Richard Wilson

Richard Wilson was an American producer and director best known for his connection with Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. At that he gets a kind of Wellesian medal of honor for his important involvement with the restoration of It's All True, an infamous Welles South American production that basically vanished for half a century. On recordings, Wilson logs a respectable discography as a result of the radio broadcast industry's spinoff success on soundtrack collections dedicated to the historic early days of the industry. Once again the UFO blimp of Welles comes into focus in the era when he hadn't assumed such portly proportions. Wilson's Mercury Theatre collaborations include the notorious War of the Worlds broadcast. Other radio fare this artist was involved with included detective serials, a popular Sherlock Holmes program evidence enough of the high production standards of the day. Holmes and associate Dr. Watson would come in handy as well in telling Welles' Wilson apart from all the other people with this name who likewise have entertainment industry credits. On the Hollywood scene, he should not be confused with the actor of the same name whose best known characterization is grocery store clerk Mr. Whipple. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi