Jack Benny
1942 portrait photograph of Jack Benny.
Birth name	Benjamin Kubelsky
Born	February 14, 1894 (1894-02-14) Chicago, Illinois
Died	December 26, 1974 (aged 80) Beverly Hills, California
Show	The Jack Benny Program
Station(s)	NBC, CBS
Style	Comedian
Country	United States

Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky February 14, 1894 - December 26, 1974) was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film. Events 842 - Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, was a radio-TV comedy series which ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 842 - Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience primarily by making them laugh Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s Radio programming is the content that is broadcast by Radio stations The original inventors of radio such as Nikola Tesla and Guglielmo Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic

Widely recognized as one of the leading American entertainers of the 20th Century, Benny was known for his comic timing and his ability to get laughs with either a pregnant pause or a single expression, such as his signature exasperated "Well!" His radio and television programs, tremendously popular in the 1940s and '50s, were a foundational influence on the situation comedy. Comic timing is use of rhythm and tempo to enhance Comedy and Humor.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Radio 1.2.1 History 1.2.2 Characters 1.2.3 Situations 1.2.4 Sponsors 1.2.5 Writers 1.2.6 Theme music 1.2.7 "Your money or your life" 1.2.8 The Benny-Allen "Feud" 1.2.9 The CBS talent raid 1.3 Television 1.4 Movies 2 Running gags 3 39er 4 Final Years 4.1 Death 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links

Biography

Early life

Benny was born on February 14, 1894 in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in neighboring Waukegan, Illinois. Events 842 - Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Waukegan ( IPA: /wɔˈkigən/ is a city in Lake County, Illinois. He was the son of Meyer Kubelsky, a Jewish haberdasher and Emma Sachs Kubelsky, both of whom had emigrated to America from Lithuania. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for Sewing, such as buttons ribbons and zippers Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Benny began studying the violin, an instrument that would become his trademark, when he was just six, with his parents' hopes that he would be a great classical violinist. The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member He loved the violin but hated practice. By age 14, he was playing in local dance bands as well as in his high school orchestra. Benny was a dreamer and a poor student and he was expelled from high school. He did equally badly in business school and at his father's trade. At age 17, he began playing the instrument in local vaudeville theaters for $7. Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s 50 a week. ^[1]

In 1911, Benny was playing in the same theater as the young Marx Brothers (then known as the "Marks Brothers") and whose mother Minnie Palmer was so enchanted with Benny's musicianship that she invited him to be their permanent accompanist. Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Marx Brothers were a popular team of sibling Comedians who appeared in Vaudeville, stage plays film and television Minnie Schönberg Marx ( November 9, 1865 &ndash September 13, 1929) born in Dornum, East Frisia, was the mother The plan was foiled by Benny's parents, who refused to let their son, then 17, go on the road, but it was the beginning of his long friendship with Zeppo Marx. Herbert Manfred Marx ( February 25, 1901 &ndash November 30, 1979) is best known as Zeppo Marx, the name he used when he performed Benny's wife Mary Livingstone was a distant cousin of the Marx Brothers. Mary is also the name of David Livingstone 's wife Mary Livingstone (born Sadye Marks, June 23, 1906, Seattle

The following year, Benny formed a vaudeville musical duo with pianist Cora Salisbury, a buxom forty-five year old widow who needed a partner for her act. Albert Hirschfeld ( June 21, 1903 – January 20, 2003) was a Jewish American Caricaturist best known for his simple black The AIA award-winning Figge Art Museum opened in Davenport Iowa on August 6 2005 and is the re-named successor to the Davenport Museum of Art which was opened Davenport is a City along the Mississippi River in the American state of Iowa. This provoked famous violinist Jan Kubelik, who thought that the young vaudeville entertainer with a similar name (Kubelsky) would damage his reputation. Jan Kubelík ( July 5, 1880 &ndash December 5, 1940) was a Czech Violinist and Composer. Under pressure from Kubelik's lawyer, Benjamin Kubelsky agreed to change his name to Ben K. Benny (sometimes spelled Bennie). When Salisbury left the act, Benny found a new pianist, Lyman Woods, and re-named the act "From Grand Opera to Ragtime". They worked together for five years and slowly added comedy. They even reached the Palace Theater, the "Mecca of Vaudeville", but bombed. Benny left show business briefly in 1917 to join the Navy during World War I, and he often entertained the troops with his violin playing. Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All One evening, his violin performance was booed by the troops, so with prompting from fellow sailor and actor Pat O'Brien, he ad-libbed his way out of the jam and left them laughing. Pat O'Brien is the name of Pat O'Brien (actor (1899&ndash1983 who appeared in Some Like It Hot and other films Pat O'Brien (New He got more comedy spots in the revues and was a big hit, and earned himself a reputation as a comedian as well as a musician. A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical Entertainment that combines Music, dance and sketches.

Shortly after the war, Benny started a one-man act, "Ben K. Benny: Fiddle Funology". ^[1] But then he heard from another lawyer, this time that of Ben Bernie, another patter-and-fiddle performer who also threatened to sue. Ben Bernie ( May 30, 1891, Bayonne New Jersey - October 23, 1943) born Bernard Anzelevitz, was an American Jazz So Benny adopted the common sailor's nickname Jack. By 1921, the fiddle became more of a prop and the low-key comedy took over. Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar

Benny had several romantic encounters, including one with a dancer, Mary Kelly, whose devoutly Catholic family forced her to turn down Benny's proposal because he was Jewish. Benny was introduced to Mary Kelly by Gracie Allen. Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen ( July 26 1895 Allen used to claim that she was born in 1906 but when pressed for evidence she would say that her birth certificate Later on, years after the split between Mary Kelly and Jack, Mary resurfaced as a dowdy fat girl and Jack gave her a part in an act of three girls: one homely, one fat and one who couldn't sing. This lasted till, at Mary Livingstone's request, Mary Kelly was let go.

In 1922, Jack accompanied Zeppo Marx to a Passover seder where he met Sadye (Sadie) Marks, whom he married in 1927 after meeting again on a double-date. Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Herbert Manfred Marx ( February 25, 1901 &ndash November 30, 1979) is best known as Zeppo Marx, the name he used when he performed Passover ( Hebrew, Yiddish: פֶּסַח Pesach, Tiberian: pɛsaħ Israeli: Pesah, Pesakh, Yiddish The Passover Seder Meal ( Hebrew: סֵדֶר seðɛɾ "order" "arrangement" is a Jewish ritual feast held on the first (and for some the She was working in the hosiery section of May's department store and Benny would court her there. ^[1] Called on to fill in for the "dumb girl" part in one of Benny's routines, Sadie proved a natural comedienne and a big hit. Adopting Mary Livingstone as her stage name, Sadie became Benny's collaborator throughout most of his career (according to Fred Allen's book on vaudeville, Much Ado About Me, it was a custom for vaudeville comics to put their wives into the act once married, in order to save on expenses and so that the marital partners could keep an eye on each other). Fred Allen (born John Florence Sullivan May 31 1894 - March 17, 1956) was an American Comedian whose absurdist They later adopted a daughter, Joan.

In 1929, Benny's agent Sam Lyons convinced MGM's Irving Thalberg to catch Benny's act at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Irving Grant Thalberg ( May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an Academy Award -winning American Film producer The Orpheum Theatre on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles California, opened on February 15, 1926 as the fourth and final Los Angeles venue for the Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Benny was signed to a five-year contract and his first film role was in The Hollywood Revue of 1929. The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is an American Musical film / Comedy motion picture released in 1929. His next movie, Chasing Rainbows, was a flop and after several months, Benny was released from his contract and returned to Broadway in Earl Carroll's Vanities. Earl Carroll ( September 16, 1893 – June 17, 1948) was an American theatrical producer director songwriter and composer born At first dubious about the viability of radio, by this time Benny was eager to break into the new medium. In 1932, after a four-week nightclub run, he was invited onto Ed Sullivan's radio program, uttering his first radio spiel "This is Jack Benny talking. Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan ( September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American Entertainment Writer There will be a slight pause while you say, 'Who cares?'. . . "^[1]

Radio

History

Benny had been only a minor vaudeville performer, but he became a national figure with The Jack Benny Program, a weekly radio show which ran from 1932 to 1948 on NBC and from 1949 to 1955 on CBS, and was consistently among the most highly rated programs during most of that run. The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, was a radio-TV comedy series which ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century The year 1932 saw a number of significant events in Radio broadcasting. The year 1948 saw a number of significant events in Radio broadcasting. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's The year 1949 saw a number of significant events in Radio broadcasting. The year 1955 saw a number of significant events in Radio broadcasting. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. ^[2]

With Canada Dry Ginger Ale as a sponsor, Benny came to radio on The Canada Dry Program, beginning May 2, 1932, on the NBC Blue Network and continuing there for six months until October 26, moving the show to CBS on October 30. Canada Dry is a Brand of Soft drinks marketed by Dr Pepper/Seven Up, a unit of Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Ginger ale is a Soft drink flavored with Ginger. History Ginger beer, a strongly flavoured fermented product appeared in the British Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. The year 1932 saw a number of significant events in Radio broadcasting. The Blue Network was the on-air name of an American radio production and distribution service from 1942 to 1945 which traced its formal origins back to 1927 Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. Events 637 - Antioch surrenders to the Muslim forces under Rashidun Caliphate after the Battle of Iron bridge. With Ted Weems leading the band, Benny stayed on CBS until January 26, 1933. Wilfred Theodore (Ted Weems (originally Wemyes ( 26 September, 1901 - 6 May, 1963) was a United States Bandleader and Events 1340 - King Edward III of England is declared King of France. The year 1933 saw a number of significant events in Radio broadcasting.

Arriving at NBC on March 17, Benny did The Chevrolet Program until April 1, 1934. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Events 45 BC - In his last victory Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger Chevrolet (ˌʃɛvroʊˈleɪ - French origin (also known as Chevy) is a Brand of Automobile, produced by General Motors (GM Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He continued with sponsors General Tires, Jell-O and Grape Nuts Flakes. The General Tire and Rubber Company is an American manufacturer of Tires for Motor vehicles. Jell-O is a Brand name belonging to USA -based Kraft Foods for a number of Gelatin desserts including fruit gels Puddings and no-bake Lucky Strike was the radio sponsor from 1944 to the mid-1950s. Lucky Strike is a famous Brand of American Cigarettes often referred to as "Luckies" The year 1944 in radio involved some significant events Events January 11 - Fireside chat: State of the Union

The show returned to CBS on January 2, 1949, as part of CBS president William S. Paley's notorious "raid" of NBC talent in 1948-49. Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. William Samuel Paley ( September 28, 1901 &ndash October 26, 1990) was the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS There it stayed for the remainder of its radio run, which ended on May 22, 1955. Events 334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. The year 1955 saw a number of significant events in Radio broadcasting. CBS aired reruns of old radio episodes from 1956 to 1958 as The Best of Benny. The year 1956 in radio involved some significant events Events Debuts January 22 - Fort Laramie The year 1958 in radio involved some significant events Events February 24 - In Cuba, Radio Rebelde radio of rebels

Characters

Benny's stage character was a clever inversion of his actual self. The character was just about everything the actual Jack Benny was not: cheap, petty, vain and self-congratulatory. His masterful comic rendering of these traits became the vital linchpin to the Benny show's success. Benny set himself up as the comedic foil, allowing his supporting characters to draw laughs at the expense of his stinginess, vanity, and pettiness. A double act, also known as a Comedy duo, is a comic device in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners usually of the same By allowing such a character to be seen as human and vulnerable, in an era where few male characters were allowed such obvious vulnerability, Benny made what might have been a despicable character into a lovable Everyman character. In literature and drama the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily and who is often placed Benny himself said on several occasions: "I don't care who gets the laughs on my show, as long as the show is funny. " In her book, Benny's daughter Joan said her father always said it doesn't matter who gets laughs, because come the next day they will say "Remember the Jack Benny Show, last night, it was good, or it was bad. " So Jack felt he got the credit or blame either way, not the actor saying the lines, so it better be funny.

The supporting characters who amplified that vulnerability only too gladly included wife Mary Livingstone as his wisecracking and not especially deferential female friend (not quite his girlfriend, since Benny would often try to date movie stars like Barbara Stanwyck, and occasionally had stage girlfriends such as "Gladys Zybisco"); rotund announcer Don Wilson (who also served as announcer for Fanny Brice's hit, Baby Snooks); bandleader Phil Harris as a jive-talking, wine-and-women type whose repartee was rather risque for its time (Harris and Mahlon Merrick shared the actual musical chores of the show); boy tenor Dennis Day, who was cast as a sheltered, naive youth who still got the better of his boss as often as not (this character was originated by Kenny Baker, but perfected by Day); and, especially, Eddie Anderson as valet-chauffeur Rochester van Jones — who was as popular as Benny himself. Mary is also the name of David Livingstone 's wife Mary Livingstone (born Sadye Marks, June 23, 1906, Seattle Barbara Stanwyck ( July 16, &ndash January 20,) was an American actress, a star of film and television known during her 60-year career as a Don Wilson ( September 1, 1900 &ndash April 25, 1982) was an American Announcer and occasional actor in radio Fanny Brice ( October 29 1891 – May 29 1951) was a popular and influential American Comedienne, Singer The Baby Snooks Show was an American radio program starring comedienne and Ziegfeld Follies alumna Fanny Brice as a mischievous young girl who Phil Harris (born Wonga Philip Harris) ( June 24, 1904 – August 11, 1995) was an American Singer, Dennis Day ( May 21, 1916, New York City – June 22, 1988, Los Angeles California) born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty Kenneth Laurence "Kenny" Baker ( September 30, 1912 – August 10, 1985) was an American singer/actor who first gained notice Edmund Lincoln Anderson ( September 18, 1905 &ndash February 28, 1977) often known as Eddie "Rochester" Anderson

And that was itself a radical proposition for the era: unlike the protagonists of Amos 'n' Andy, Rochester was a black man allowed to one-up his vain, skinflint boss. Amos 'n' Andy was a situation comedy based on Stereotypes of African-Americans and popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s In more ways than one, with his mock-befuddled one-liners and his sharp retorts, he broke a barrier down for his race. Unlike many black supporting characters of the time, Rochester was depicted and treated as a regular member of Benny's fictional household. Benny, in character, tended if anything to treat Rochester more like an equal partner than as a hired domestic, even though gags about Rochester's flimsy salary were a regular part of the show. (Frederick W. Slater, newsman of St. Joseph, Missouri, recalled when Benny and his staff stayed at the restricted Robidioux Hotel during their visit to that town. When the desk staff told Benny that "Rochester" could not stay at the hotel, Benny replied, "If he doesn't stay here, neither do I. " The hotel's staff eventually relented. ) Rochester seemed to see right through his boss's vanities and knew how to prick them without overdoing it, often with his famous "Oh, Boss, come now!" Benny deserves credit for allowing this character and the actor who played him (it is difficult, if not impossible, to picture any other performer giving Rochester what Anderson gave him) to transcend the era's racial stereotype and for not discouraging his near-equal popularity. A New Year's Eve episode, in particular, shows the love each performer had for the other, quietly toasting each other with champagne. New Year's Eve is on December 31, the final day of the Gregorian year and the day before New Year's Day. Champagne is a Sparkling wine produced by inducing the in-bottle Secondary fermentation of Wine to effect Carbonation. That this attention to Rochester's race was no accident became clearer during World War II, when Benny would frequently pay tribute to the diversity of Americans who had been drafted into service. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including In fact Benny made a conscious effort after the war, once the depths of Nazi race hatred had been revealed, to remove the most stereotypical aspects of Rochester's character. He also often gave key guest-star appearances to African-American performers such as Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter

The rest of Benny's cast included character actors and comedians: Sheldon Leonard (later a hugely successful television producer and creator) as a tight-lipped racetrack tout; Joseph Kearns^[3] as Ed, the superannuated guard to Jack's money vault; Verna Felton as Dennis Day's mother^[4] Frank Nelson, usually as an oily desk clerk or floorwalker, always greeting Benny with an eager Yeeeeeeesss?; singer/bandleader Bob Crosby (who succeeded Phil Harris in the early 1950s); Artie Auerbach as the Yiddish-accented Mr. Sheldon Leonard ( February 22 1907 – January 10, 1997) was a pioneering American Film and Television producer Joseph Kearns ( February 12, 1907 - February 17, 1962) was an American actor who is best remembered for his role as Mr Verna Felton ( July 20, 1890, Salinas California &ndash December 14, 1966, Hollywood California) was an Emmy Frank Brandon Nelson ( May 6, 1911 – September 12, 1986) was an American comedic actor best known for playing put-upon Bob Crosby ( August 23, 1913 Spokane Washington &ndash March 9, 1993 La Jolla California) was an American Kitzel ("hoo, hoo, hoo!"); and the remarkably versatile Mel Blanc, who provided several characters' voices, as well as the famous sound of Benny's aging auto, a rackety Maxwell that was always on the verge of collapsing with a phat-phat-bang! Blanc is probably remembered best, however, as Benny's perpetually frustrated violin teacher, Professor LeBlanc, who was as likely to throw his own and Benny's instrument into the fireplace as he was to have a nervous breakdown before he was out the door. Melvin "Mel" Jerome Blanc ( May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and Comedian The Maxwell was a brand of Automobiles manufactured in the United States of America from about 1904 to 1925 Other musical contributions came in later years from the singing quartet The Sportsmen. In the early days of the program, the supporting characters were often vaudevillian ethnic stereotypes whose humor was grounded in dialects; as the years went by the humor of these figures became more character-based.

Benny's method of bringing a character into a skit, by announcing his name, also became a well-known Benny shtick: "Oh, DEN-nis. . . " or "Oh, ROCH-ester. . . " typically answered by, "Yes, Mr. Benny (Boss)?"

Situations

The Jack Benny Program evolved from a variety show blending sketch comedy and musical interludes into the situation comedy form we know even now, crafting particular situations and scenarios from the fictionalization of Benny the radio star. Anything, from hosting a party to income tax time to a night on the town, was good for a Benny show situation, and somehow the writers and star would find the right ways and places to insert musical interludes from Phil Harris and Dennis Day. (With Day, invariably, it would be a brief sketch that ended with Benny ordering Day to sing the song he planned to do on that week's show. )

One extremely popular scenario that became an annual tradition on The Jack Benny Program was the "Christmas Shopping" episode, in which Benny would head to a local department store. Each year, Benny would buy a ridiculously cheap Christmas gift for Don Wilson from a store clerk played by Mel Blanc. Benny would then have second thoughts about his gift choice, driving Blanc (or, in two other cases, his wife and his psychiatrist) to insanity by exchanging the gift countless times throughout the episode.

For example, in the 1946 Christmas episode, Benny buys shoelaces for Don, and then is unable to make up his mind whether to give Wilson shoelaces with plastic tips or shoelaces with metal tips. After Benny exchanges the shoelaces repeatedly, Mel Blanc is heard screaming insanely, "Plastic tips! Metal tips! I can't stand it anymore!" A variation in 1948 concerned Benny buying an expensive wallet for Don, but repeatedly changing the greeting card inserted -- prompting Blanc to shout: "I haven't run into anyone like you in 20 years! Oh, why did the governor have to give me that pardon!?" -- until Benny realizes that he should have gotten Don a wallet for $1. 98, whereupon the put-upon clerk mentally disintegrates, and in several instances, committed suicide, or attempted to commit suicide ("Look what you done! You made me so nervous, I missed!"). Over the years, in these episodes, Benny bought and repeatedly exchanged cuff links, golf tees, a box of dates, a paint set, and even a gopher trap.

In 1936, after a few years broadcasting from New York, Benny moved the show to Los Angeles, allowing him to bring in guests from among his show business friends — guests as diverse as Frank Sinatra, James Stewart, Barbara Stanwyck, Bing Crosby, Burns & Allen (George Burns was Benny's closest friend), and many others. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (December 12 1915 &ndash May 14 1998 was an American singer and actor James Maitland Stewart (20 May 1908 – 2 July 1997 popularly known as Jimmy Stewart, was an American Film and stage Actor Barbara Stanwyck ( July 16, &ndash January 20,) was an American actress, a star of film and television known during her 60-year career as a Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby ( May 3, 1903 &ndash October 14, 1977) was an Academy Award winning American Popular Burns and Allen, an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife Gracie Allen, worked together as a comedy team Burns & Allen and Orson Welles guest hosted several episodes in March and April of 1943 when Benny was seriously ill with pneumonia, while Ronald Colman and his wife Benita Hume appeared frequently in the 1940s as Benny's longsuffering neighbors. George Orson Welles (May 6 1915 – October 10 1985 was an Academy Award -winning director, writer actor and producer for film stage radio and television Ronald Colman ( February 9 1891 &ndash May 19 1958) was an English Academy Award and Golden Globe -winning actor Benita Hume ( 14 October, 1906 &ndash 1 November, 1967) was an English film actress born in London.

Sponsors

In the early days of radio (and in the early television era, often as not), the airtime was owned by the sponsor, and Benny made a point of incorporating the commercials into the body of the show. Sometimes the sponsors were the butt of jokes, though Benny did not deploy this device as frequently as his friend and "rival" Fred Allen did at the time, or his cast member Phil Harris later did on his own successful radio sitcom. In fact, the show was not officially called The Jack Benny Program for many years; usually, the primary name of the show tied to the sponsor. Benny's first sponsor was Canada Dry Ginger Ale from 1932 to 1933. Later, Benny's sponsors included Chevrolet from 1933 to 1934, General Tire in 1934, and Jell-O from 1934 to 1942. Chevrolet (ˌʃɛvroʊˈleɪ - French origin (also known as Chevy) is a Brand of Automobile, produced by General Motors (GM The General Tire and Rubber Company is an American manufacturer of Tires for Motor vehicles. Jell-O is a Brand name belonging to USA -based Kraft Foods for a number of Gelatin desserts including fruit gels Puddings and no-bake The Jell-O Show Starring Jack Benny was so successful in selling Jell-O, in fact, that General Foods could not manufacture it fast enough when sugar shortages arose in the early years of World War II, and the company had to stop advertising the popular dessert mix. General Foods switched the Benny program from Jell-O to Grape Nuts and Grape Nuts Flakes cereals from 1942 to 1944, and it became, naturally, The Grape Nuts Show Starring Jack Benny. Grape-Nuts is a Breakfast cereal developed by C W Post in 1897 Benny's longest-running sponsor, however, was the American Tobacco Company's Lucky Strike cigarettes, from 1944 to 1955, and it was during Lucky Strike's sponsorship that the show became, at last, The Jack Benny Program once and for all. Lucky Strike is a famous Brand of American Cigarettes often referred to as "Luckies"

Writers

Benny was notable for employing a small group of writers, most of whom stayed with him for many years. This was very much in contrast to other successful radio or television comedians, such as Bob Hope, who would change writers frequently. Bob Hope, KBE KCSG ( May 29, 1903 &ndash July 27, 2003) was an American comedian and actor who appeared in Historical accounts (like those by longtime Benny writer Milt Josefsberg) indicate that Benny's role, like that of Fred Allen, was essentially that of both head writer and director of his radio programs, though he was not credited in either capacity. Milt Josefsberg ( 29 June, 1911 &ndash 14 December, 1987) was a Radio writer for Jack Benny and later for many television

Theme music

During his early radio shows, Benny adopted a medley of "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "Love in Bloom" as his theme music, opening every show. Yankee Doodle Dandy ( is a biographical film about George M Cohan, the actor-singer-dancer-playwright-songwriter-producer-theatre owner-director-choreographer The strange interpolation of "Yankee Doodle Dandy" seems to have been an inside joke at Benny's expense: Jack Warner of Warner Brothers had once promised to cast Jack Benny as George M. Cohan the film Yankee Doodle Dandy (which of course didn't happen, although Warner did cast Benny in "The Meanest Man in the World", based on a Cohan play). This article is about Jack Warner the head of Warner Brothers Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and George Michael Cohan ( July 3, 1878 &ndash November 5, 1942) was a United States Entertainer, Playwright, "Love in Bloom" later became the theme of his television show as well. His radio shows often ended with the orchestra playing "Hooray for Hollywood. " Hooray for Hollywood " is a film Song first featured in the 1937 movie Hollywood Hotel, and which has since become the staple soundtrack " The TV show ended with one of two bouncy instrumentals written for the show.

Benny would sometimes joke about the appropriateness of "Love in Bloom" as his theme song. On a segment often played in Tonight Show retrospectives, Benny talks with Johnny Carson about this. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was a late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the ''Tonight Show'' franchise from 1962 Benny says he has no objections to the song in and of itself, only as his theme. Proving his point, he begins reciting the lyrics slowly and deliberately: "Can it be the trees. That fill the breeze. With rare and magic perfume. " Pause. "Now what the hell has that got to do with me?"

"Your money or your life"

A master of the carefully timed, pregnant pause, Benny and his writers used it to set up what is popularly (but incorrectly) believed to be the longest laugh in radio history. It climaxed an episode (broadcast March 28, 1948) in which Benny borrowed neighbor Ronald Colman's Oscar and was returning home when accosted by a mugger (voiced by comedian Eddie Marr). Ronald Colman ( February 9 1891 &ndash May 19 1958) was an English Academy Award and Golden Globe -winning actor "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. After asking for a match to light a cigarette, the mugger demanded, "Don't make a move, this is a stickup. Now, come on. Your money or your life. " Benny paused, and the studio audience—knowing his skinflint character—laughed. The robber then repeated his demand: "Look, bud! I said your money or your life!" And that's when Benny snapped back, without a break, "I'm thinking it over!" This time, the audience laughed louder and longer than they had during the pause.

The punchline came to Benny staff writers John Tackaberry and Milt Josefsberg almost by accident. John Tackaberry ( 1912-10-09 &ndash 1969-06-24) was a Radio writer for the The Jack Benny Show. Writer George Balzer described the scene to author Jordan R. Young, for The Laugh Crafters, a 1999 book of interviews with veteran radio and television comedy writers:

. . . they had come to a point where they had the line, "Your money or your life. " And that stopped them. . . Milt is pacing up and down, trying to get a follow. . . And he gets a little peeved at Tack, and he says, "For God's sakes, Tack, say something. " Tack, maybe he was half asleep---in defense of himself, says, "I'm thinking it over. " And Milt says, "Wait a minute. That's it. " And that's the line that went in the script. . . By the way, that was not the biggest laugh that Jack ever got. It has the reputation of getting the biggest laugh. But that's not true.

The actual length of the laugh the joke got was five seconds when originally delivered and seven seconds when the gag was reprised on a followup show. In fact, the joke is probably not so memorable for the length of the laugh it provoked, but because it became the definitive "Jack Benny joke"—the joke that best illustrated Benny's "stingy man" persona. The punchline—"I'm thinking it over!"—simply would not have worked with any other comedian but Benny.

The actual longest laugh known to collectors of The Jack Benny Program lasted in excess of 32 seconds. The International Jack Benny Fan Club [1] reports that, at the close of the program broadcast on December 13, 1936, sponsored by Jell-O, guest Andy Devine says that it is the "last number of the eleventh program in the new Jelly series. The most common culinary use for Gelatin is as a main ingredient in varieties of gelatin desserts. Andrew Vabre "Andy" Devine ( October 7, 1905 - February 18, 1977) was a rotund raspy-voiced American Character actor " The audience, who loved any sort of accidental flub in the live program, is still laughing after 32 seconds, at which point the network cut off the program to prevent it from running overtime. The program broadcast September 16, 1951 is reported to have a laugh lasting 35 seconds, but the IJBFC website has a qualifying footnote that is not explained. Events 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January

According to Jack himself, Mary Livingstone got the biggest laugh he ever heard on the show, on the April 25, 1948 broadcast. The punchline was the result of the following exchange between Don Wilson and noted opera singer Dorothy Kirsten:

Don Wilson: Oh, Miss Kirsten, I wanted to tell you that I saw you in "Madame Butterfly" Wednesday afternoon, and I thought your performance was simply magnificent. Dorothy Kirsten (July 6 1910 Montclair New Jersey - November 18 1992 Los Angeles California) was an American operatic spinto Soprano.

Dorothy Kirsten: Well, thanks, awfully. It's awfully nice and kind of you, Mr. Wilson. But, uh, who could help singing Puccini? It's so expressive. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini ( December 22, 1858 And particularly in the last act, starting with the allegro vivacissimo.

Don Wilson: Well, now, that's being very modest, Miss Kirsten. But not every singer has the necessary bel canto and flexibility or range to cope with the high testetura of the first act.

Dorothy Kirsten: Thank you, Mr. Wilson. And don't you think that in the aria, "Un bel di vedremo," that the strings played the cumulto passione exceptionally fine and with great sustunendo?

Jack Benny: Well, I thought--

Mary Livingstone (to Jack): Oh, shut up!

According to Jack, the huge laugh resulted from the long buildup, and the audience's knowledge that Jack, with his pompous persona, would have to break into the conversation at some point.

The Benny-Allen "Feud"

In 1937 Benny began his famous radio "feud" with rival Fred Allen. Fred Allen (born John Florence Sullivan May 31 1894 - March 17, 1956) was an American Comedian whose absurdist Allen kicked the "feud" off on his own show, after child violinist Stewart Canin gave a performance credible enough that Allen wisecracked about "a certain alleged violinist" who should by comparison be ashamed of himself. Benny — who either listened to the Allen show or was told about the crack — answered in kind on his own show, and the two comedians (who were actually good friends in real life) were off and running. For a decade, the two went at it back and forth, so convincingly that fans of either show could have been forgiven for believing they had become blood enemies. But Benny and Allen often appeared on each other's show during the thick of the "feud"; a very close listening should show that, often as not, when one guested on the other's show the guest usually got the better laugh lines. Benny later revealed that his and Allen's writers often met together to plot future takes on the mock feud.

Their playful sniping ("Benny was born ignorant, and he's been losing ground ever since") was also advanced in the films Love Thy Neighbor and It's in the Bag!, but perhaps the climax of the "feud" came during Fred Allen's parody of popular quiz-and-prize show Queen for a Day, which was barely a year old when Allen decided to have a crack at it. Love Thy Neighbour is a British sitcom which ran from 13 April 1972 to 22 January 1977, made by Thames Television It's in the Bag! is a 1945 movie starring radio comedian Fred Allen in his only starring role as the ringmaster of a flea circus whose search Queen for a Day was an American radio and television show. It helped usher in American broadcast listeners' and viewers' fascination with big Calling the sketch "King for a Day," Allen played the host and Benny a contestant who sneaked onto the show using the alias Myron Proudfoot. Benny answered the prize-winning question correctly and Allen crowned him "king" and showered him with a passel of almost meaningless prizes. Allen proudly announced, "Tomorrow night, in your ermine robe, you will be whisked by bicycle to Orange, New Jersey, where you will be the judge in a chicken-cleaning contest. " To which Benny joyously declared, "I'm king for a day!" At this point a professional pressing-iron was wheeled on stage, to press Benny's suit properly. It didn't matter that Benny was still in the suit. Allen instructed his aides to remove Benny's suit, one item at a time, ending with his trousers, each garment's removal provoking louder laughter from the studio audience. As his trousers began to come off, Benny howled, "Allen, you haven't seen the end of me!" At once Allen shot back, "It won't be long now!"

The laughter was so loud and chaotic at the chain of events that the Allen show announcer, Kenny Delmar, was cut off the air while trying to read a final commercial and the show's credits. Kenneth Howard "Kenny" Delmar (b September 5 1910, Boston Massachusetts - d Allen, who was notorious for running overtime thanks to his ad-lib virtuosity, had overrun the clock again.

Benny was profoundly shaken by Allen's sudden death of a heart attack in 1956. In a statement released on the day after Allen's death, Benny said, "People have often asked me if Fred Allen and I were really friends in real life. My answer is always the same. You couldn't have such a long-running and successful feud as we did, without having a deep and sincere friendship at the heart of it. "

The CBS talent raid

Jack Benny had formed a holding company (a tax break major entertainers usually enjoyed in those years), which allowed him to bundle his entire program and personnel into a single commodity. While Benny was top of the proverbial heap on NBC, CBS czar William S. Paley cast a hungry eye upon the comedian. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. William Samuel Paley ( September 28, 1901 &ndash October 26, 1990) was the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS Paley apparently had good reason to believe Benny could be had: he learned that NBC balked at buying a "Jack Benny" package deal when "Jack Benny" was not the star's real name. Paley reached out to Benny and offered him a deal that would allow that package-buy — a tremendous capital-gains tax break for Benny, at a time when World War II had meant taxes as high as 90% at certain high income levels.

But Paley, according to CBS historian Robert Metz, also learned that Benny chafed under NBC's almost indifferent attitude toward the talent that attracted the listeners. NBC, under the leadership of David Sarnoff, seemed at the time to think that listeners were listening to NBC because of NBC itself. To Paley, according to Metz, that was foolish thinking at best: Paley believed listeners were listening because of the talent, not because of which platform hosted them. When Paley said as much to Benny, the comedian agreed. Because Paley also took a personal interest in the Benny negotiations, as opposed to Sarnoff (who had actually never met his top-rated star), Benny was convinced at last to make the jump — and, in turn, he convinced a number of his fellow NBC performers (notably Burns & Allen and Kate Smith) to join him. Kathryn Elizabeth "Kate" Smith ( May 1, 1907 &ndash June 17, 1986) was an American Singer, best known for her rendition

To sweeten the deal for a very nervous sponsor, Paley also agreed to make up the difference to American Tobacco if Benny's Hooper rating (the radio version of today's Nielsen ratings) on CBS fell to a certain level below his best NBC Hooper rating. Nielsen Ratings are audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research to determine the Audience size and composition of television But Benny's CBS debut on January 2, 1949 bested his top NBC rating by several points. Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. NBC, for its part, its smash Sunday night lineup now broken up in earnest, became nervous enough to offer prompt and lucrative new deals to two of those Sunday night hits, The Fred Allen Show and The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show (Benny's bandleader and his singing actress wife now starred in their own hit sitcom, meaning Harris was featured on shows for two different networks), before they, too, got any ideas about jumping ship. The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, a comedy radio program which ran on NBC from 1948 to 1954 evolved from an earlier music and comedy variety program The Fitch Bandwagon

The ironic postscript, according to Metz: Benny and Sarnoff finally met, several years later, and became good friends, with Benny saying that if he could have had this kind of relationship with Sarnoff all those years earlier, when he was Sarnoff's number-one radio star, he never would have left NBC in the first place.

Television

The television version of The Jack Benny Program (which never used the sponsor's name) ran from October 28, 1950 to 1965. Events 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine The year 1950 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1950. The year 1965 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1965. The show appeared infrequently during its first two years on TV, then ran every fourth week for the next two years. For the 1953-1954 season, half the episodes were live and half were filmed during the summer, to allow Benny to continue doing his radio show. Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) From 1955 to 1960 it appeared every other week, and from 1960 to 1965 it was seen weekly. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar.

In September 1954, CBS premiered Chrysler's Shower of Stars co-hosted by Jack Benny and William Lundigan. Events in September It is the start of the academic year in many countries in the Northern Hemisphere. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) It enjoyed a successful run from 1954 until 1958. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Both television shows often overlapped the radio show. In fact, the radio show alluded frequently to its television counterparts. Often as not, Benny would sign off the radio show in such circumstances with a line like, "Well, good night, folks. I'll see you on television. "

When Benny moved to television, audiences learned that his verbal talent was matched by his controlled repertory of dead-pan facial expressions and gesture. The program was similar to the radio show (several of the radio scripts were recycled for television, as was somewhat common with other radio shows that moved to television), but with the addition of visual gags. Lucky Strike was the sponsor. Lucky Strike is a famous Brand of American Cigarettes often referred to as "Luckies" Benny did his opening and closing monologues before a live audience, which he regarded as essential to timing of the material. As in other TV comedy shows, canned laughter was sometimes added to "sweeten" the soundtrack, as when the studio audience missed some closeup comedy because of cameras or microphones in their way. The television viewers learned to live without Mary Livingstone, who was afflicted by a striking case of stage fright — after she had been in show business for many years already. Livingstone appeared rarely if at all on the television show (for the last few years of the radio show, she pre-recorded her lines and Jack and Mary's daughter, Joan, stood in for the live broadcast as the pre-recordings were played), and finally retired from show business permanently in 1958. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Benny's television program relied more on guest stars and less on his regulars than his radio program. In fact, the only radio cast members who appeared regularly on the television program as well were Don Wilson and Eddie Anderson. Day appeared sporadically, and Harris had left the radio program in 1953. Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Benny was able to attract guests who rarely, if ever, appeared on television. In September, 1953, Marilyn Monroe made her television debut on Benny's first program of the 1953-54 season. Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson, June 1 1926 &ndash August 5 1962 baptized Norma Humphrey Bogart also made a rare appearance on the program and even participated in a Lucky Strike commercial written into the story. ^[5] In 1964, Walt Disney was a guest, primarily to promote his production of Mary Poppins. Walter Elias Disney (December 5 1901 – December 15 1966 was a multiple Academy Award -winning American Film producer, director, Screenwriter Mary Poppins is a series of children's books written by PL Travers and originally illustrated by Mary Shepard. Benny persuaded Disney to give him over 100 free admission tickets to Disneyland for his friends, but later in the show Disney apparently sent his pet tiger after Benny as revenge, at which point Benny opened his umbrella and soared above the stage like Mary Poppins. ^[6]

In due course the ratings game finally got to Benny, too. CBS dropped the show in 1964, citing Benny's lack of appeal to the younger demographic the network began courting, and he went to NBC, his original network, in the fall, only to be out-rated by CBS's Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. NBC dropped Benny at the end of the season, though he continued to make periodic specials into the 1970s. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Gomer Pyle USMC is an American Situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25 1964 to May 2 1969 Possibly his last television appearance was in 1974, in which he appeared with Mel Blanc on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson^[7]

In his unpublished autobiography, I Always Had Shoes (portions of which were later incorporated by Jack's daughter, Joan, into her memoir of her parents, Sunday Nights at Seven), Benny said that he, not NBC, made the decision to end his TV series in 1965. Melvin "Mel" Jerome Blanc ( May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and Comedian John William “Johnny” Carson ( October 23, 1925 &ndash January 23, 2005) was an American Television host and Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. He said that while the ratings were still very good (he cited a figure of some 18,000,000 viewers per week. . . although he qualified that figure by saying he never believed the ratings services were doing anything more than guessing, no matter what they promised), advertisers were complaining that commercial time on his show was costing nearly twice as much as what they paid for most other shows, and he had grown tired of what was called the "rate race. " Thus, after some three decades on radio and television in a weekly program, Jack Benny went out on top. In fairness, Benny himself shared Fred Allen's ambivalence about television, though not quite to Allen's extent. "By my second year in television, I saw that the camera was a man-eating monster. . . It gave a performer close-up exposure that, week after week, threatened his existence as an interesting entertainer. "^[1]

Movies

Benny also acted in movies, including the Academy Award-winning The Hollywood Revue of 1929, Broadway Melody of 1936 (as a benign nemesis for Eleanor Powell and Robert Taylor), and notably, Charley's Aunt and To Be or Not to Be. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is an American Musical film / Comedy motion picture released in 1929. Broadway Melody of 1936 is a musical film released by MGM in 1935, despite the title Eleanor Torrey Powell ( November 21, 1912 &ndash February 11, 1982) was an American film actress and dancer of the 1930s and 1940s Robert Taylor (August 5 1911 &ndash June 8 1969 was an American Actor. Charley's Aunt is a Farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 Comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch, about a troupe of actors in Nazi -occupied Warsaw who Benny often parodied contemporary movies and movie genres on the radio program, and the 1940 film Buck Benny Rides Again features all the main radio characters in a funny Western parody adapted from program skits. The failure of one Benny vehicle, The Horn Blows at Midnight, became a running gag on his radio program, although contemporary viewers may not find the film as disappointing as the jokes suggest (Benny plays the trumpet, not the violin). The Horn Blows at Midnight ( 1945) is a comedy fantasy starring Jack Benny, directed by Raoul Walsh and co-starring Alexis Smith,

Benny also was caricatured in several Warner Brothers cartoons including Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (1939, as Casper the Caveman), I Love to Singa (1936, as Jack Bunny), Malibu Beach Party (1940, as himself), Goofy Groceries (1941, as Jack Bunny), and The Mouse That Jack Built (1959). Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur is a 1939 Merrie Melodies animated cartoon short directed by Chuck Jones and produced by Leon Schlesinger I Love to Singa is both the title of a song written by Harold Arlen and E The last of these is probably the most memorable: animation giant Robert McKimson engaged Benny and his actual cast (Mary Livingstone, Eddie Anderson, and Don Wilson) to do the voices for the mouse versions of their characters, with Mel Blanc — the usual Warner Brothers cartoon voicemeister — reprising his old vocal turn as the always-aging Maxwell, always a phat-phat-bang! away from collapse. Robert "Bob" McKimson Sr ( October 13, 1910 &mdash September 29, 1977) was an American Animator, Illustrator In the cartoon, Benny and Livingstone agree to spend their anniversary at the Kit-Kat Club — which they discover the hard way is inside the mouth of a live cat. Before the cat can devour the mice, Benny himself awakens from his dream, then shakes his head, smiles wryly, and mutters, "Imagine, me and Mary as little mice. " Then, he glances toward the cat lying on a throw rug in a corner and sees his and Livingstone's cartoon alter egos scampering out of the cat's mouth. The cartoon ends with a classic Benny look of befuddlement. It was rumored that Benny requested that, in lieu of monetary compensation, he receive a copy of the finished film.

Running gags

Benny teamed with Fred Allen for the best-remembered running gag in classic radio history, in terms of character dialogue. But Benny alone sustained a classic repertoire of running gags in his own right, including his skinflint radio and television persona, his perpetual age of 39, and his atonal violin playing. (His periodic violin teacher, Professor LeBlanc — played by the "Man of a Thousand Voices" Mel Blanc — often cried during their lessons . Melvin "Mel" Jerome Blanc ( May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and Comedian . . when he didn't throw up his hands and threaten some variation of suicide or nervous breakdown. )

A running gag in Benny's private life concerned George Burns. George Burns ( January 20 1896 &ndash March 9 1996; born Nathan Birnbaum) was an American comedian, Actor To Benny's eternal frustration, he could never get Burns to laugh. Burns, on the other hand, could crack Benny up with the least effort. An example of this occurred at a party when Benny pulled out a match to light a cigarette. Burns announced to all, "Jack Benny will now perform the famous match trick!" Benny had no idea what Burns was talking about, so he proceeded to light up. Burns observed, "Oh, a new ending!" and Benny collapsed in helpless laughter.

Benny even had a sound-based running gag of his own: his famous basement vault alarm, allegedly installed by Spike Jones, ringing off with a shattering cacophony of whistles, sirens, bells, and blasts, before ending invariably with the sound of a foghorn. Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones ( December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was a popular musician and bandleader specializing in performing The alarm rang off even when Benny opened his safe with the correct combination. The vault also featured a guard named Ed (voiced by Joseph Kearns) who had been on post down below before, apparently, the end of the Civil War, the end of the Revolutionary War, the founding of Los Angeles, on Jack's 38th birthday, and even the beginning of humanity. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West In one appearance, Ed asked Benny, "By the way, Mr. Benny. . . what's it like on the outside?" Benny responded, ". . . winter is nearly here, and the leaves are falling. " Ed responded, "Hey, that must be exciting. " To which Benny replied (in a stunningly risqué joke for the period), "Oh, no—people are wearing clothes now. "

In one episode of the Benny radio show, Ed the Guard actually agreed when Jack invited him to take a break and come back to the surface world — only to discover that modern conveniences and transportation, which hadn't been around the last time he'd been to the surface, terrorized and confused him. (Poor Ed thought a crosstown bus was "a red and yellow dragon. ") Finally, Ed decides to return to his post fathoms below, and stay there.

The Basement vault gag was also used on an episode of The Lucy Show. The Lucy Show is a Television series which ran from 1962 until 1968

A separate sound gag involved a song Benny had written, "If You Say I Beg Your Pardon, Then I'll Come Back to You. " Its inane lyrics and insipid melody guaranteed that it would never be published or recorded, but Benny continued to try to con, extort, or otherwise inveigle some of his musical guests (including The Smothers Brothers and Peter, Paul and Mary^[8]) to perform it. The Smothers Brothers are an American music-and- Comedy team consisting of the brothers Tom ("Tommy" and Dick Smothers. Peter Paul and Mary (often called PP&M) are a musical group from the United States who were one of the most successful folk-singing groups of the None ever made it all the way through.

In keeping with his "stingy" schtick, on one of his television specials he remarked that, to his way of looking at things, a "special" is when the price of coffee is marked down.

The explanation usually given for the "stuck on 39" running joke is that he had celebrated his birthday on-air when he turned 39, and decided to do the same the following year, because "there's nothing funny about 40. " Upon his death, having celebrated his 39th birthday 41 times, some newspapers continued the joke with headlines such as "Jack Benny Dies - At 39?"

Another popular running gag concerned the social habits of Benny's on-air orchestra, who were consistently portrayed as a bunch of drunken ne'er-do-wells. Led first by Phil Harris and later Bob Crosby, the orchestra—and in particular band member Frank Remley—were jokingly portrayed as often being too drunk to play properly, using an overturned bass drum to play cards on just minutes before a show, and so enamored by liquor that the sight of a glass of milk would make them sick. Remley in particular was portrayed in various unflattering situations, such as being thrown into a garbage can by a road sweeper who had found him passed out in the street at 4am, and on a WANTED poster at the Beverly Hills police station. Crosby himself also got consistent laughs by frequently joking about his more famous brother Bing's vast wealth.

39er

In February 2006, Benny's name appeared in the news again when his fans petitioned to put this famous 39er on the US postal stamp after the standard postal rate for first class letter was increased to 39 cents. (The U. S. Postal Service had issued a stamp depicting Jack Benny in 1991, as part of a booklet of stamps honoring Comedians - however, the stamp was issued at the then-current First Class letter rate, which was 29 cents. )

Final Years

After his broadcasting career ended, Benny performed live as a standup comedian and also returned to films, with a cameo appearance in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World in 1963 and was preparing to star in the film version of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys when his health failed. A cameo role or cameo appearance (often shortened to just cameo) is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the Performing arts, such as It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is a 1963 American Comedy film directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350000 The year 1963 in film involved some significant events Events January 28 - Filming begins on Dr Marvin Neil Simon (born July 4, 1927 in The Bronx, New York City) is an American Playwright and Screenwriter The Sunshine Boys is a play by Neil Simon that was produced on Broadway in 1972 and later adapted for film and television In fact, he prevailed upon his longtime best friend, George Burns, to take his place on a nightclub tour while preparing for the film. George Burns ( January 20 1896 &ndash March 9 1996; born Nathan Birnbaum) was an American comedian, Actor (Burns ultimately had to replace Benny in the film as well and went on to win an Academy Award for his performance). "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film.

Benny made one of his final television appearances in the fall of 1972 on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson when Carson celebrated his 10th anniversary. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was a late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the ''Tonight Show'' franchise from 1962 (an audio recording featuring highlights of Benny's appearance is featured on the album Here's Johnny: Magic Moments From The Tonight Show released in 1973. ) During this appearance he talked about how much he loved the violin that "if God came to me and said 'Jack, starting tomorrow I will make you one of the worlds great violinists, but no more will you ever be able to tell a joke', I really believe that I would accept that. " He also related something Isaac Stern once told him: "You know, Jack, when you walk out in front of a symphony orchestra in white tie and tails and your violin, you actually look like one of the world's great violinists. Isaac Stern ( July 21, 1920 &ndash September 22, 2001) was an American Violin Virtuoso. It's a damned shame you have to play!"

Death

In October 1974, Benny canceled a performance in Dallas after suffering a dizzy spell, coupled with a feeling of numbness in his arms. October events and holidays Children's Book Week ( England) - First Week of October National Day ( China People's Republic Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Despite a battery of tests, Benny's ailment could not be determined. When he complained of stomach pains in early December, a first test showed nothing but a subsequent one showed he had inoperable pancreatic cancer. Events in December Union Day of Romania (1 December World AIDS Day ( December 1) National Day of Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the Pancreas. Each year about 37680 individuals in the United States are diagnosed with this condition and 34290 Choosing to spend his final days at home, he was visited by close friends including George Burns, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra and Johnny Carson. George Burns ( January 20 1896 &ndash March 9 1996; born Nathan Birnbaum) was an American comedian, Actor Bob Hope, KBE KCSG ( May 29, 1903 &ndash July 27, 2003) was an American comedian and actor who appeared in Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (December 12 1915 &ndash May 14 1998 was an American singer and actor John William “Johnny” Carson ( October 23, 1925 &ndash January 23, 2005) was an American Television host and He succumbed to the disease on December 26, 1974 at the age of 80. Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Bob Hope delivered the eulogy at his funeral. Two days after his death, he was interred in a crypt at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. The Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 6001 W Centinela Avenue in Culver City California, USA. Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County California. Mr. Benny's will arranged for flowers, specifically a single long-stemmed red rose, to be delivered to his widowed wife, Mary Livingstone, every day for the rest of her life. A rose is a perennial flowering Shrub or vine of the Genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae, that contains over 100 species Mary Livingstone died nine years later on June 30, 1983. Mary is also the name of David Livingstone 's wife Mary Livingstone (born Sadye Marks, June 23, 1906, Seattle Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar)

In trying to explain his successful life, Benny summed it up by stating "Everything good that happened to me happened by accident. I was not filled with ambition nor fired by a drive toward a clear-cut goal. I never knew exactly where I was going. "^[1]

Notes

References

• New York Times, April 16, 1953, p43,"Jack Benny plans more work on tv. "
• New York Times, March 16, 1960, p75, "Canned laughter: Comedians are crying on the inside about CBS rule that public know of its use. "
• Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone Benny, Hilliard Marks with Marcia Borie, Doubleday & Company, 1978, 322 p.
• Sunday Nights at Seven: The Jack Benny Story, Jack Benny and Joan Benny, Warner Books, 1990, 302 p.
• CBS: Reflections in a Bloodshot Eye, by Robert Metz, New American Library, 1978.
• The Laugh Crafters: Comedy Writing in Radio and TV's Golden Age, by Jordan R. Young; Past Times Publishing, 1999.

External links

• Audio
  • Over 350 episodes of The Jack Benny Program in MP3 format
  • Two broadcasts (East/West) of The Jello Program: "Christmas Shopping for Perfume and a Necktie" (12/17/39)
• Jack Benny at the Internet Movie Database
  • The Jack Benny Program (TV pilot) at the Internet Movie Database
  • The Jack Benny Program (TV series) at the Internet Movie Database
• Jack Benny at Allmovie
• The Jack Benny Program at TV.com
• Jack Benny at the Radio Hall of Fame
• Jack Benny Audio History in The Internet Archive's Old-Time Radio Collection
• Jack Benny at Find A Grave
• International Jack Benny Fan Club
• Online audio and video of Jack Benny
• Copies of Jack Benny's Radio and TV scripts, with handwritten edits
• Free 2 minute download of Humphrey Bogart on the Jack Benny Show
• Jack Benny Middle School
• Jack Benny Center for the Cultural Arts
• "The Friars Club"
• Josefsberg, Milt. Allmovie (previously All Movie Guide) is a commercial database of information about Movie stars movies and television shows. TVcom is a website owned by CNET Networks. The service was launched on June 1 2005 and replaced the popular TV Tome website History The National Radio Hall of Fame and Museum, located in the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago Illinois, is a Museum dedicated The Internet Archive ( IA) is a Nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining an on-line Library and archive of Web and Old-Time Radio (OTR and the Golden Age of Radio refer to a period of Radio programming lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until Find A Grave is a Website allowing its users to access maintain and expand an online Database of Burial records (1977) The Jack Benny Show. New Rochelle: Arlington House. ISBN 0-87000-347-X
• Leannah, Michael, editor. (2007) Well! Reflections on the Life and Career of Jack Benny. BearManor Media. Contributing authors: Frank Bresee, Clair Schulz, Kay Linaker, Janine Marr, Pam Munter, Mark Higgins, B. J. Borsody, Charles A. Beckett, Jordan R. Young, Philip G. Harwood, Noell Wolfgram Evans, Jack Benny, Michael Leannah, Steve Newvine, Ron Sayles, Kathryn Fuller-Seeley, Marc Reed, Derek Tague, Michael J. Hayde, Steve Thompson, Michael Mildredson.

Persondata
NAME	Benny, Jack
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Kubelsky, Benjamin
SHORT DESCRIPTION	comedian, vaudeville performer, and radio, television, and film actor
DATE OF BIRTH	February 14, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH	Chicago, Illinois
DATE OF DEATH	December 26, 1974
PLACE OF DEATH	Beverly Hills, California

Events 842 - Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar.

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