Jack Benny

Join host, Carl Amari, as we shine the spotlight on the high watermark of 20th century American comedy, in this week's episode of The Jack Benny Program. Starring the comedic legend Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Dennis Day, Eddie Rochester Anderson, Phil Harris, Don Wilson, Bob Hope, and Bob Cosby.Did you know that at a very young age, Jack Benny's parents encouraged him to become a concert violinist? He had learned to play quite well, and hit the Vaudeville stage to play popular songs soon after. It was during this period where he became quite known for developing a comedic act, by emphasizing his fragile personality through self-deprecating jokes. He soon went on to become a legendary American comedian with The Jack Benny Program radio series, which successfully transitioned into a hit television series from 1950 to 1965.Originally airing 01/11/1953, this week's episode of "The Road to Bali," from The Jack Benny Program, will surely deliver on comedic value that is perfect for the whole family.Enjoying The Film Detective?You can watch this episode here. Or connect with us here:FacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeWant even more? Subscribe to our Newsletter here. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Frank Sinatra's birthday right around the corner, it's the perfect time to revisit Rocky Fortune - Ol' Blue Eyes' six-month stint as a radio detective. We'll hear Rocky bounce between jobs and find trouble everywhere he goes in a pair of episodes: "Carnival One Way" (originally aired on NBC on December 8, 1953) and "Too Many Husbands" (originally aired on NBC on February 16, 1954). Plus, he gets a job offer from Jack Benny in an episode of Benny's show (originally aired on NBC on October 8, 1944).

This is a snippet from Breaking Walls Episode 98: Christmas Week 1947 with Radio's Biggest Stars————————————Sunday nights at 7PM was appointment radio from the mid 1930s through the end of the 1940s. Why? Because of one man: Jack Benny. It was the monumental success of Jack Benny’s 1945-46 season which led to solo shows for Phil Harris, Mel Blanc, and Dennis Day. In the fall of 1947, Sunday night ratings were dominated by NBC. Their seven to nine PM programming block of Jack Benny, Harris & Faye, Fred Allen, and Bergen & McCarthy all had ratings over 20 points. Jack Benny, and his program, was the network’s linchpin.Meanwhile, at 8:30PM from New York, Fred Allen signed on NBC. The comedian was enjoying the best season of his career. His Sunday night rating was 27.4, third-highest on the air.

On the October 10th, 1948 episode of the Jack Benny Program Rochester reads Jack's diary recounting his summer trip to Europe, and the gang listens to the 1948 World Series featuring the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Braves.

In early 1943 Orson Welles was in production alongside Joan Fontaine with 20th Century Fox for Jane Eyre.Although Welles enjoyed acting for the screen, he preferred live radio. In March, when Jack Benny took ill with pneumonia, Welles filled in as host of The Jack Benny Program.Jack returns on April 11th, but Orson isn’t quite ready to let go.(Photo: Actors Mickey Rooney, Jack Benny, and Orson Welles talk things over before going on the air in a recent broadcast here in connection with the March of Dimes for the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis.)

https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/rr12021/LOL143.mp3 The Jack Benny Program is on this week’s A Legacy Of Laughs. We’ll hear his episode from October 11, 1942, At Barbara Stanwyck’s House. Download LOL143

When Jack Benny came down with pneumonia in the spring of 1943 and he had to miss a month of shows, an unlikely guest host stepped in to fill his shoes. For four episodes, Orson Welles poked fun at himself and joined in the jokes with Benny's gang - Mary, Phil, Dennis, Don, and Rochester - and showed off his comedy chops on one of the funniest shows of the era. We'll hear all four of those broadcasts from The Grape Nuts and Grape Nuts Flakes Program (originally aired on NBC on March 14, March 21, March 28, and April 4, 1943).

https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/rr12021/LOL128.mp3 A Legacy Of Laughs features The Horn Blows At Midnight, from The Jack Benny Program this week. This episode was originally aired February 20, 1949. Download LOL128

We mark the first anniversary of our bonus comedy episodes with the shows that kicked off the series. First, Jack Benny and his gang try and solve a murder with an all-star cast of suspects (including Gene Kelly, Rosalind Russell, and Frank Sinatra) in The Jack Benny Program (originally aired on CBS on January 8, 1950). Then, Eve Arden stars as Our Miss Brooks. She's placed in charge of Madison High School's new student banking system (originally aired on CBS on January 30, 1949).

Jack Benny is one of the great American comedians. His work spans the 20th century, from vaudeville to radio and movies to TV. In vaudeville, he delivered the snappy comebacks and one liners with intelligence and wit, but it was only with the continuing development of his personal trait comedy that he really became the Jack Benny we all know so well. "Who else could play for four decades the part of a vain, miserly, argumentative skinflint, and emerge a national treasure? The secret of his success was deceptively simple: he was a man of great heart." That's John Dunning's assessment from "On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio," which gives a great history of the man and his show. "Where would I be today without my writers, without Rochester, Dennis Day, Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, and Don Wilson?" Benny asked in Newsweek in 1947.