Great clip. No one was ever funnier or had a better radio show than the man who was an inspiration to so many others. And if you can judge a man by his friends, let's not forget George Burns either.
@letmewatchdamvids Well, it IS a filmed live radio show. If you've listened to hundreds of the original shows, then seeing this pure gold! Gold, letmewatchdamvids, GOLD! ;)
Well, if you're seriously asking.... Jack Benny was one of the greatest radio comedians in history. His show ran for about 15 years on NBC radio, and almost as long on CBS radio and television. You'll notice from this that he was almost always the butt of the jokes. He was also one of the sweetest men who ever lived. No one ever had a bad thing to say about Jack Benny. He was as beloved by his peers as he was by the general public.
To those making comments about how they were reading a script before a live audience, remember this was radio. There might be a few hundred people in the live audience, but there were 20 million or so at home listening on the radio and they couldn't see them reading a script. The show wasn't for the people watching live, it was for the people listening at home. As far as I know, all radio shows, with or without live audiences, were done with the actors reading a script.
There are websites out there where you can listen to almost every radio program he did for free. I picked it up around 1937 and currently up to Jan of '42. Just the best stuff.
Jack Benny was the 'inventor' of comedic timing. He could get more laughs by saying nothing than most comedians could ever get by talking for 90 minutes.
This script was written by Bill Morrow & Ed Beloin, Jack's key writers between 1939 and '43- his stable of writers were among the best in the business, and he paid them very well...
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.
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.
"When Radio Was" is still going on. Just look it up. Currently it is hosted by Greg Bell, who also does the same work on Sirius-XM's Radio Classics. (channel 82)
Ok, yeah... There were no cuss words, so what! Let's get over that aspect and just say it's funny. I Love these old shows. It's fun to hear the old product adds. These players were great at reading their lines and making them sound effortlessly smooth. My hats off to the talent of all of them!
Funniest of them all. He never told a joke in the traditional sense, but got lots of laughs by deprecating himself. All this without using foul language!
@Jazzanswer They were subtle, like announcing the next show would be in "tecnicolor" and then rochester says "Hello Boss" Implying he was tacnicolor. But those jokes were few and far between.
@dancebandleader Ready? Two original comics are Andy Kindler, the greatest, and his natural heir Zach Galifianakis (his stand up beats the hell out of all his movie work, obviously). Other funny stand up comics are Jimmy Carr, a master joke writer and joke teller, Dom Irrera and Steven Wright are still hilarious, Todd Barry is great and decievingly clever, Mike DeStefano actually has some of Richard Pryor's pathos, raw and real with a healthy dose of Goodfellas-type attitude. There are many!:D
@dilmao Who are these currently gifted comedians ? A great many of us are not ignorant, but current comics that are FUNNY are not immediately apparent.
You know, I hate to say, but I'm pretty sure this wasn't live, and...well, it's a lot more fun to listen to than to watch! I've got the series from Jello to Lucky Strikes, and some of the REAL early ones in between, and I've listened to 'em all. Something's amiss when I watch a show.
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.
Jack Benny was pretty progressive for his time. Sure Rochester was his servant, but he was also able to rib Jack just as much as everyone else. Unheard of at the time.
@HugoGernsback LOL! Who do you like more Jack or Bob? To me; Jack Benny always make me laugh more than Bob Hope. I even have a podcast of Jack Benny radio show download on my PSP. LOL. It is funnier when Jack and Bob are doing a show together.
wow...I don't think I've ever saw a comment like that. I liked Kenny but for me it's Dennis. I'm curious though...Kenny was only with Jack for a few years before going over to Fred Allen's show...Dennis was with Jack for decades...it makes more sense to prefer Dennis, who was on the show way longer, than one who was on a few years...but that's just me.
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!
Mr. Anderson owed his radio career to Benny, and it even led to films. Anderson attended Benny's funeral, like everybody else -- ashen and choked. I'd like to know one example of the "occasional racist comments" to which you were referring.
@Arlenbr @Arlenbr You know, you may think you're making a poignant observation pointing out the cleanness and focus on the word in these wonderful routines, but there are equally gifted comedians working in the same vein today, so you are in fact just revealing ignorance.
Wow - I was just listening to the radio broadcast of this earlier today. It's incredible seeing them doing the reading on film! I can't get enough of Jack Benny these days. I'll probably get panned for this, but Mary Livingston almost ruins the JB show for me though. Her voice sounds like a cheap tin bicycle horn and she just sucks the funny out of every bit she's in. Seeing her in person is nice though; a lot less obnoxious than just hearing her.
@Arlenbr You know, you may think you're making a poignant observation pointing out the cleanness and focus on the word in these wonderful routines, but there equally gifted comedians in the same vein today, so you are in fact just revealing ignorance.
I love old time radio!!!! To find a clip like this is absolutely amazing!! Thanks so much for posting it!
Great clip. No one was ever funnier or had a better radio show than the man who was an inspiration to so many others. And if you can judge a man by his friends, let's not forget George Burns either.
Thank you for posting this !!! Incredible vintage entertainment !!!
Jack is one of my favorite radio personalities, he's as funny today as he was then!
Thank you for posting this, It gives this 28 year old some great laughs!
I've always loved Jack Benny!
Jack Benny is my idol! He makes me laugh every time I hear his radio show and watching his show. I can't wait to see his statue at Rancho Cucamonga.
@letmewatchdamvids Well, it IS a filmed live radio show. If you've listened to hundreds of the original shows, then seeing this pure gold! Gold, letmewatchdamvids, GOLD! ;)
lol dennis day.. this is a treat all around for sure! thanks tons
Well, if you're seriously asking....
Jack Benny was one of the greatest radio comedians in history. His show ran for about 15 years on NBC radio, and almost as long on CBS radio and television. You'll notice from this that he was almost always the butt of the jokes. He was also one of the sweetest men who ever lived. No one ever had a bad thing to say about Jack Benny. He was as beloved by his peers as he was by the general public.
This is great.
Thanks for sharing.
To those making comments about how they were reading a script before a live audience, remember this was radio. There might be a few hundred people in the live audience, but there were 20 million or so at home listening on the radio and they couldn't see them reading a script. The show wasn't for the people watching live, it was for the people listening at home. As far as I know, all radio shows, with or without live audiences, were done with the actors reading a script.
Wow, me too. I've got them on CD. I checked them out from my library. I've also got some on tape. They're all great!
this is real entertainment!!!
I love OTR, especially Jack Benny.
There are websites out there where you can listen to almost every radio program he did for free. I picked it up around 1937 and currently up to Jan of '42. Just the best stuff.
Jack Benny was the 'inventor' of comedic timing. He could get more laughs by saying nothing than most comedians could ever get by talking for 90 minutes.
This script was written by Bill Morrow & Ed Beloin, Jack's key writers between 1939 and '43- his stable of writers were among the best in the business, and he paid them very well...
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.
Camp Haan was across the road from what was then called March Field,later called March Air Force Base,Riverside,Ca
GOOD OLE DAYS-MISS THEM
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.
"When Radio Was" is still going on. Just look it up.
Currently it is hosted by Greg Bell, who also does the same work on Sirius-XM's Radio Classics. (channel 82)
awesome comedic timing!
Now THIS is comedy.Classic.
I feel nostalgic also if I wasn't even born at that time!
Ok, yeah... There were no cuss words, so what! Let's get over that aspect and just say it's funny. I Love these old shows. It's fun to hear the old product adds. These players were great at reading their lines and making them sound effortlessly smooth. My hats off to the talent of all of them!
thanks!
I was wondering where the full length episode of this is located even if it's a rehearsal. This is hilarious.
Funniest of them all. He never told a joke in the traditional sense, but got lots of laughs by deprecating himself. All this without using foul language!
I have no problem with any of the things you mentioned, but I agree, they are no replacement for creativity and intelligence.
Actually, as I remember, there was often some sort of competition between Jack Benny and Fred Allen.
Phil Harris is so loveable
That's because this was done for radio.
Where are the Jack Bennys today. We live in a time of no true comedy.
@Jazzanswer
They were subtle, like announcing the next show would be in "tecnicolor" and then rochester says "Hello Boss" Implying he was tacnicolor. But those jokes were few and far between.
Just heard the full episode.
@dancebandleader Ready? Two original comics are Andy Kindler, the greatest, and his natural heir Zach Galifianakis (his stand up beats the hell out of all his movie work, obviously). Other funny stand up comics are Jimmy Carr, a master joke writer and joke teller, Dom Irrera and Steven Wright are still hilarious, Todd Barry is great and decievingly clever, Mike DeStefano actually has some of Richard Pryor's pathos, raw and real with a healthy dose of Goodfellas-type attitude. There are many!:D
@TheBrian005 that is so cool!!!
@dilmao Who are these currently gifted comedians ? A great many of us are not ignorant,
but current comics that are FUNNY are not immediately apparent.
You know, I hate to say, but I'm pretty sure this wasn't live, and...well, it's a lot more fun to listen to than to watch! I've got the series from Jello to Lucky Strikes, and some of the REAL early ones in between, and I've listened to 'em all. Something's amiss when I watch a show.
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.
Jack Benny was pretty progressive for his time. Sure Rochester was his servant, but he was also able to rib Jack just as much as everyone else. Unheard of at the time.
@hysangearring spot on
@HugoGernsback LOL! Who do you like more Jack or Bob? To me; Jack Benny always make me laugh more than Bob Hope. I even have a podcast of Jack Benny radio show download on my PSP. LOL. It is funnier when Jack and Bob are doing a show together.
wow...I don't think I've ever saw a comment like that. I liked Kenny but for me it's Dennis. I'm curious though...Kenny was only with Jack for a few years before going over to Fred Allen's show...Dennis was with Jack for decades...it makes more sense to prefer Dennis, who was on the show way longer, than one who was on a few years...but that's just me.
@letmewatchdamvids it's a radio show
@Arlenbr
Actually he had occasional racist comments towards rochester, but he is definately the greatest comedian ever.
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!
@milty40 OMG That would be EPIC
@laybackrockguy lucky!!
Mr. Anderson owed his radio career to Benny, and it even led to films. Anderson attended Benny's funeral, like everybody else -- ashen and choked. I'd like to know one example of the "occasional racist comments" to which you were referring.
@Arlenbr @Arlenbr You know, you may think you're making a poignant observation pointing out the cleanness and focus on the word in these wonderful routines, but there are equally gifted comedians working in the same vein today, so you are in fact just revealing ignorance.
@gaelicviking That's what I like about Phil Harris...
@gaelicviking really?
The comedy is not to bad, but it would of made it alot funnier if they knew their lines instead of having paper held up to their faces
Wow - I was just listening to the radio broadcast of this earlier today. It's incredible seeing them doing the reading on film! I can't get enough of Jack Benny these days. I'll probably get panned for this, but Mary Livingston almost ruins the JB show for me though. Her voice sounds like a cheap tin bicycle horn and she just sucks the funny out of every bit she's in. Seeing her in person is nice though; a lot less obnoxious than just hearing her.
was this in Radio City Music Hall?
@Arlenbr You know, you may think you're making a poignant observation pointing out the cleanness and focus on the word in these wonderful routines, but there equally gifted comedians in the same vein today, so you are in fact just revealing ignorance.
who is this!?
Personally, I prefer Kenny Baker over Dennis Day. But that's just me...
They always made fun of how fat Don Wilson was supposed to be but he's down right svelte here.