Jack Benny at Corona Naval Hospital - Thanksgiving

The Jack Benny Program was a hit on radio and television for more than three decades. Jack's show is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century American comedy.

Best of @ChestertonRadio on our all-day live stream here: http://Listen.ChestertonRadio.com

Originally Broadcast 11/19/1944

Jack Benny – played himself. Protagonist of the show, Benny is a comic, vain, penny-pinching miser, insisting on remaining 39 years old on stage despite his actual age, and often playing the violin badly.

Eddie Anderson – Rochester Van Jones, Jack's valet and chauffeur. Early in the show's run, he often talked of gambling or going out with women. Later on, he generally complained about his salary.

Don Wilson – Himself. Don generally opened the show and also did the commercials. He was the target of Jack's jokes, mostly about his weight.

Gene McNulty – Dennis Day, a vocalist perpetually in his 20s (by the time of the last television series, McNulty was 49 years old). He was sweet but not very bright. When called upon, he could use a wide variety of accents, which was especially useful in plays. He usually sang a song about 10 minutes into the program. If the episode was a flashback to a previous time, a ruse would be used such as Dennis singing his song for Jack so he could hear it before the show. McNulty adopted the name "Dennis Day" as his stage name for the rest of his career.

Sadie Marks – Mary Livingstone, a sarcastic comic foil whose varying roles all served as, to use the description of Fred Allen, "a girl to insult (Jack)." Marks, who in real life was Benny's wife, later legally changed her name to "Mary Livingstone" in response to the character's popularity. Her role on the program was reduced in the 1950s due to increasing stage fright, and Livingstone finally retired from acting in 1958.

Phil Harris – Himself. A skirt-chasing, arrogant, hip-talking bandleader who constantly put Jack down (in a mostly friendly way, of course). He referred to Mary as "Livvy" or "Liv", and Jack as "Jackson". Harris explained this once by saying it's "as close as I can get to jackass and still be polite" Spun off into The Phil Harris–Alice Faye Show (1946–1954) with his wife, actress Alice Faye. Harris left the radio show in 1952 and his character did not make the transition to television

Chesterton Radio
Podcasting the Classics! Works of G.K. Chesterton and Friends
Plus, Drama, Comedy, Mystery, Science Fiction and more

Chuck the TV and discover a whole new world!
True - Good - Beautiful
The Soundtrack for your Chesterton Day!

Our 24/7 Live Stream is here:
http://Listen.ChestertonRadio.com

Your support is the only thing that keeps Chesterton Radio on the Air!
https://www.patreon.com/ChestertonRadio
https://www.SubscribeStar.com/ChestertonRadio
http://BuyMeACoffee.com/ChestertonRadio
http://chestertonradio.com/index.php/support

Programs on Chesterton Radio are sponsored by:
MachineDesignPro.com: Engineering and Product Development Services
http://MachineDesignPro.com

BatteryJobs.com: Energy Career Portal - Electric Vehicle - Lead-Acid - Lithium - Solar
http://BatteryJobs.com

Contact us to learn how you or your company can become a Chesterton Radio sponsor:
http://Sponsor.ChestertonRadio.com

Do you enjoy the variety on Chesterton Radio?
Like, Share and Subscribe to be notified of our new shows

Discover new Chesterton Radio shows in our other Playlists!
http://Plays.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Chesterton.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Orthodoxy.ChestertonRadio.com
http://EverlastingMan.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Eugenics.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Distributism.ChestertonRadio.com
http://FatherBrown.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Freedom.ChestertonRadio.com
http://1984.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Jukebox.ChestertonRadio.com

Follow us on social media
https://mstdn.social/@ChestertonRadio
https://www.gab.com/chestertonradio
https://mewe.com/i/chestertonradio
https://chestertonradio.locals