
Files producer Frank Spotnitz resurrected the series with a new cast
and characters, as well as subsequent novels and comic books. The
new series was a ratings bomb and was quietly cancelled after only
six of the ten episodes produced were aired.

Darren McGavin ( William Lyle Richardson)
(May 7, 1922 – February 25, 2006)

ED DANAHUE

On this day in 1938, Orson Welles’ "The War of the Worlds" aired on
CBS radio. The belief that the realistic radio dramatization was a live news event about a Martian invasion caused panic among listeners.

Welles takes questions from reporters at a press conference the day
after the broadcast, on October 31, 1938. He told them that no one connected with the broadcast had any idea it would cause panic.

George Orson Welles
(May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985)

CARLATA BRADLEY

In London on this day in 2003, the last commercial supersonic
Concorde flight landed.

"The Last Touchdown." (With British: ‘Union Jack’ Flag & American: ‘Stars & Stripes’ Flag.)

On this day in 2002, The D.C. Sniper suspects were caught at
Myersville rest stop. Law enforcement officers search the car
that John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo were in when
police arrested them at the rest stop along I-70.  

John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo.

"The Bushmaster rifle used by convicted sniper John Allen
Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo is seen at the Montgomery
County Judicial Center after it was entered into evidence
during the murder trial.

The United Nations officially came into existence on this day in 1945, when representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the
United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw
up the United Nations Charter.

Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver

Sigourney Weaver played the resourceful action hero Ellen Ripley (above) in the Alien film franchise beginning in 1979. She also
played Dana Barrett in Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II
(1989) and Dr. Grace Augustine in Avatar (2009).