Jack Benny Part 1

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

my school i s nammed after jackbenny
i go to jackbenny middle school in waukegan IL

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!

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

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

GOOD OLE DAYS-MISS THEM

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.

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.

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.