What's my Line? Jack Benny

[markedwardindc]

I love how Dorothy pays him just as he's leaving the stage!

[radconserv86]

I'm sure he was a handful for his teachers as a kid. What an imp! Funny man.

[chumshot1]

@radconserv86 LOL He was, indeed.. he didnt take school srsly, only orchestra, and even that he caused disruptions in :D

[beatlesfreak89]

Why was she pulling out her purse when he came to shake her hand? :-/

[romeman01]

@beatlesfreak89 Dorothy was trying a gag, but her timing was not as good as Jack's. Jack had made a comedic career as someone who was cheap and greedy (although in real life he was not). As he was leaving, in comedic character, he said: "Do I get paid for tonight?" When he arrives to shake her hand, Dorothy can be heard saying, "I'm going to give you some money" (so that he could say he had been paid for the evening), but she was a few seconds too late for the best effect.

[jimaroo100]

@beatlesfreak89 she was giving him a coin for his "pay"

[Honey059]

I love Jack Benny, that guy cracks me up. I love when he did his parody of the Fiddler. And I also loved when Peter Lorre was on his radio show.

Jack Benny rocks.

[bambam123231]

It sucks that family guy is considered comedy today.

[MarkLemonds]

@bambam123231 I just had to say that I could not agree with you more on the Family Guy statement

[cochranexyz]

Gosh, Kevin Spacey sure looks like him....

[mxylpx]

I meant Giant..but he would have made gold on my slip of the key!

[mxylpx]

Benny was the Gant of Comedy who could do so little and get back so much..that's genius and talk about harvesting such laughs...miss him.

[MrMeljes2]

I am from Waukegan Now i live in the New York City Area LongIsland When people ask me where are you from I say Have you heard of Jack Benny Especially my Father inlaw who is from Brooklyn and a Retired Make up artist from the Ed Sullivan Show how luck can I be Thank you Jack Benny and Waukegan Illinois

[Onlymusical]

Hal Block! The show was never the same without him. He really brought a fine dimension to the proceedings and the show felt like something was missing after he was fired by some moron.

[ridewave444]

What a great and natural comedian. One of the VERY best ever.

[bozo859]

Allen knew who it was - was just pulling it out

[nikonguy102]

Bob was a homo

[jvolstad]

Dorothy giving him money. LOL.

[wyomingmali]

Just the best ever, that's all.

[mvillekids]

I think Dorothy gave him a dime because he "always" comes on a bus.

[oldgregg222]

What I would give to go back to that time for just one day...just one.

[UncleUlser]

A BRILLIANT, kind, generous, thoughtful man who seems to have entertained the whole world without ever uttering one off-color word. Please Mr. Benny, we need you more than the angels in heaven do right now.

[missymitekite]

@JubalCalif

You're exactly right! Those were the days when comedians actually had to be clever to be funny. 

[mgwilliams1000]

Was not this show great? American idol.......sigh

[BARNEYFATSWALT]

JACK BENNY SO SO FUNNY!

[BlackKaweah]

The funniest guy ever.

[lovemyjimmystewart]

way to go Dorothy!

[ragemanchoo82]

How many times did Jack do the show? A bunch, right? 

[phreak]

they lost me at monologist...

[madamerotten]

He was such a genuinely nice human being.

[JubalCalif]

@madamerotten

I second that emotion! He was indeed. No one ever was known to say anything bad about him. One of the most beloved entertainers ever. THANKS for your touching comment! :-)

[chumshot1]

lolz I luv him

[phil123711]

He took the dime

[JubalCalif]

@phil123711

I don't blame him. A dime bought a lot more back then than it does today !

[LEIMALOCCA]

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE END THERE???????

[genesislover]

@LEIMALOCCA I think Dorothy gave him money because he asked if he'd be paid for the night.

[LEIMALOCCA]

@genesislover lol oh, Jack......

[uofjim]

@nerdflanders8710 LOL

[uofjim]

Adam Sandler cant do anything but bathroom humor. He will never be in the same league as a Jack Benny. Benny has more talent under one fingernail than Sandler has in his entire body.

[nerdflanders8710]

@uofjim no he's great, like that other legend in our time OJ Simpson.

[nerdflanders8710]

@nerdflanders8710 and Michael Jacksons beat it .

[doc1917]

if you listen closely dorothy says at the end i'm going to give you some money

[MattTheSaiyan]

This show needs to have complete seasons on DVD.

[fran9860]

@MattTheSaiyan Matt, the dvd series is available at AMAZON.COM:)

[MattTheSaiyan]

@fran9860 I looked and couldn't find it anywhere on amazon.

[v8hj7kf5gh4j1d5g4j]

That was absolutely hysterical! The whole hair bit was brilliant. Shoving his head in the host's face. I almost choked on my soda!

[shakenednostir]

At 0:24 Jack signs the board. At 08:05 the board comes into view as Jack gets up to greet the panel. At 08:07 the board is in clear view but without Jack's signature. I thought that odd. Did anyone else notice? Is it common for the stagehand to wipe the board clean while the guest is still on the show stage?

[shoredude2]

@shakenednostir Actually contrary to popular belief, the board isn't a blackboard. They were large black cards that could be quickly removed. Those cards were kept for posterity and have occasionally been on exhibit.

[filmidioten]

What did Ms Kilgallen hand Benny from her purse? Was it a comb? lol

[doc1917]

@filmidioten i think it was money since ask the question of getting paid

[filmidioten]

@doc1917 Ahahaha of course, silly me! xD

[deanaugust]

@filmidioten i think Dorothy jokingly gave him money from her purse.

just my guess.

[monopolyblack2007]

@deanaugust It appears as though she did give him money. He did of course ask if he was going to get paid. This was hilarious. I just love these old clips of "What's My Line?".

[Branchporter]

One of the few nice things about being old is that I got to listen to hundreds of Jack Benny radio programs when I was a kid!

[jesusranch34]

Aw no Cerf, he's got the best ears

[missymitekite]

There'll never be another Jack Benny. He was an original.

[JubalCalif]

@missymitekite

That's for sure! Like all the greats he was a unique talent. And unlike so many so called "comedians" today, he didnt' have to wallow in the gutter of profanity & sex to get a laugh. THANKS for your comment! :-)

[turntapzap]

My man, Jack!

[ClassicsWEREandARE]

gosh they took forever

[TheBlueyedblond]

Hilarious!

[MegaObserver1]

They're NOT gone. On film, audio tape and video tape, they live forever.

[franklindavid]

Great episode from what's my line.

[techno769]

NorbertR33, do you by any chance have a clue where I could find this full episode? It's #141, and Hal Block's last. I thought it would be hilarious to watch his final stunt that got him booted off the program, where he pulled a Harpo Marx chase act on Miss Leila Dell Miller , the first contestant of this episode, a traveling evangelist who was apparently very attractive.

Thanks!

[ipmoic]

Benny is a scream--of course. Everyone looks so young, happy and healthy. The two ladies have lovely shoulders and they both look fetching. Maybe I don't miss Bennett??

Anyway--this is a great episode from the early days.

[MrJetco]

Killgallon cheats ...see can see through the mask out the edge..what a joke.

[billcbren]

Arlene Francis was very sexy.

[TheTubePortal]

@billcbren I love her eyes. She had such a pretty, classy look with her eyes, almost like her eyes were smiling.

[xxcharmed1xx]

This is so fucking sad, all our true, genuine comedians are gone!!

[newseditor72]

Not only that, but the vocabulary of these people. Can you imagine today's celebrities speaking so fine and elegant like that?

[DarkridesDisney]

@newseditor72 People on average don't' speak that eloquently and with that kind of intelligence in America anymore.

[nerdflanders8710]

@xxcharmed1xx what about adam sandler ?

[xxcharmed1xx]

@nerdflanders8710 adam sandler? are you fucking kidding me? adam sandler doesnt belong in the same sentence as jack benny!

[nerdflanders8710]

@xxcharmed1xx yes I am kidding you , you bendecko.

[dangraphic]

@xxcharmed1xx I agree, Adam Sandler is an improvised, talentless, MORON.. all Adam does is HIMSELF, he doesn't act, he's NOT funny and basically a CLOWN.

[freedom721]

@xxcharmed1xx rickles is still around.

[TheTubePortal]

@xxcharmed1xx There are two left - Jerry Lewis and Don Rickles, although Mr. Lewis may leave us soon.

[AndrewGilmore1986]

@TheTubePortal What about Jonathan Winters?

[TheTubePortal]

@AndrewGilmore1986 I would consider him a kind of a bridge between the old timers and the generation of comics that arose in the 70s, although he's certainly a legend in his own right. However, I would not put him in the same category as Groucho Marx or Jack Benny.

[bruceboome]

@xxcharmed1xx Perhaps because they never used language like that?

[operjxm]

Looks like Dorothy "tipped" him as he was leaving

[tomrdee]

"Do I get paid for tonight?"

That's funny. The way he looked back and forth for an answer, that's talent

[GEVMM]

I love his face expressions! LOL

'huh-huh!'

[ipmoic]

I'm with Veggieman87. I think Jack Benny is the greatest American comedian ever! Just having him gesture on a stage is enough to make me smile and then laugh out loud. A true original.

[sayward12]

Did anyone catch when Dorothy paid Jack at the end?!

I was wondering why the amount of laughing went up at the end. Too cute.

[shawnmcghee1]

Man, I was really hoping somebody would ask if he was thirty-nine.

[harwetopa]

Or if the color of his eyes were robin's egg blue!

[Veggieman87]

Jack Benny: probably the greatest comedian America has produced. No matter what, his stuff always makes me laugh. This may be a bit inside, but Jack reminds me of Bob the Tomato on VeggieTales for some reason...

[SueBeaWho]

12-27-2008 My new favorite WML clip :-) Jack was THE man!!!

[THEHUNGRYVEGETARIAN]

He dodged the bullet at 3:01 and 4:28

[007InMiami]

Dude! Where's Bennett?

[procommenter]

Poor Dotty.

[kenaco2009]

That face he makes,makes me laugh.

"huh-hah"

[HowardOfOz]

If there is indeed a pantheon of magnificent talent in comedy, I would easily argue this man to be at the head of that list. Superbly Great

[claraquick]

I love, adore, heart Jack Benny, and I can't believe this episode is funnier than the one where he signs in as Heifetz. I just lose it when he sticks his tongue out to answer, and especially when he looks to John after Arlene asks if he's male....Jackie Boy you are one of a kind!

Thank you so very, very much for posting this gem!

[soulierinvestments]

I'm with you -- I thought that 1959 appearance was at the top of the list of WML funny, but this one takes at least two cakes. I like to listen to streaming audio of the Benny Radio Program: I still cannot get over the comic quality of that week after week year after year.

[ClassicShowbiz]

POst whole episode!

[karlakor]

Yes, please post the entire episode, if possible. I thank you for your contributions, but it would be great to see the whole episode.

[lgoldman]

Seems odd that they didn't pick up on the part about playing a string instrument. That should have narrowed it down really quickly.

[meanwiddlekid]

Yes, if they knew it was a very famous comedian that played a stringed instrument that narrowed it down to Benny or Harpo Marx. And if Harpo spoke in any voice he would have brought the house down.

[harwetopa]

Which reminds me...I know that Chico Marx once made an appearance on WML, passing himself off as Harpo!

Anyone else seen that clip, or even better, would you post it...PLEASE????

[44032]

I think that was "I've Got a Secret"

[rosaf19]

Please, please, please, if any one happens to have Myrna Loy...?

[winkieandleah]

There used to be a clip on here with her, but they removed it for some odd reason.

:(

Great upload by the way!!!!

[rosaf19]

Oh, it's there now, if you search for it. It just wasn't eight months ago when I originally posted.

[winkieandleah]

I had her video on my playlist up until a couple of weeks ago & then it said the video was unavailable. :(

[rosaf19]

Huh, that's odd, because I can still watch it: just did, this minute.

[winkieandleah]

Guess I'll have to look again. :D Thanks!

[soulierinvestments]

This is from the transition period from Hal Block to Steve Allen. Too funny! -- Steve Allen, Jack Benny and Hal Block on one stage on live TV. Gil Fates wrote that when Dorothy Kilgallen did funny things spontaneously, it was a bonus, so this is classic bonus night.

[dontlickit]

thank you !!!!!