Jack Benny's Radio Career
Jack Meets His Wife
In 1922, Jack Benny was performing in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Marx brothers were playing there at the same time. Sadie Marks, who would later become Mary Livingstone Benny, was the daughter of a prominent businessman who lived in Vancouver. One Friday, during Passover, her father, David Marks, invited the Marx brothers to dinner. Only one brother, Zeppo, and his friend Jack were able to make it to dinner. At the time, Jack was 28 years old. Sadie was a mere twelve. Immediately after dinner she heard Jack whisper to Zeppo, "Let's get out of here!" At that time Sadie thought that Jack Benny was a very rude man.
Four years later, Jack and Sadie met again. After this meeting they began to feel very differently about each other. Sadie and her sister went to see one of Jack's shows and went to dinner with Jack and some other friends afterward. The next day, Jack showed up in the department store in which she worked. For several days he didn't even talk to her, except to ask where the bathroom was. Finally, Jack asked Sadie to dinner and they remained together the rest of their lives. Jack's wife became his most trusted advisor, his style coordinator, a popular character on his radio show, and much more.
Jack Makes His First Appearance on a Radio Show
Jack had been working steadily in theaters from the time that he got out of the navy. He had made quite a name for himself on stage, and was beginning to dabble in movie-making. Then, in 1932, he did an interview with Ed Sullivan, on the radio. The first time a radio audience heard the voice of Jack Benny, it said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Jack Benny talking. There will be a slight pause while you say, 'Who cares?' I am here tonight as a scenario writer. There is quite a lot of money in writing for the pictures. Well, there would be if I could sell one."
Benny's spot on The Ed Sullivan show received great audience reaction and got the attention of some advertising agencies. On May 2, 1932, Jack's own radio show debuted. It was called the "Canada Dry Ginger Ale Program." After a few months, Jack's show was doing well, but he needed more depth. At that point, he asked his wife Sadie to do a few lines on the show. She had been doing bit parts with him on the stage, so she agreed. Jack and his writer created a character for her - Mary Livingstone from Plainfield, New Jersey. Sadie's character became so popular that she legally changed her name and was know for the rest of her life as Mary Livingstone Benny.
Jack Makes It Big in Radio
Jack had been doing his radio show for only two years in 1934, but he was already on top. The New York World-Telegram published the results of a national poll and the nation's favorite comedian was Benny. During that time Jack's sponsor went from Canada Dry Ginger Ale, to Chevrolet, to General Tire. However, beginning in the fall of 1934 General Foods became Jack's sponsor. He began starring on "The Jell-O Program" which ran for eight seasons. The show was heard over NBC on Sunday at 7 p.m. - this was a time slot which he would occupy for the next twenty-one years.
The character that Jack portrayed on the radio was very different from any other character at that time. His was "a highly faulty, very foolish, but still totally believable human being rather that a comic caricature." Many of the gags and jokes that made the show a success were based on Jack's very special character. He was portrayed as a very stingy, difficult man, who thought that he knew everything.
In 1937, the Benny-Allen feud began. Fred Allen, a former vaudevillian and fellow radio show personality, had a young violinist on his radio show and mockingly instructed Jack Benny on good violin techniques. Jack responded on his own show in kind, and began a feud that lasted for ten weeks. The public was fascinated, and in 1940 Benny and Allen starred in a Paramount film called Love Thy Neighbor. The plot of the film revolved around the reconstruction of the feud. The picture helped to perpetuate the duel, and it is considered a radio classic even today.
Some of the biggest laughs Jack ever got dealt with his characteristic stinginess. On one show, Jack was held up by a man who said," Your money or your life . . ." He paused for a while and the man said, "Well?" Jack replied, "I'm thinking it over!"
Another situation which elicited a great deal of response from the audience was Jack's underground vault; it became a running gag that was used for years. The trip down to the vault was always accompanied by footsteps, chains rattling, iron doors clanging, and whistles sounding the alarm. There was a man who guarded Benny's strong box and every time Benny wanted to enter the man would say, "Who goes there?" Benny would reply, "It's me, Ed." One time the guard asked, "What's new?" "The war's over," Jack answered. Then Ed responded, "Oh, good . . . Who won? The North or the South?" The audience loved it
Jack Goes To War
In 1943, Jack Benny was 49 years old. While this meant that he was too old to fight in the war, his age did not stop him from being a part of it. Out in California, Jack had been going to bases and entertaining soldiers for a few years. However, in 1943 he decided to do a nine-week tour in Central Africa, North Africa, Egypt, the Persian Gulf, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Sicily, and Italy.
Jack went out on tour again in the summer of 1944. While on tour, Jack changed sponsors from General Foods to American Tobacco's Lucky Strike Cigarettes. When he got home from his tour, Jack dived right back into the work that made his radio show number one.
Late in 1948, Jack Benny announced a startling change. After 14 years of great success, he was moving his show to CBS. It was at this time that Jack also began thinking about doing a television show. He decided to do a test program to see how he came across on the tube. Again, Jack Benny made a sensation. The skills and techniques that had made him one of the greatest vaudeville performers and a top radio personality, would soon make him into a television legend.
Jack's Television Career
Just as he had done in radio, Jack redefined television comedy. Most shows were just a collection of comedians and performers doing specific spots on the show. However, Jack simply continued the format he had perfected on radio, that of a family of regular people and performers who interacted in well-planned, humorous situations to create an excellent show for the audience.
Jack's first regular television show aired on Saturday, October 18, 1950. He continued to work hard and be successful for several years. One of the best things about the radio show was that they could portray real pictures of scenes and situations that had previously only been in the imagination of the radio audience. The audience got to see Jack's vault and his Maxwell.
Jack's television show went off the air in 1965. Despite his well-established age of 39, the true Mr. Benny was actually 71. The show continued to draw in about 18 million viewers, but the network felt that Jack wasn't attracting the younger viewers that it was after. Jack Benny had worked on the Jack Benny Program for 33 years, which included 343 television episodes before the show was retired.
After he retired, Jack continued to work just as hard as he always had. He had begun practicing the violin again, and made special guest appearances at many of the great orchestra halls throughout the nation. He also played with many world-famous orchestras and conductors. One of his favorite conductors, and great friends, was Zubin Mehta, who conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic. He and Jack played both venues together.
Jack also continued to make yearly television specials, and he discovered the joys of doing show in Las Vegas. He became a favorite in places like Harrah's and Caesar's Palace.
At 11:30 p.m., on December 26, 1974, Jack Benny died from cancer of the pancreas and other complications. He was survived by his wife, Mary, and his daughter, Joan.
Millie M. Crews
Copyright © 2001 by University of North Texas.
All rights reserved.
Revised: 27 Aug 2001 10:39:49 -0500
Jack as a young man
Jack's picture from the cover of a
1947 Newsweek Magazine
Jack and Marilyn Monroe
Benny's special slot machine at Harrah's that only took pennies.
Jack vainly preening
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