American film director and actor Orson Welles (left) photographed with English author H.G. Wells when they met in San Antonio, Texas, on Nov. 30, 1940. The pair were discussing events in Europe when this picture was taken. Wells wrote "The War of the Worlds" which Welles produced as a radio show in 1938. Photo: AP Photo

BOGOTA, Colombia - When the green men from Mars landed in the central plaza of Cotocollao, Ecuador, a stunned nation listened as one of the country's most famous radio personalities was vaporized by a death-ray, and firefighters and police rushed to the sleepy village to confront the invaders.

By the end of that night, 65 years ago this month, the announcer would still be alive but at least six others would be dead as irate mobs discovered they had fallen for a radio hoax - and embarrassed security forces either refused, or were unable, to come to the broadcasters' aid.

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But the program, based on H.G. Wells' classic science fiction novel, had a lesser-known and more deadly ripple effect throughout Latin America, where radio pioneers tried to emulate its success.

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"Once more a radio dramatization of H.G. Wells' imaginative novel, 'The War of the Worlds,' had convinced a gullible citizenry that the earth's gig was up," the magazine reported.

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Jorge Ribadeneira was 19 when Radio Quito staged its own version of the alien invasion. It was Saturday night, and the station was broadcasting a live concert when the musicians were interrupted to announce that an enormous cylindrical object had crashed just north of the capital.

###### As Paez broadcast "live" from Cotocollao's central plaza, a long "green arm" emerged from the alien craft, and then Paez was fried by a bolt of light.

Ribadeneira, now 83, recalls frightened family members rushing home with news of Paez's death. ###### When they went to visit neighbors, their worst fears seem to be confirmed.

"There were people running around all over the streets and the army and police were heading toward Cotocollao," Ribadeneira said. "My family came back home tremendously frightened."

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In a sense, Ecuador's alien invasion was staged by the long hand of Orson Welles. Six years after the original was aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System, the script was adapted into Spanish for the Chilean market by William Steele, a former writer of the U.S. radio drama "The Shadow." Orson Welles, it turns out, was the original voice of the Shadow, and Steele would undoubtedly have been familiar with his work. ######

Paez was only in his 30s at the time but had already made a name for himself as an artistic powerhouse. He was a poet, playwright, reporter, radio actor and songwriter who composed some of Ecuador's most emblematic music. ######

In the wake of "The War of the Worlds" tragedy, Paez would receive much of the blame. At the time, he was accused of priming the ground for panic by planting stories in the local newspaper and failing to warn the audience that they were listening to fiction.

###### Ximena says her father never tried to hide the fact that it was a radio play, but that the owners of the station tried to frame him as they downplayed their own role in allowing the program to air.

What is known is that on the night of Feb. 12, 1949, the city was seized by panic as the show kept upping the stakes. ###### But there were also real acts that added to the effect. With President Galo Plaza Lasso out of town, someone apparently ordered police and firefighters to head to Cotocollao. ######

It didn't take long for the radio station to realize that it had overplayed its hand, but when it shut down the show and tried to reassure the audience it was just a dramatization, it only enraged the crowd. Soon, a mob surrounded the radio station in downtown Quito, which also housed El Comercio newspaper, and set it ablaze.

###### He was saying 'Please let the firefighters through,' but the people wouldn't let them pass."

Other reports say that the police couldn't respond because they were in Cotocollao.

###### Most of the key players, including Paez, Alcaraz and Beltran, survived. But at least six people died, including the radio's pianist and violin player. ######

For Orson Welles, "The War of the Worlds" was a turning point. The event turned him into an international sensation, and he spun his fame notoriety into a distinguished movie career that included the making of the classic "Citizen Kane."

###### Ecuador launched an inquiry into the event - and according to Ribadeneira and others, Alcaraz fled justice to Mexico, where he worked in the movie industry until his death.

Reports from the time say Paez fled to Venezuela to escape the law, but that's not accurate, his daughter said. ###### In fact, he continued working for an additional six years in Ecuador, winning national theater awards, before moving to Merida, Venezuela, in 1955 to give his children an education. After that, he returned to Ecuador on several occasions, including in the 1980s.

###### When he died at 80 in 1991, he had an unfinished poem in his typewriter.

Ximena said her father never hid his role in "The War of the Worlds," but that it was a bittersweet memory for him.

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