classicsoncall On the occasion of my son's thirty ninth birthday earlier this week, I called and wished him a Happy Birthday, and in chatting I was reminded of television's perennial thirty nine year old - Jack Benny. I asked my son if he knew who Benny was and he replied that he didn't. Thinking about that, I found it a little sad that so many folks of the generations that grew up after the 1960's probably fall in the same boat, having missed out on some of the greatest comedians of all time. Not only Benny, but entertainers like Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Red Skelton, George Burns, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and so many, many others. Contrasted with modern day comics with their televised specials on venues like HBO and Netflix, one can only shudder at the offensive language and liberal use of the 'F' word that crops up in their stand-up routines; I've turned off more than one attempting to find some humor on a slow evening.Not so with the Golden Age entertainers like Jack Benny. Having over time recently watched approximately seventy five of his TV programs that ran from 1950 through 1965, it's amazing to see how the man could get laughs from an audience just by standing there on stage or during one of his sketches. Jack Benny was probably the best at non verbal humor in the way he mugged his way through a bit and allowed his body language to convey a funny response to whatever situation he found himself in. Some of my favorite bits occurred with good friends like Bob Hope and Red Skelton, when the humor of their sketch overwhelmed even them, and they would crack up over the silliest situations. Of course that made the audience response even greater, taking a while for the comedians to get their act under control. The Jack Benny Program featured a number of regular recurring characters, led by the show's announcer Don Wilson, who appeared in almost all of the series' episodes, closely followed by one of my all time favorites, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson as Benny's personal valet and housekeeper. Rochester gave as good as he got trading barbs with his boss, proving that Benny wasn't afraid to let his co-stars upstage him for a gag. All of his favorite players would get in on that band wagon, including singer Dennis Day, real life wife Mary Livingstone, voice artist Mel Blanc and hilarious 'yeeesss' man, Frank Nelson. To this day, I still delight in one of my favorite bits, with Mel Blanc doing a Mexican gag with the Si/Sy/Sue routine. Mel and Jack did it a number of times throughout the series, so if you've seen it, you know what I mean, and if you haven't, well, you haven't lived till you make it up to yourself. In the early days of Jack's show, Lucky Strike cigarettes was the prime sponsor, in fact, in some of those early shows, Benny himself referred to it as The Lucky Strike Program. In a separate review on this site, I've gone into detail about the show in which Humphrey Bogart appeared as the special guest. It was 1953, and Baby Face Bogart was brought into a police precinct for questioning about a murder by Detective Benny. During this time frame, it wasn't unusual for the show to incorporate their main sponsor directly into one of their sketches, and it's hilarious to watch Bogey bouncing his chair in rhythm while he sings the Lucky Strike jingle. Sounds corny I know, but you just have to admire how these celebrity greats got along and got together to give their fans a good time. I think that era ended when the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts came to a close some time in the Seventies. Man, those were the days.I guess I could go on and on about what you'd consider the 'old days', but for me they were a great time to grow up in, and sadly, those old time shows are missed, even if available in compilations and cable offerings like Antenna TV. Jack Benny was one of the all time greats, and if you have a few minutes, just take a look at the cast list on this site of everyone who's ever appeared on his TV program. It''s more than a 'Who's Who' of television stardom, as just about anyone you can think of from that era appeared at least once on his show. And to think, he remained thirty nine years old throughout the entire series run.

dougdoepke I think one reason Benny is so beloved by fans is that he comes across as a genuinely likable guy beneath all the funnyman routines. Unlike many comedians, there's nothing of the "smart Alec" or "wise guy" about him. Not that these are disqualifying traits—Bob Hope, for one, made an immensely successful career as a wise guy. But the thing with Benny is that no matter how vain or cheap he appeared in his stage act, there was always an air of underlying likability. So when he tipped the sweating waiter a nickel or preened as the world's best comedian, fans laughed and forgave him.Consider that his show lasted an amazing 15 years on a medium with a reputation for devouring funnymen. Much of that success is due to a cast of well-honed regulars that the writers skillfully blended into the program whether live or on film. Basically, we knew what to expect from each—a wise-cracking Rochester, a jovial Don Wilson, a sensible Mary Livingstone, a dazed Dennis Day, and, of course, Jack's two perennial nemeses Mel Blanc and Frank Nelson. The latter two furnished many of the petty annoyances that were the basis of much of Jack's comedic schtick. Speaking of style, it also looks like Jack was mainly a "reactive" comedian— that is, his humor grew out of exasperated, low-key reactions to life's many petty annoyances, which were also ones the audience could relate to.My favorite routines were the spoofs of popular movies, like Gaslight or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It was the latter, I believe, where dressed up as the fearsome Hyde, Benny attacks this feeble old lady who, nevertheless, proceeds to flip him in six different directions before he slinks away, a totally defeated Hyde. I don't know how they did it, but the contrasting appearances and unexpected outcome were hilarious.I doubt the show would succeed with today's hyper-energized audiences, where much of the humor is more obvious and more over-the-top. Jack's era was, of course, a period of tight restrictions on what could be said or shown. But his show under-played that tight framework like a virtuoso, week-in and week-out. I guess these few words amount to my little appreciation of a program that gave me so many pleasurable moments. So, the time spent trying to think this out is time well spent. Thanks, Mr. Benny. In my book, you are an enduring classic.

pkarnold Jack Benny is my most missed comic from the 60s. Yes, Bob Hope and Johnny Carson were hilarious and well worth watching. I enjoyed Dean Martin and George Gobel. But of all the comedians of early television, Jack Benny's timing was unbelievable. I don't think any modern comedian can match his subtlety or his timing.And while Jack Benny could deadpan a gag, usually he was on the receiving end of it, a few shows could give you insight into how much he enjoyed comedy, his show, and perhaps comedy in general.I saw a you-tube film of him on the Carson show, with Mel Blanc and the "Si gag." And the very thought of Mel Blanc doing an English Horse whinny, or "Si" just cracked him up.I also saw a video of Foster Brooks roasting Jack Benny, and Benny couldn't help but laugh, laugh, and laugh some more. And if you see the show where Groucho Marx is doing a "Say the Magic Word" skit or was it really on the Who Do You Trust set, it is just hilarious to see what lengths Benny would go to to win that $100 prize.Another insight was from What's My Line, the game show where the celebrity panel was blindfolded and Benny signed in as Heifitz. He couldn't help but play a gag or two on the host and the panel, admittedly while answering in a falsetto "uh, huh" or "uh, uh." The crowd roared when he entered on the show, and roared at every single comedy gag he came up with.So while I lament that the Jack Benny show is no longer on the Comedy Channel, any time you can get a hold of an episode of the Jack Benny Show, please do so because this man was truly a master at work. And the main reason was because the guy was genuinely funny, understood comedy, and was as happy to be the butt of a joke as to deliver a punchline.

bkoganbing Jack Benny was unique among the great comedians this country has produced. Only his comedy was not the product of gags or situations, though he used them. His comedy arose out of an indelible character he created, the lovable tightwad who came into our homes via radio and television for over 30 years.In real life Jack Benny was not a tightwad, in fact he was a generous man whose charitable giving was known if not publicized. That of course would have ruined the image and the image was the linchpin of his comedy. Because we knew his character so well, the cheap gags followed. They would mean nothing to anyone else, but because it was Benny we laughed at a burglar saying your money or your life and Benny stalling with a reply of I'm thinking. The sounds of his Maxwell car were second nature, they brought laughs because Benny was too cheap to buy a new car. And his Social Security number, 000-00-0001 in deference to his age.The Jack Benny Show took us inside the pretend world of tightwad Jack Benny. His announcer Don Wilson, real life wife Mary Livingston, butler Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, and the perpetual adolescent with the piping tenor Dennis Day all were part of that world. On radio Phil Harris as the brash band-leader was there, but he didn't make it to television, deciding to strike out on his own. All of these people bounced gags off Benny's tightwad character and all got generous laughs at his expense. But the laughs were coming for Benny's character, not necessarily out of anything he said necessarily.Some his shows were classics and allowed people to really enjoy themselves. One of my favorites had Raymond Burr as a guest star who did courtroom sketch and broke into a song and dance before the jury. Burr looked like he was having a great time. Another show I remember had long time show business friends Bing Crosby and George Burns as guests, reminiscing about back in the days when the three of them were a vaudeville trio act.His shows were welcome in millions of American homes including mine. Would that another Jack Benny would come on the scene today.