Jack Benny Part 1

[mjpk6269]

This was from Sunday, April 12, 1942.

[BadChizzle]

Ok, yeah... There were no cuss words, so what! Let's get over that aspect and just say it's funny. I Love these old shows. It's fun to hear the old product adds. These players were great at reading their lines and making them sound effortlessly smooth. My hats off to the talent of all of them!

[MrTrucker08]

I wonder if they realized how vital they were to the war effort?

[AvmanM]

Is this meant to be funny?

[TheMightyJeffers]

Myrtle Minklehopper <3

[samking73]

this is real entertainment!!!

[letmewatchdamvids]

The comedy is not to bad, but it would of made it alot funnier if they knew their lines instead of having paper held up to their faces

[marquisdekiel]

@letmewatchdamvids Well, it IS a filmed live radio show. If you've listened to hundreds of the original shows, then seeing this pure gold! Gold, letmewatchdamvids, GOLD! ;)

[melbea03]

@letmewatchdamvids it's a radio show

[felixjazzage]

@letmewatchdamvids

Yes, it was radio, and, as they did it week by week, they often didn't have a lot of time to rehearse.

[1privatepop1]

Just heard the full episode.

[1privatepop1]

There are websites out there where you can listen to almost every radio program he did for free. I picked it up around 1937 and currently up to Jan of '42. Just the best stuff.

[FatDick16]

I'm so glad I didn't grow up in the forties.

If WWII wasn't bad enough..this was my South Park

[felixjazzage]

@FatDick16

One of you Generation Y types wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes back in the 1940s. So, you needn't have suffered long.

[LawrenceDavis]

For a guy who can't even spell correctly (definately?)....you appear to be an all heart/no brain 2011 lefty.

Jack Benny NEVER made a racist remark in his entire life, unlike "Rochester", who once said working for Jack was like picking cotton. Outrageous! But, of course, in 2011 it's quite OK to trash a wonderful human being who filled your bank account, so long as your skin color lets you get away with it. SHAME on you, Arlenbar!!!!

[WormYourHonor64]

jack looks very young... dear god

[longfade]

Wow - I was just listening to the radio broadcast of this earlier today. It's incredible seeing them doing the reading on film! I can't get enough of Jack Benny these days. I'll probably get panned for this, but Mary Livingston almost ruins the JB show for me though. Her voice sounds like a cheap tin bicycle horn and she just sucks the funny out of every bit she's in. Seeing her in person is nice though; a lot less obnoxious than just hearing her.

[TheTeenSleuth]

Gosh Jack Benny is my favorite comedian! I love listening to the old style radio programs and the comedies that come on at 7 in the morning and 7 at night!

[blkchk]

The cool thing about this is if you listen to this on the radio you imagination and their skills really make you think it's a full blown stage. It's almost a shock to see how bare boned the production was. A testimony to their talent.

[dkmckinney1]

This is great.

Thanks for sharing.

[hysangearring]

Jack Benny was pretty progressive for his time. Sure Rochester was his servant, but he was also able to rib Jack just as much as everyone else. Unheard of at the time.

[chumshot1]

@hysangearring spot on

[laybackrockguy]

Jack Benny is my idol! He makes me laugh every time I hear his radio show and watching his show. I can't wait to see his statue at Rancho Cucamonga.

[chumshot1]

@laybackrockguy lucky!!

[leroyinc]

It is interesting how format is so crucial in comedy. The format of this program -- the panel of cast members carrying on a scripted conversation in front of an audience -- is so foreign to modern viewers that it really can't be funny anymore. It seems stilted, but that's just because the format is antiquated.

[layersthemovie]

not his best but the ww2 base audience is cool context. bennys youth seems to take away from the vein star routine todays viewers know best.

#littlebiggy.review

[larkin38]

redbaroniii, you are right most oif todays comedians think they will be funny if they curse and are crude. Try being like Jack Benny. On radio forever and tv forever. And Never an off key remark.

[redbaroniii]

Where are the Jack Bennys today. We live in a time of no true comedy.

[gaelicviking]

Hard to believe that Jack's skirt-chasing, high life-loving, party-animal bandleader (at least that's the character he played) would later gain fame with successive generations of children as Baloo the Bear.

[monkfan72]

@gaelicviking That's what I like about Phil Harris...

[redbaroniii]

@gaelicviking  really?

[gaelicviking]

Yes, and Little John in Robin Hood, and Thomas O'Malley in The Aristocats. In fact, the "hipster" character he portrayed on Jack Benny's show still especially influenced his portrayal of Little John, especially the smooth, slick, jive-talking yet still warm and loyal persona.

[TheBrian005]

my school i s nammed after jackbenny

i go to jackbenny middle school in waukegan IL

[chumshot1]

@TheBrian005 that is so cool!!!

[nr1osfan]

I have many radio shows from the Jack Benny show on the Radio Spirits cassettes. I love listening to them at night as I drift off to sleep. GREAT post. I always wondered what it was like doing a Jack Benny show for the radio. Mind if I ask where did you get this great clip?...Thanks so much again!

[travis7310]

Wow, me too.  I've got them on CD. I checked them out from my library. I've also got some on tape. They're all great!

[milty40]

I could see them making a movie today about Jack Benny.

Kevin Spacey - Jack Benny

Bebe Neuwirth - Mary Livingston

Tracy Morgan - Rochester

Woody Harelson - Phil Harris

Ewan MacGregor - Dennis Day

[chumshot1]

@milty40 OMG That would be EPIC

[Doumbeck]

THIS is great.. too bad that today, the level of the audiance wouldnt find this funny, thanks to the dumbification of america.. Imagine Kay Kaiser playing for today's military LOL

[curtisjones400]

GOOD OLE DAYS-MISS THEM

[waynekoppa]

April 12, 1942. I have the entire show in audio form.

[inkjunkie61]

Camp Haan was across the road from what was then called March Field,later called March Air Force Base,Riverside,Ca

[infrogmation]

Great seeing the Jack Benny cast about a dozen years younger than on the tv show. Thanks for uploading this.

[waynekoppa]

Great video. Any more benny video?

[fffentoozler]

awesome comedic timing!

[FlamingoKicker]

They always made fun of how fat Don Wilson was supposed to be but he's down right svelte here.

[ACcountryFan]

well, that was more or less theater of the mind. for radio listeners a viewer imagined the images from the dialogue they'd hear. on radio Don could be 400 pounds if the sketch called for it. :D

However, he gained a few more pounds by the time the TV show began...he wasn't incredibly over-weight but he wasn't skinny, either. I grew up watching the TV show on PBS...it used to air in reruns for an hour on Saturday, or Sunday mornings.

[ACcountryFan]

I discovered the radio version 6 or 7 years ago when I stumbled across a program on AM radio called "When Radio Was...". Stan Freberg was the host and on that episode was one of Jack's radio shows...and that was really my first exposure to his radio program.

For those who don't know...Mary was Jack's wife but on the show she often played his girlfriend who consistently deflated his ego and complained about his cheapness, etc etc.

[4evernate28]

Personally, I prefer Kenny Baker over Dennis Day. But that's just me...

[ACcountryFan]

wow...I don't think I've ever saw a comment like that. I liked Kenny but for me it's Dennis. I'm curious though...Kenny was only with Jack for a few years before going over to Fred Allen's show...Dennis was with Jack for decades...it makes more sense to prefer Dennis, who was on the show way longer, than one who was on a few years...but that's just me.

[39rc6cf]

Without question, The Jack Benny Program was the best weekly show to ever hit the airwaves.

[lagunahillsgrl]

Was Jack Benny from the 30's

[Xmchord]

His radio show spanned from the 30's to the 50's. His television show in the 50's with appearances in the next two decades. He was born in the late 1890's. So he lived in the 1930's but he wasn't from it.

I hope that helped.

[ACcountryFan]

i'll also add that Jack's radio shows were named for their sponsors. He started in radio in 1932 but most historians cite the 1934 season as his breakthrough year because after a series for General Tire his sponsor became Jell-O and he was signed with the General Foods company for 10 years...hosting "The Jell-O Show", 1934-1942, and "The Grape Nuts Show", 1942-1944. After this, he hosted "The Lucky Strike Program", 1944-1955. In 1949 he moved from NBC to CBS radio...and into CBS-TV in 1950.

[larkin38]

Jack Benny on radio or tv is the funniest comedian ever. And never cursed like modern comedians do. I listen to his radio shows every night while falling asleep.

[ClassicFilmFan]

Me too. His radio shows are simply brilliant!

[waylonward]

Funniest of them all. He never told a joke in the traditional sense, but got lots of laughs by deprecating himself. All this without using foul language!

[alucard2107]

who is this!?

[ericinwisconsin]

Well, if you're seriously asking....

Jack Benny was one of the greatest radio comedians in history. His show ran for about 15 years on NBC radio, and almost as long on CBS radio and television. You'll notice from this that he was almost always the butt of the jokes. He was also one of the sweetest men who ever lived. No one ever had a bad thing to say about Jack Benny. He was as beloved by his peers as he was by the general public.

[alucard2107]

thanks!

[forsythia77]

I think Kevin Spacey would be perfect to play Jack Benny in a movie about Benny.

[derffy60091]

I can see Spacey play Benny. You have a very good point.

[rjc1187]

I would LOVE to see that! I love Spacey!

[Joseph88keyz]

Now THIS is comedy.Classic.

[aramirez]

can anyone see how gay he is?

I mean, he really was.

He use to take trips with the conductor of his orchestra.

[gscott1972]

i thought i was the only one who noticed! no one ever brings that up! i mean who has a black man-servant? and the running joke on the tv show is that he's a career bachelor. that must have been what they used to call gays. and the kicker for me was watching jack introduce his guests for next weeks show... his guests will be liberace and rock hudson!

[Padiwan2]

I wish that this had been a little longer and included the skits, Phil actually conducting a song with the orchestra and Dennis' song. It's one fabulous clip. Jack and Phil are just hilarious with their witty bantering. It's videos like this that makes me miss the Jack Benny Group more.

[Arlenbr]

Wow! No vulgar language, no hostility, no racist comments, no picking on blonds, and in general as friendly an act as you'll find anywhere, and Jack Benny is still funny. Hmmm. Imagine that.

[DAVIDINTEL]

You're so right, I wish I was alive back during these years. How far comedy has fallen since!

[unbridledenthusiasm]

I have no problem with any of the things you mentioned, but I agree, they are no replacement for creativity and intelligence.

[elderlyoungster]

@Arlenbr

Actually he had occasional racist comments towards rochester, but he is definately the greatest comedian ever.

[Jazzanswer]

@elderlyoungster

I never heard Jack make a racist comment toward Eddie Anderson. Never.

[elderlyoungster]

@Jazzanswer

They were subtle, like announcing the next show would be in "tecnicolor" and then rochester says "Hello Boss" Implying he was tacnicolor. But those jokes were few and far between.

[dilmao]

@Arlenbr You know, you may think you're making a poignant observation pointing out the cleanness and focus on the word in these wonderful routines, but there equally gifted comedians in the same vein today, so you are in fact just revealing ignorance.

[dancebandleader]

@dilmao Who are these currently gifted comedians ? A great many of us are not ignorant,

but current comics that are FUNNY are not immediately apparent.

[dilmao]

@dancebandleader Ready? Two original comics are Andy Kindler, the greatest, and his natural heir Zach Galifianakis (his stand up beats the hell out of all his movie work, obviously). Other funny stand up comics are Jimmy Carr, a master joke writer and joke teller, Dom Irrera and Steven Wright are still hilarious, Todd Barry is great and decievingly clever, Mike DeStefano actually has some of Richard Pryor's pathos, raw and real with a healthy dose of Goodfellas-type attitude. There are many!:D

[dilmao]

@Arlenbr @Arlenbr You know, you may think you're making a poignant observation pointing out the cleanness and focus on the word in these wonderful routines, but there are equally gifted comedians working in the same vein today, so you are in fact just revealing ignorance.

[Pennywisea]

@Arlenbr you should have heard Jack off the radio :P

[caseyspaos]

@Pennywisea

huh-huh-huh ~ You said 'jack off the radio'.

[QuincyAnn2]

Thanks. This is great!

Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Dennis Day should be added to the tags.

[HugoGernsback]

Jack was not cheap

Bob Hope was cheap

when Bob Hope was paying his writers

$50 to $100 a week

Jack Benny was paying his writers

$1,000 a week

[mprogers]

And worth every penny. I've listened to both on XM Radio for years, and have found Jack Benny to be much, much funnier. Jack's writers were fantastic, his supporting actors and actresses great, and, of course, there was always Jack's seemingly effortless timing. What a comedian!

[rockgor]

Hugo, I read a book w/ interviews of comedy writers. Many of them said Jack was the greatest boss. He paid them well and gave them credit. And several said Red Skelton was the worst. Once when Jack was a guest on Fred's show and Fred delivered the usual insult, Jack said, "You wouldn't dare say that if my writers were here." I remember when Jack and Fred were current radio shows. Tx 4 the post

[laybackrockguy]

@HugoGernsback LOL! Who do you like more Jack or Bob? To me; Jack Benny always make me laugh more than Bob Hope. I even have a podcast of Jack Benny radio show download on my PSP. LOL. It is funnier when Jack and Bob are doing a show together.

[fromthesidelines]

This script was written by Bill Morrow & Ed Beloin, Jack's key writers between 1939 and '43- his stable of writers were among the best in the business, and he paid them very well...

[sdyankton]

Everyone should get Sirius Satellite Radio and listen to Jack Benny, Great Gildersleeve, Fred Allen, etc. every night! It's the best

.43 cents a day one could spend!

[BubbleGumSinger1]

Benny & Harris. AWESOME. Very funny. I miss this kind of humor. Smart, funny and they don't rely on constant sex jokes.

[39rc6cf]

It was the best radio program ever. What came out of our radio speakers beat TV by miles.

[MechaBlazeEagle]

Thank you for posting this, It gives this 28 year old some great laughs!

[happyholler]

does anyone have : Si ,So ,Sue that jack benny did ?

[Flowbee79]

Mary Livingstone, born Sadie Marks, was a cousin of the Marx Brothers. She was a great part of the comedy gang. She brought a great slice of feminity to it, but could joke like she was one of the boys, as well. Bloopers on this show were always fun, especially the way they joked about it to sweep it up. It was like improvisation laughing at itself.

[visor109]

In the opening scene, Jack looks like Glen Miller.

[ePhilosopher]

i saw it in passing

[MoontideJM]

It is indeed live.

[BrooklynJackBlue]

You know, I hate to say, but I'm pretty sure this wasn't live, and...well, it's a lot more fun to listen to than to watch! I've got the series from Jello to Lucky Strikes, and some of the REAL early ones in between, and I've listened to 'em all. Something's amiss when I watch a show.

[Dagarvs]

lol dennis day.. this is a treat all around for sure! thanks tons

[coloradoman1]

Hey, are there anymore video of Jack Benny Radio Programs? This is so much fun, thanks!

[FlannelMenace]

"Boy, is my neck stiff from ducking a trombone!"

[Flowbee79]

A classic entertainer.

[Nd179]

Thank you so much for posting this! There was no one like Jack!

[alcus2]

Thank you for posting this !!! Incredible vintage entertainment !!!

[GMBogart]

Great clip. No one was ever funnier or had a better radio show than the man who was an inspiration to so many others. And if you can judge a man by his friends, let's not forget George Burns either.

[RETRONAUTA]

I feel nostalgic also if I wasn't even born at that time!

[filagadusha]

Holy cats!!! Where did you find this?

[Tomboy169]

I love this! XD

[sachalex]

What a great spirit!

Thanx for this video clip: a diamond,

a capsule of joy

[wvjeep]

Wow- great clip! I love to listen to his shows on XM adn on Sirius radio. Thanks for posting!

[radiojane]

I love old time radio!!!! To find a clip like this is absolutely amazing!! Thanks so much for posting it!

[poistu]

I like the way he talks.

[saxophoney]

I just love Jack Benny. This is a great historical insite into how a live radio show was done, and Benny was the king of comedy.  Thanks!!

[animegrrl2006]

loved it great finding