Solution: Welles who narrated an "invasion" - NYT Crossword

Hi, kids! In 1938, a 23-year-old actor/director named ORSON Welles (your parents will know him as the guy who tipsily starred in the 1970s Paul Masson wine commercials) narrated a production of his adaptation of H.G. Welles’s classic novel, “War of the Worlds.” It was not planned as a hoax, but latecomers to the radio broadcast did not hear the introduction that stated that it was a performance. Panic allegedly ensued (Slate argues whether it really happened) and, because this is the way things work in Hollywood, instead of Mr. Welles being reprimanded, the subsequent publicity helped him land a contract to write, direct, produce and star in the cult film “Citizen Kane.” That might not be a weird thing to you kids today, but I’m told that 80 years ago it was pretty confusing.