Jack Benny Kills Mel Blanc

In this clip from The Jack Benny Show's Christmas episode, Jack drives poor salesclerk Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny and other classic cartoon characters) to suicide. First Jack buys an expensive wallet for a present, then has the clerk rewrap it several times to change the card. Finally, well, you can see in the clip what happens.

And yes, this was the TV version of the very similar radio broadcast.

This episode is available on The Jack Benny Show Vol 3 at HoughsVideos.50Megs.Com

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• tv
• television
• comedy
• humor
• jack
• benny
• mel
• blanc
• bugs
• bunny
• christmas
• suicide
• gun
• shopping

[hajune]

mel blanc is perhaps the most under rated super star of all time

[Flowbee79]

Not underrated to Benny. Benny loved having him on the show, and was quite respectful of him. Blanc managed to make Benny cut-up and laugh in the middle of a sketch. Earlier in this sketch, Blanc's mumbling and grumbling is so seemless and pathetic that Benny actually had to bow his head down to hide real laughter. Blanc was an exceptional vocal comedian, and he was very good in live comedy as well.

[HoughsVideos]

In Chicago, we have a radio show on Saturday afternoons that repeats old radio shows. A couple of months ago, they had an interview with Mel Blanc (from before he died. We're not talking Bela Lugosi here). He said Jack used to have him do simple things on the show, like a polar bear.

[HoughsVideos]

(Part 2)Then one day Mel said he could have the bear do more than just growl. He did a few funny types of growls & murmurs for Jack, and Benny fell in love with the idea. He started finding new characters for Mel pretty much every week since then. The show also had a few of Mel's 15 minute radio shows on lately.

[5winston]

Every "Seinfeld" fan should take a look at this clip. Larry David and Jerry (whether they knew it or not) owe a debt to the great Benny for the 'callous but likable bastard' characters they wrote. Decades before George, Jerry, Elaine Marie, and Cosmo! Thanks for posting this clip!!!

[RetroToledo]

@bob55566 It's all about making an exit!

[CarGuyZM10]

That's all folks!

[bob55566]

this was easily one of the best of his shows (and thats saying alot his shows were all gold) personally I always loved Jack's ending line " Come on Rochester lets get out of this crazy store" after calmly removing his change from the store's cash register.

[BRRGames]

JACK BENNY WINS: HARA KIRI!

[originalmatchgame]

Please post more , I love Jack Benny !!!

[valentinolover70]

I love Jack Benny and Mel Blanc but I see no comedy when there is a gun involved and someone shoots themself. Happens too often in the real world.

[lynnesciortino]

I love this Christmas episode, and Mel Blanc is the greatest.

[Astraldragon1]

@ksteiger , Mel Blanc was the King of Cartoon voices . with all do respect to the current cartoon voice actors (mainly those who took over Mel's cartoons like Bugs and company.) but they can't compare to him, the man of 1000 voices.

[dmtdmt1969]

Where have all the white people gone,we have been overtaken by the worthless mexicans.In a very short time we will not exist anymore.Hope you like your cheap labor and $1 hamburgers for that you are extinct.

[neonfox3]

i know how you feel mel, i deal with people like jack every day at quiznos.