The __________ Show Starring Jack Benny

[landtuna]

I've recently begun listening to recordings of the old Jack Benny Show (actually, the sponsor's show) from the 30's through the mid-50's.

I was a childhood fan of Benny's TV show way back when but had not heard his radio show before. After listening to about two dozen of the shows from three decades I cannot understand why they were so popular. Especially compared to other radio shows of the era such as Amos 'n Andy or Fibber McGee & Molly.

Benny always had the same formula and writing that most times seemed to have been done by school children. There were obviously funny parts in most shows but the humor seemed to revolve around band members drinking habits, Benny's old Maxwell and Dennis Day's & Kenny Baker's songs. The announcer, Don Wilson, seems to be the butt of not-so-humorous "fat" jokes. Most shows seem to be set in Benny's "home" and feature a rehearsal for an upcoming show. Very repetitive. The only big laughs seem to come when someone flubs a line and starts an ad-lib war. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen very often.

Am I missing something here or am I just jaded by his TV show and perhaps 60 years of evolution?

 

[Ultimajock]

...well, one thing you're definitely missing is that, on radio at least, it was never The _________ Show Starring Jack Benny. It was always The ___________ Program starring Jack Benny. The word "Show" was occasionally used in Don Wilson's introductions on the TV series in its earliest years, but never on radio. It was for that reason that, when he left The Tonight Show in 1962 and started his prime time show, Jack Paar called the new series The Jack Paar Program in the same manner as his comedy idol, Jack Benny...

 

[landtuna]

Yes, it was called the program, not show but not the response I was looking for. I guess not too many people remember the radio shows......er, programs.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

I think you are being very honest in your thoughts. Although I am basically a student of old time radio, I do remember listening to it as far back as the early 1950's. I have to think that many tuned into The Jack Benny Program because of Jack, himself. In my opinion, the show has a warm touch to it although, as was noted, many of the laughs came at the expense of someone; although much of the jokes were aimed at Jack. It's not my favorite radio show, but I have very high respect for it and for the man. I feel the same way about George Burns & Gracie Allen. Their show was not my favorite, but I truly respect them for how they were in real life.

It may not have been until after Benny's passing in December, 1974 that the public became truly aware of how the man really was. Both Johnny Carson and Jack Paar, for example, always held him in high esteem. If you ever want to hear a beautiful eulogy, read the one that Bob Hope gave at Benny's funeral.

 

[landtuna]

It may not have been until after Benny's passing in December, 1974 that the public became truly aware of how the man really was. Both Johnny Carson and Jack Paar, for example, always held him in high esteem. If you ever want to hear a beautiful eulogy, read the one that Bob Hope gave at Benny's funeral.

I thought I made it clear that I was talking about Benny's program and not the man himself. I've always liked him but until now virtually all my exposure was his TV show and not radio. I have read several books about him and fully understand he was in real life much different than his radio character (which also seemed to be different than his TV character as well).

I was simply asking why his radio program was so popular since, to me, it seems very repetitive. When the characters changed (Kenny Baker to Dennis Day and Phil Harris to Bob Crosby) even their on-air personna's were extremely similar to their predecessors.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

I understood you meant the show and not the man and your comments are respected. I wonder if The Jack Benny Program sounds repetitive because we are now able to listen to many episodes in a short period of time as opposed to, for example, the 1940's when it was heard once a week. I think the popularity of the program came from it being Benny, himself, and not necessarily the content.

 

[rtc]

After listening to OTR on "When Radio Was" you find that the
programs back then in the "golden" age of radio were like TV shows
today:the good,the bad,and the awful.
The only one that gets to me (fingernails on chalkboard) is
Lum and Abner.These were a couple of nice guys who were
U. of Arkansas grads;the quality of their work shows in that
you'd never know it listening to them.
Their show ran from 1931 to 1954:

http://www.old-time.com/golden_age/index.html

 

[landtuna]

I wonder if The Jack Benny Program sounds repetitive because we are now able to listen to many episodes in a short period of time as opposed to, for example, the 1940's when it was heard once a week. I think the popularity of the program came from it being Benny, himself, and not necessarily the content.

That certainly may be part of it and, of course, I am listening in 2010, not the 30's, 40's and 50's, so the environment, as well as my personal perspective, is different.

Other things may include his program being the intro to Amos 'n Andy which was wildly popular and Benny did have a solid cast of characters who remained with him throughout (such as Frank Nelson and Mel Blanc).

But Benny on radio sounds usually like a frustrated, angry old man. Definitely different than his TV personna. True, he was the butt of the program's jokes most of the time and puncturing someone's ego (if only a stage version) almost always gets laughs.

One thing I have noticed is the virtual lack of segue's. More often than not when it comes time for the band to play, Kenny or Dennis to sing or just to end the show there is nothing but an abrupt cut-off. That isn't all the time of course but it seems to be most of the time. And like the Three Stooges shorts, when time is up the show just ends. Was that typical of radio in those days?

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

I don't think it was. Sometimes, the shows have been edited and what now might sound like a quick cut-off actually was much smoother when the show aired. Sometimes, commercials with-in the show's content are removed or edited to the point that the person hearing it now doesn't even know it was a commercial. Actually, it took more to have a program come out on time back then as opposed to network TV later on.

 

[rtc]

You are correct...and keep in mind that networks back then
normally did not use transcription,everything was live.They had to
end "on the dot" and on some programs it shows in places near the end.
They say that only about 5% of OTR survives as a result.There are
stories about finding disks in barns and such,left there decades
ago when station personnel carried them home instead of destroying
them,as was policy.

 

[MattParker]

Re: The __________ Program Starring Jack Benny

I've recently begun listening to recordings of the old Jack Benny Show (actually, the sponsor's show) from the 30's through the mid-50's.

I was a childhood fan of Benny's TV show way back when but had not heard his radio show before. After listening to about two dozen of the shows from three decades I cannot understand why they were so popular. Especially compared to other radio shows of the era such as Amos 'n Andy or Fibber McGee & Molly.

Benny always had the same formula and writing that most times seemed to have been done by school children. There were obviously funny parts in most shows but the humor seemed to revolve around band members drinking habits, Benny's old Maxwell and Dennis Day's & Kenny Baker's songs. The announcer, Don Wilson, seems to be the butt of not-so-humorous "fat" jokes. Most shows seem to be set in Benny's "home" and feature a rehearsal for an upcoming show. Very repetitive. The only big laughs seem to come when someone flubs a line and starts an ad-lib war. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen very often.

Am I missing something here or am I just jaded by his TV show and perhaps 60 years of evolution?

Yes, you are missing something. First off, you are comparing your memory of his TV shows from 50 to 60 years ago with your experience of listening to a 60 to 70 year old radio show now.

What's not clear here is which TV show you remember. Early on, the Benny program was done live, with a real studio audience. It was essentially the radio program brought to television with only a token attempt to introduce visual elements. Later, especially after Fred de Cordova became executive producer, the program was mostly filmed and became a one-camera sitcom. It's also not clear which radio program you listened to: Jell-O, Grape Nuts or Lucky Strike. The earlier radio shows are not a slick or well-produced as the later shows, or as well written. During World War II, the program was mostly broadcast from military bases for GI audiences; those shows do not hold up as well.

What you are missing (in addition to the word "program") is the show was funny. It was not funny because of the jokes. The humor was mostly character driven. Yes, it was repetitive - even predictable. And with Benny's timing and delivery, this made it funnier. The audience knew what Benny would do or say. The laughs came in waiting for him to say it or do it. In a way, Benny's approach to comedy was like Hitchcock's approach to drama. Hitchcock, the master of suspense, did not use shock or surprise. He used anticipation. So did Benny. Benny did it so well he could get laughs with dead air.

 

[LKellerIII]

There are quite a few scenes from the TV version of the The Jack Benny Program on You Tube. Check them out - I think they hold up well. No - it's not modern, cynical push-the-envelope humor, but it's still funny.

Here's a link to one of them - Benny in a department store Christmas shopping. It features Frank Nelson and the great Mel Blanc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWwR1GjTMyA

 

[landtuna]

Re: The __________ Program Starring Jack Benny

Yes, you are missing something. First off, you are comparing your memory of his TV shows from 50 to 60 years ago with your experience of listening to a 60 to 70 year old radio show now.

I already admitted that but my larger question was - why was the radio program so popular when it was basically unchanged over a 20-year span?

What's not clear here is which TV show you remember. Early on, the Benny program was done live, with a real studio audience. It was essentially the radio program brought to television with only a token attempt to introduce visual elements. Later, especially after Fred de Cordova became executive producer, the program was mostly filmed and became a one-camera sitcom.

I have a collection of the "Best of Benny" which seem to have shows more towards the end of the run than the beginning.

It's also not clear which radio program you listened to: Jell-O, Grape Nuts or Lucky Strike. The earlier radio shows are not a slick or well-produced as the later shows, or as well written. During World War II, the program was mostly broadcast from military bases for GI audiences; those shows do not hold up as well.

I've listened to the gamut from the mid-30's through the mid-50's. The recordings themselves are obviously very different in quality but the content is largely unchanged over that 20-year span. The setting is almost always in Benny's "home" or in rehearsal studio. The characters are also the same even though done by different people. The later radio shows usually contain some reference to the TV show.

What you are missing (in addition to the word "program") is the show was funny. It was not funny because of the jokes. The humor was mostly character driven. Yes, it was repetitive - even predictable. And with Benny's timing and delivery, this made it funnier. The audience knew what Benny would do or say. The laughs came in waiting for him to say it or do it. In a way, Benny's approach to comedy was like Hitchcock's approach to drama. Hitchcock, the master of suspense, did not use shock or surprise. He used anticipation. So did Benny. Benny did it so well he could get laughs with dead air.

I understand what you mean and agree somewhat but comparing Benny to Amos 'n Andy for example I don't see the same humorous writing. The AnA show always told a different story whereas the Benny show (excuse me, program) seemed to be the same story each week with little variation.

The one thing I see in Benny's program that I don't necessarily see in the others was folding a sponsor's message into the program material. That seemed quite innovative for the time.

Maybe I just can't enjoy Benny on radio the same way I enjoy him visually. With some comedians (Bob Hope for example) it doesn't seem to make a difference whether on radio or TV. Benny seems to come alive on TV since some of his comedy is visual and doesn't translate well if unseen.

 

[MattParker]

@Tuna: One theory is that TV supplanted radio because radio (in general) had been doing that same thing for close to 20 years. The appeal of TV was fresh talent and fresh ideas, not just pictures.

Jack Benny considered himself a radio comedian. He resisted TV for as long as he could. He continued doing the radio show until 1956. During this period, his TV program was occasional specials and then shows every two or three weeks. He did not even attempt some of his regular bits on TV (like the vault).

Maybe you just don't appreciate Benny's type of comedy. Or radio's "theater of the mind."

 

[landtuna]

Maybe you just don't appreciate Benny's type of comedy. Or radio's "theater of the mind."

When I was a young squirt we didn't have a TV (nor was there a station in my town) so I did listen to radio quite often. I don't ever remember listening to Benny's radio show then but I do remember some cop shows (Dragnet? Racket Squad? Whistler?) and Gunsmoke, Lone Ranger and several kids shows. So I know what you mean by "theater of the mind".

After TV arrived in '54 I quickly became a fan of comedy and variety shows and Benny's was one of them. So I first saw him rather than heard him. Maybe that is the reason the radio shows seem kind of quaint and amateurish to me.

 

[MattParker]

@Tuna: Racket Squad was not a radio show (I checked Dunning). But given the nature of early TV shows, radio with close-ups of actors talking and some very similar concepts, it would be easy to get radio and TV shows of the era mixed up.

Radio comedy was different than even early TV comedy. Caesar and Uncle Miltie were physical comedians. But your observation about Benny's unoriginality applied to most radio comedy. The same basic jokes (like Don Wilson's size or Phil Harris' skirt-chasing, Frankie Remley's drinking and Benny's cheapness) were repeated endlessly but somehow seem to grow funnier to audiences then with repetition and predictability. Only a few comedy shows used theater of the mind for comic effect. The only other one that comes immediately to mind was Fibber McGee's closet (another bit repeated often). What set Benny apart was timing, delivery and brilliant use of sound-effects (including the voice of Mel Blanc). If you just listen for jokes and punch lines, a lot of them were stale. In many ways, the show was a sitcom presented as a variety show (or maybe a variety show presented as a sitcom) and as with any sitcom, the same characters, settings and premises were constant.

I guess you had to be there and be there every week. Then the punchline was anti-climatic because you already got it before they told it.

MUGGER: Psst. Hey, Buddy.
JACK: Yes.
MUGGER: Your money or your life.
SILENCE.
MORE SILENCE.
AUDIENCE LAUGHTER BUILDS AND CONTINUES. FINALLY...
MUGGER: I said, "Your money or your life."
JACK (exasperated): I'm thinking it over.

The laugh Benny got with silence is still being used on sitcom laugh tracks.

 

[landtuna]

MUGGER: Psst. Hey, Buddy.
JACK: Yes.
MUGGER: Your money or your life.
SILENCE.
MORE SILENCE.
AUDIENCE LAUGHTER BUILDS AND CONTINUES. FINALLY...
MUGGER: I said, "Your money or your life."
JACK (exasperated): "I'm thinking it over."

I was reading a story about this particular episode the other day. It explained how the writers came up with Benny's response. Reportedly, the writers got to the "money or your life" line then got stuck. When another writer got impatient and asked for the line another responded "I'm thinking it over!" and they went with it. The rest, as they say, is history.

 

[LKellerIII]

@Tuna: One theory is that TV supplanted radio because radio (in general) had been doing that same thing for close to 20 years. The appeal of TV was fresh talent and fresh ideas, not just pictures.

Jack Benny considered himself a radio comedian. He resisted TV for as long as he could. He continued doing the radio show until 1956. During this period, his TV program was occasional specials and then shows every two or three weeks. He did not even attempt some of his regular bits on TV (like the vault).

Maybe you just don't appreciate Benny's type of comedy. Or radio's "theater of the mind."

Actually, there is an episode of the program that features a trip down into the vault. According to a number of internet sources, it was directed by Fred DeCordova in 1961. I remember seeing it as a kid.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0613636/

 

[therealjm12]

Actually, there is an episode of the program that features a trip down into the vault. According to a number of internet sources, it was directed by Fred DeCordova in 1961. I remember seeing it as a kid.

I remember the vault on TV, too. I was very young but remember it well. The guard at vault was very elderly and had a civil war uniform on. He asked Benny if we had won the war. Benny said, yes, yes, we have, to which the guard said, what did we do with the Kaiser?

 

[visaman]

One thing I have noticed is the virtual lack of segue's. More often than not when it comes time for the band to play, Kenny or Dennis to sing or just to end the show there is nothing but an abrupt cut-off. That isn't all the time of course but it seems to be most of the time. And like the Three Stooges shorts, when time is up the show just ends. Was that typical of radio in those days?

I have to jump in here. I used to listen to "OWL PROWL" on CKNW with Jack Cullen. Cullen was an old radio man from the Golden Age, in Vancouver. He was also an avid collector of transcribed radio shows from the original discs. Before he retired, Cullen donated the discs to CKNW.

In interviews, Cullen often remarked, that the discs were made for the fighting boys in WW2. The Armed Forces Network, would ask the networks to edit out the live commercials, so more often than not, the commercials were replaced with music. That is what we hear today, and that's why the music seems to break in arbitrary.

Of course there are transcriptions with the commericals, especially the JELLO ads on the Benny Program. So, it I were you, I would try to listen to a few sources of transcriptions to get the true flavour of J-E-L-L-O!