VOICE ONE:
Jack Benny was one of the first comedians who was willing to let other people share some of the laughs. He rarely made jokes that hurt other people. Instead, he would let the other actors on the show tell jokes about him.
Many of the actors in Benny’s show became almost as famous as he was. They would criticize Benny’s refusal to replace his ancient automobile. They made fun of the pay telephone that he added to his house.
This is a telephone discussion between Benny and his trusted employee, Rochester.
(JACK BENNY PROGRAM)
BENNY: “Hello…”
ROCHESTER: “Hello, Mister Benny. This is Rochester…”
((applause))
BENNY: “Rochester, I’m in the middle of the program.”
ROCHESTER: “I know, boss, but this is very important. The man from the life insurance company was here about that policy you’re taking out and he asked me a lot of questions.”
BENNY: “Well, I hope you answered them right.”
ROCHESTER: “Oh, I did. When he asked me your height, I said five-foot-ten.”
BENNY: “Uh, huh.”
ROCHESTER: “Your weight, one-hundred-sixty-four.”
BENNY: “Uh, huh.”
ROCHESTER: “Your age, thirty-nine.”
BENNY: “Uh, huh.”
ROCHESTER: “We had quite a roundtable discussion on that one.”
((laughter))
(JACK BENNY PROGRAM)
BENNY: “Wait a minute, Rochester. Why should there be any question about my age?”
ROCHESTER: “Oh, it wasn’t a question. It was the answer we had trouble with.”
((laughter))
VOICE TWO:
Jack Benny said: “The show itself is the important thing. As long as people think the show is funny, it does not matter who tells the jokes.” He also made fun of the paid announcements broadcast during his radio show that were designed to sell products. They often provided some of the funniest moments in the show. Most performers never would make fun of the businesses that helped pay for the show.
VOICE ONE:
Over the years, Jack Benny did well financially. In Nineteen Forty-Eight, he moved his show from the National Broadcasting Company to the Columbia Broadcasting System. As part of the agreement, CBS paid more than two million dollars to a company in which Benny had a controlling interest.
Much later, the Music Corporation of America bought Benny’s production company. Benny received almost three million dollars in MCA stock shares.
In real life, he was the opposite of the person he played in his show. He was known to be very giving and someone people liked having as their employer. He also could play the violin very well.
VOICE TWO:
Jack Benny entered the new medium of television in Nineteen Fifty. Five years later, he dropped his radio program to spend more time developing his television show. At first, his appearances on television were rare. By Nineteen Sixty, the Benny show was a weekly television program. It continued until Nineteen-Sixty-Five.
Benny appeared in about twenty films during his life. A few became popular. But most were not. In Nineteen Sixty-Three, Benny returned to Broadway for the first time since Nineteen Thirty-One. He performed to large crowds.
VOICE ONE:
Jack Benny received many awards during his lifetime. The publication “Motion Picture Daily” voted him the country’s best radio comedian four times. In Nineteen Fifty-Seven, he won a special award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for the best continuing performance. He also won the Academy’s television award for the best comedy series in Nineteen Fifty-Nine.
Perhaps the one honor that pleased him most was that his hometown of Waukeegan named a school for him. This is was special honor for a man who had never finished high school.
VOICE TWO:
Jack Benny continued to perform and to do a few television specials after his weekly series ended. He died of cancer on December twenty-sixth, Nineteen Seventy-Four. His friend, comedian Bob Hope, spoke at the funeral about the loss felt by Benny’s friends and fans. He said: “Jack Benny was stingy to the end. He gave us only eighty years.”
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
This Special English program was written by and produced by George Grow. I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.
