Jack Benny- Happy 39th Birthday
This February 14th marks the birthday of an American classic entertainer-Jack Benny. If I mention his name I know you will smile and tell me your favorite Benny bit or joke. Benny was a success in every media endeavor he tried. He started in vaudeville, went on to star in radio, television and film. I guess you could say he was also a much in demand musician.
Ever 39 years old, we loved him as the cheap miser whose comic timing took second to none. Dean Martin called him “the Satchel Paige of the world of comedy.” There is not a comedian today who could get laughs with a pause and an annoyed, “Well!”
Born in 1894, in Chicago, Illinois, Jack grew up in Waukegan. His father was a saloon keeper who had emigrated from Poland. When he was six the family encouraged him to learn the violin. The same instrument that some say he never learned to play. He loved the instrument but hated to practice. He was more interested in playing in local bands and his high school orchestra. Jack was such a poor student that he was expelled from school and wound up playing in vaudeville houses for $7.50 a week.
In 1929 Jack made two film that went nowhere. Feeling he didn’t have a face for movies he took his talent to Broadway. While working Broadway he became fascinated with radio and was invited onto Ed Sullivan’s show. The public and Jack both realized he was a natural for this new medium.
Radio history was made with The Jack Benny Program. The weekly show ran from 1932 to 1948 on NBC and from 1949 to 1955 on CBS. For all the years, it was one of the top rated shows. His stage persona was the reverse of everything Jack was in real life. He was not cheap, petty, ego-centric or vain. He allowed his team of supporting players to get the laughs at his expense. He always said, “I don’t care who gets the laughs on my show, as long as the show is funny.” He believed that the next day people would remember the show and not the character who uttered the lines.
His cast was perfect. Mary Livingston, his wife was the wisecracking girlfriend. His announcer was chubby Don Wilson. Hipster and cool cat Phil Harris brought wine and women to the show while Dennis Day played the innocent boy singer who though dimwitted, get the best of Benny. Finally, there was the valet-chauffeur, Rochester who was Black but was treated a regular member of the cast and who always outsmarted Jack. Rochester was more of a friend than a butler or employee.
In the real world Benny and the staff refused to stay at hotels if they rejected Rochester. Jack was scrupulous that all scripts did not have racial jokes or harp on stereotypes. One of the most popular member of the gang was Mel Blanc who did the voices of Bugs Bunny and all the Looney Tunes characters as well Benny’s Maxwell automobile, train conductor (“Train leaving on track five for Anaheim, Azusa and Cucamonga!”
In 1936 the Benny moved the show to Los Angeles where many of Jack’s Hollywood friends could drop in on the show. George Burns, Orson Welles, Frank Sinatra, James Stewart, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby and any one else who was popular all made it to the show.
The television version of the radio show ran from October 28th, 1950 to 1965. Only on television could audiences truly enjoy Jack’s body expressions.-his walk; how he held his hands; rolling eyes and all the devices he could draw from to get a laugh. Jack continued to attract the biggest stars like Humphrey Bogart and Marilyn Monroe. By 1964, Jack believed that the camera was a “man-eating monster.”By mutual choice, the show was ended by CBS.
In his final years Jack would appear on the Tonight Show since Johnny Carson was a longtime friend. He visited cities and played with their symphonies as fund raisers. He was a serious violin player who could play with the best of the best.
He died on December 26, 1974. Bob Hope provided the eulogy. His personal and professional papers and shows were donated to UCLA. Jack Benny has one star each on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for television, film and radio. In 1991 a US postal stamp was created in Jack’s honor. There is a Jack Benny Middle School in Waukegan, Illinois. They are known as the “Home of the 39ers”
Contributed by staff writer George Khoury