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The Jack Benny Program
The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, is a radio and television comedy series. The show ran for over three decades, from 1932 to 1955 on radio, and from 1950 to 1965 on television. It won numerous awards, including the 1959 and 1961 Emmy Awards for Best Comedy Series, and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century American comedy.
Throughout his career, Jack Benny played the same character: A pompous, vain, and stingy man who played the violin badly but was convinced of his own talent. Although technically the star of his show, Benny was constantly the butt of jokes from his cast members, including Mary Livingstone (Sayde Marks Benny, his real-life wife); Phil Harris, his band leader; Kenny Baker or Dennis Day, his tenors; Don Wilson, his portly announcer; and Rochester Van Jones (Eddie Anderson), his African American valet.
As radio historian John Dunning explains, "Unlike Bob Hope, Jack Benny didn't tell jokes. On his show, Jack was the joke. Everything revolved around him and his comic foibles, with Benny serving as 'straight man.' The other characters on the show were the comedians, making wisecracks, remarks, and asides about Benny's stinginess, his vanity, or his lousy violin-playing."
On both television and radio, The Jack Benny Program used a loose show-within-a-show format, wherein the main characters were playing versions of themselves. The show often broke the fourth wall, with the characters interacting with the audience and commenting on the program and its advertisements.
In his first years on radio (c. 1932–1935), Jack Benny followed the format of many other radio comedians, standing at the microphone, telling jokes and stories, and introducing band numbers. As the characters of Jack and his cast became more defined, the show took on a "variety show" format, blending sketch comedy and musical interludes.
The show usually opened with announcer Don Wilson doing a commercial for the sponsor (e.g. Jell-O or Grape Nuts Flakes), accompanied by a musical number from the orchestra. Wilson would then introduce Jack Benny as the "Master of Ceremonies" and banter with him. Gradually, the rest of the cast members—including Mary Livingstone, bandleader Phil Harris, and tenor Kenny Baker or Dennis Day—would "walk on" to join the conversation. The banter between Benny and the regulars generally covered the news of the day, Jack's latest exchange in his ongoing feud with Fred Allen, or one of the running jokes on the program, such as Jack's stinginess, his age, or his vanity, Phil's habitual drunkenness, egotism, or illiteracy, Don's obesity, Dennis's stupidity, or Mary's letters from her mother.
As the show progressed, Jack might be interrupted by a phone call from his valet, Rochester (Eddie Anderson), reporting some problem at Benny's home (e.g. with Jack's pet polar bear, Carmichael, or with his crazy wartime boarder, Mr. Billingsley). Occasionally, Andy Devine or the Jewish character, Schlepperman (Sam Hearn), would make an appearance. At some point, Jack would tell the tenor that it was time for their singing number ("Sing, Kenny!" or "Dennis, let's have your song."). Don Wilson would insert another commercial for the sponsor, and the band would do a "Big Band" number (ostensibly led by Phil Harris, although conductor Mahlon Merrick actually led the band).
The second half of the show would be devoted to a comedy sketch. Jack might leave the studio and go home to handle some problem (e.g. getting Carmichael to take his medicine). Or there would be a miniplay (e.g., "Buck Benny Rides Again" or a murder mystery starring Jack as Police Captain O'Benny), or a satire of a current movie (e.g., "Snow White and the Seven Gangsters"). In some episodes, Jack closed the show with brief instructions to his band leader ("Play, Phil."), and the band would play a final musical number, as Don Wilson did a final commercial.
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The Jack Benny Program
The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, is a radio and television comedy series. The show ran for over three decades, from 1932 to 1955 on radio, and from 1950 to 1965 on television. It won numerous awards, including the 1959 and 1961 Emmy Awards for Best Comedy Series, and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century American comedy.
Throughout his career, Jack Benny played the same character: A pompous, vain, and stingy man who played the violin badly but was convinced of his own talent. Although technically the star of his show, Benny was constantly the butt of jokes from his cast members, including Mary Livingstone (Sayde Marks Benny, his real-life wife); Phil Harris, his band leader; Kenny Baker or Dennis Day, his tenors; Don Wilson, his portly announcer; and Rochester Van Jones (Eddie Anderson), his African American valet.
As radio historian John Dunning explains, "Unlike Bob Hope, Jack Benny didn't tell jokes. On his show, Jack was the joke. Everything revolved around him and his comic foibles, with Benny serving as 'straight man.' The other characters on the show were the comedians, making wisecracks, remarks, and asides about Benny's stinginess, his vanity, or his lousy violin-playing."
On both television and radio, The Jack Benny Program used a loose show-within-a-show format, wherein the main characters were playing versions of themselves. The show often broke the fourth wall, with the characters interacting with the audience and commenting on the program and its advertisements.
In his first years on radio (c. 1932–1935), Jack Benny followed the format of many other radio comedians, standing at the microphone, telling jokes and stories, and introducing band numbers. As the characters of Jack and his cast became more defined, the show took on a "variety show" format, blending sketch comedy and musical interludes.
The show usually opened with announcer Don Wilson doing a commercial for the sponsor (e.g. Jell-O or Grape Nuts Flakes), accompanied by a musical number from the orchestra. Wilson would then introduce Jack Benny as the "Master of Ceremonies" and banter with him. Gradually, the rest of the cast members—including Mary Livingstone, bandleader Phil Harris, and tenor Kenny Baker or Dennis Day—would "walk on" to join the conversation. The banter between Benny and the regulars generally covered the news of the day, Jack's latest exchange in his ongoing feud with Fred Allen, or one of the running jokes on the program, such as Jack's stinginess, his age, or his vanity, Phil's habitual drunkenness, egotism, or illiteracy, Don's obesity, Dennis's stupidity, or Mary's letters from her mother.
As the show progressed, Jack might be interrupted by a phone call from his valet, Rochester (Eddie Anderson), reporting some problem at Benny's home (e.g. with Jack's pet polar bear, Carmichael, or with his crazy wartime boarder, Mr. Billingsley). Occasionally, Andy Devine or the Jewish character, Schlepperman (Sam Hearn), would make an appearance. At some point, Jack would tell the tenor that it was time for their singing number ("Sing, Kenny!" or "Dennis, let's have your song."). Don Wilson would insert another commercial for the sponsor, and the band would do a "Big Band" number (ostensibly led by Phil Harris, although conductor Mahlon Merrick actually led the band).
The second half of the show would be devoted to a comedy sketch. Jack might leave the studio and go home to handle some problem (e.g. getting Carmichael to take his medicine). Or there would be a miniplay (e.g., "Buck Benny Rides Again" or a murder mystery starring Jack as Police Captain O'Benny), or a satire of a current movie (e.g., "Snow White and the Seven Gangsters"). In some episodes, Jack closed the show with brief instructions to his band leader ("Play, Phil."), and the band would play a final musical number, as Don Wilson did a final commercial.