JACK BENNY: THE GREATEST COMEDIAN OF ALL TIME

Jack Benny, in my opinion was one of the greatest comedians of all-time. Recognized as a leading American entertainer of the 20th century, Benny portrayed his character as a miser, playing his violin badly. In character, he would be 39 years of age, regardless of his actual age. Benny was known for comic timing, and the ability to create laughter with a pregnant pause or a single expression, such as his signature exasperated "Well!" 

His radio and television programs, popular from the 1930s to the 1970s, were a major influence on the sitcom genre. Benny had been a minor vaudeville performer before becoming a national figure with The Jack Benny Program, a weekly radio show that ran from 1932 to 1948 on NBC and from 1949 to 1955 on CBS. It was among the most highly rated programs during its run. Benny's long radio career began on April 6, 1932, when the NBC Commercial Program Department auditioned him for the N.W. Ayer agency and their client, Canada Dry, after which Bertha Brainard, head of the division, said, "We think Mr. Benny is excellent for radio and, while the audition was unassisted as far as orchestra was concerned, we believe he would make a great bet for an air program." Benny's comic persona changed over the course of his career. At some point he developed a miserly persona. This stage character was everything that Jack Benny was not: cheap, petty, vain, and self-congratulatory. His comic rendering of these traits was the linchpin to the success of his show. Benny set himself up as comedic foil, allowing his supporting characters to draw laughs at the expense of his own flaws. With his humanism and vulnerability in an era where few male characters were allowed such character traits, Benny made what could have been an unlikable everyman character. Benny said: "I don't care who gets the laughs on my show, as long as the show is funny."

In 1937, Benny began his famous radio feud with rival Fred Allen. Allen kicked the feud off on his own show, after child violinist Stewart Canin gave a performance credible enough that Allen wisecracked about "a certain alleged violinist" who should by comparison be ashamed of himself. Benny, who either listened to the Allen show or was told about the crack, answered in kind on his own show. And the two comedians were off and running. The television version of The Jack Benny Program ran from October 28, 1950, to 1965. Initially scheduled as a series of five "specials" during the 1950–1951 season, the show appeared every six weeks for the 1951–1952 season, every four weeks for the 1952–1953 season and every three weeks in 1953–1954. For the 1953–1954 season, half the episodes were live and half were filmed during the summer, to allow Benny to continue doing his radio show. From the fall of 1954 to 1960, it appeared every other week, and from 1960 to 1965 it was seen weekly.

Benny also acted in movies, including the Academy Award-winning The Hollywood Revue of 1929, Broadway Melody of 1936 (as a benign nemesis for Eleanor Powell and Robert Taylor), George Washington Slept Here (1942), and notably, Charley's Aunt (1941) and To Be or Not to Be (1942). After his broadcasting career ended, Benny performed live as a stand up comedian and returned to films in 1963 with a cameo appearance in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Benny made one of his final television appearances in the fall of 1972 on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson when Carson celebrated his 10th anniversary.

In October 1974, Benny canceled a performance in Dallas after suffering a dizzy spell, coupled with numbness in his arms. Despite a battery of tests, Benny's ailment could not be determined. When he complained of stomach pains in early December, a first test showed nothing, but a subsequent one showed he had inoperable pancreatic cancer. Choosing to spend his final days at home, he was visited by close friends including George Burns, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Carson and John Rowles. He died on December 26, 1974 at age 80, and is interred at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, CA...

PHOTOS OF THE DAY: SOME MORE FINAL PICTURES OF THE STARS

Some of these pictures are hard to look at, but even though these stars are bigger than life it goes to show that we are all just human...

Charlie Chaplin - October, 1977. He died on December 25, 1977

Buddy Holly - February 3, 1959. He died later that night in a plane crash.

Tiny Tim - November 30, 1996. He died shortly after this photo was taken.

Johnny Carson - January 4, 2005. He died on January 23, 2005.

President Lyndon Johnson - January 17, 1973. He died on January 22, 1973.

Henry Fonda - March 29, 1982. He died on August 12, 1982.

More Final Pictures Of The Stars - October 30, 2013

Final Pictures Of The Stars - March 28, 2012
 

Final Photos Of The Stars - March 28, 2012Select a profile image for ZIGMUND CICHOS

PHOTOS OF THE DAY: JACK BENNY AND FRIENDS

Jack Benny is by far one of my favorite comedians. He is also one of the most decent men that was in show business. He lived 80 years, but it just was not enough. Through the years Jack befriended and appeared with a lot of the greats of show business. Here are some pictures of Jack with other stars and various famous people...

JACK WITH PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN

JACK WITH A YOUNG JOHNNY CARSON

JACK WITH THE ZANY SPIKE JONES

JACK WITH A YOUNG JULIE ANDREWS

JACK CUDDLING WITH JUDY GARLAND

JACK GETTING "FED" BY JOAN CRAWFORD

FAMOUS SECOND BANANAS OF TV

Behind most great television hosts is a second banana to not only bring comic relief, but also make the star look good. I decided to look up some great stars that I considered to be talented funny people during the golden age of the medium. Some second bananas who have brightened late-night TV include:

Ed McMahon (1923-2009): Paired with Johnny Carson during his full run on "Tonight," 1962 to 1992. Made "H-e-e-e-e-e-ere's Johnny!" an indelible catch phrase. He was probably one of the most famous second bananas in television history. Carson depicted McMahon as a bumbling alcoholic, when it was later discovered that Johnny had the secret problems with addiction. There was no one better than Ed.

Dagmar (1921-2001): Bombshell who became a household name in the early 1950s on "Broadway Open House"; her dumb blonde act became so popular she received 2,000 fan letters a week. The show was hosted by Jerry Lester and Morey Amsterdam, later of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" fame. She was famous for making a record with Frank Sinatra, which is considered Sinatra's worst recording, "Mama Will Bark" in 1952.

Louis Nye (1913-2005), Don Knotts (1924-2006), Tom Poston (1921-2007): On "Tonight" and his later talk shows, Steve Allen established a cadre of talented comics instead of a single sidekick. Knotts was the nervous nebbish, Nye the suave, overconfident guy bellowing, "Hi-ho, Steverino!" and Poston a man so unnerved by the camera that he couldn't remember who he was. Knotts and Poston had long careers in televion and movies, but it was unfortunate that Nye never really became a big star.

Hugh Downs (born 1921): Worked as Jack Paar's second banana on "Tonight" from 1957 until Paar's departure in 1962. I always forget Downs had that role. I remember him mostly from his long stint on 20/20. Once famously kept the show running single-handedly after the mercurial Paar stormed off the air in mid-show in a dispute with the network.

Regis Philbin (born 1931): Bantered with Joey Bishop for two years in the late 1960s on ABC's answer to Carson, "The Joey Bishop Show." It was Philbin's first prominent TV role, and he recalled it as "my introduction to the highly competitive late-night show world." Philbin is now cited in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most broadcast hours logged by a TV personality - breaking the record held by another former second-banana, Hugh Downs. Sadly Philbin left his famous morning talk show in November of 2011.

Arthur Treacher (1894-1975): Merv Griffin's announcer and sidekick, who would introduce "Meeeer-vin!" An English-born actor, he typically played the quintessential butler/valet in movies, including several with Shirley Temple. He also had a fish-and-chips chain named after him. I actually know Treacher more from his movies and maybe restaurant than his role as a second banana. The network said that Treacher was too old to be Merv Griffin's sidekick, but Griffin fought for him, and Treacher served in that role as second banana from 1965 to 1970.

LAST APPEARANCE: JUDY GARLAND

Here is one of the last appearances Judy Garland made on television. Six months before her death on June 22, 1969, a frail Judy Garland made an appearances on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson. The original broadcast was December 17,1968. It was a far cry from Dorothy and the land of Oz...