Jack Benny Show - OTR Podcast!

Podcast Spotlight 1 JACK BENNY - 1932-05-02 - Jack's First Show Ever!

Buck Benny — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:30:25 GMT

The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, was a radio-TV comedy series which ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century comedy. With Canada Dry Ginger Ale as a sponsor, Benny came to radio on The Canada Dry Program, beginning May 2, 1932, on the NBC Blue Network and continuing there for six months until October 26, moving the show to CBS on October 30. With Ted Weems leading the band, Benny stayed on CBS until January 26, 1933. Arriving at NBC on March 17, Benny did The Chevrolet Program until April 1, 1934. He continued with sponsors General Tires, Jell-O and Grape Nuts. But in 1944, the practice of using the sponsor's name as the title faded out, and the show was then known as The Jack Benny Program. Lucky Strike was the radio sponsor from 1944 to the mid-1950s. The show returned to CBS on January 2, 1949, as part of CBS president William S. Paley's notorious "raid" of NBC talent in 1948-49. There it stayed for the remainder of its radio run, which ended on May 22, 1955. CBS aired reruns of old radio episodes from 1956 to 1958 as The Best of Benny. To discuss episodes with me feel free to visit my forum thread on Jack Benny at [link]http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=153009.[/link]

Podcast 3 JACK BENNY - 1937-06-20 - Eddie Anderson becomes Rochester - Jack's Movie

Buck Benny — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:17:15 GMT

First episode with Eddie Anderson as the character named "Rochester". Eddie Anderson biography part 2 Anderson's first appearance on the Jack Benny Show was on March 28, 1937. In this episode, Benny and his cast were traveling by train from Chicago back to California, and Anderson (unnamed) was cast as a redcap. Anderson's first interaction with Benny was at the station in Chicago while they were boarding the train. On one of their two jokes, Benny said, "Here you are, redcap, here's fifty cents." Anderson replied, "This is a dime!" and Benny replied, "Look at your script, not the coin!" Benny later had an interaction with a different actor on the train, who laughed when Jack asked about when they would arrive in Albuquerque (indicating he had never heard of the place). In later years, Benny and Anderson referenced this conversation as having been between the two of them, and Anderson quipped, "Now if you'll give me my tip, I'll go home to my family." Anderson appeared acting as Benny's valet on the June 20, 1937 show, and from that point onward, he appeared intermittently in that role. However, it would be several years before he would be mentioned at the start of the program as part of the cast. Movies In addition to his role with Benny, Anderson appeared in over sixty motion pictures, including Uncle Peter in Gone with the Wind, Cabin in the Sky, and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. He reprises his Rochester role in Topper Returns, this time as Cosmo Topper's valet (though he jokes about 'Mr. Benny' in the film). Thoroughbred horse racing Anderson owned Burnt Cork, a Thoroughbred racehorse that ran in the 1943 Kentucky Derby. Death He died in 1977 due to heart disease at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Los Angeles, California.[1][2] Legacy Anderson was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2001. References 1. ^ "Eddie Anderson, 71, Benny's Rochester. Gravel-Voiced Comedian Noted for 'What's That, Boss?' Line Played Valet for More Than 30 Years.", New York Times (March 1, 1977). Retrieved on 2008-05-24. "Eddie (Rochester) Anderson, the gravel voiced comedian who played Jack Benny's valet for more than 30 years, died yesterday at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Los Angeles. He was 71 years old and had been under treatment for a heart ailment since December." 2. ^ "Died", Time (magazine) (March 14, 1977). Retrieved on 2008-05-24. "Eddie Anderson, 71, who played the late Jack Benny's hoarse, heckling valet Rochester on radio, TV and film for more than 30 years; of heart disease; in Los Angeles. In 1937, Anderson made what was supposed to be a one-shot appearance on the Benny broadcast; the audience loved his drollery, and he became a member of the cast. Anderson constantly deflated Benny's pomposity with a high-pitched, incredulous, "What's that, boss?""

Podcast 2 JACK BENNY - 1937-05-02 - Buck Benny Party

Buck Benny — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:46:36 GMT

Second episode featuring Eddie Anderson. This episode also celebrates Jack's 5th year in radio. This weeks featured player is Andy Devine. He was featured in over 75 episodes! Andy Devine From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Andy Devine Born Andrew Vabre Devine October 7, 1905(1905-10-07) Flagstaff, Arizona, U.S. Died February 18, 1977 (aged 71) Orange, California, U.S. For the Emmerdale actor, see Andy Devine (actor). Andrew Vabre "Andy" Devine (October 7, 1905 - February 18, 1977) was a rotund, raspy-voiced American character actor and comic cowboy sidekick. Life and work Born in Flagstaff, Arizona on October 7, 1905, Andy Devine grew up in nearby Kingman, where his family moved when he was a year old. His father was Thomas Devine Jr., born in 1869 in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Andy's grandfather, Thomas Devine Sr., was born in 1842 in Tipperary County, Ireland, and immigrated to the United States in 1852. Andy's mother was Amy Ward, the granddaughter of Commander James H. Ward, the first officer of the United States Navy killed during the Civil War. He was a star football player at Ball State University. He also played semi-professional football under the pseudonym "Jeremiah Schwartz" -- it was not his birth name as has been erroneously reported elsewhere. His football experience led to his first film role in the silent film The Fighting Football Cardinals.[citation needed] It was in 1933 on a John Ford directed picture at Universal Studios, "Doctor Bull", that Andy met his wife, Dorothy House. They were married on October 28, 1933, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and remained united until his death on February 18, 1977. Although it was at first thought that his peculiar voice would prevent him from moving to the talkies, it became his trademark and strongest selling point. Devine told people that his speech was the result of a childhood accident. (His story is that he had been running with a curtain rod in his mouth and fell, the instrument piercing the roof of his mouth, and when he was finally able to speak, he had the wheezing, duo-tone voice that would make him famous as an actor.) However, a biographer explains that this wasn't true but was one of several stories about his voice fabricated by Devine.[1] Devine's son Tad told an Encore Westerns Channel interviewer (Jim Beaver, reporting from 2007 Newport Beach Film Festival)that the accident had indeed happened but that Andy Devine himself was uncertain whether it was the actual cause of his unique vocal quality. Film, radio, and television He appeared in more than 400 films and shared with Walter Brennan, another character actor, the rare ability to move with ease from "B" Westerns to "A" pictures. His notable roles included ten films as sidekick "Cookie" to Roy Rogers, a role in Romeo and Juliet (1937), and "Danny" in A Star Is Born (1937). He made several appearances in films with John Wayne, including Stagecoach (1939), Island in the Sky (1953), and as the frightened marshal in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He also played "The Cheerful Soldier" in The Red Badge of Courage and the First Mate of the S.S. Henrietta in Around the World in Eighty Days (1956). While most of his characters were reluctant to get involved in the action, he played the hero in Island in the Sky, as an expert pilot who leads his fellow aviators through the arduous search for a missing airplane. His film appearances in his later years included movies such as The Over-the-Hill Gang, and "Coyote Bill" in Myra Breckinridge. Devine also worked in radio. He is well-remembered for his role as "Jingles", Guy Madison's sidekick in The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, which Devine and Madison reprised on television. He appeared over 75 times on Jack Benny's radio show between 1936 and 1942, often appearing in Benny's semi-regular western series of sketches "Buck Benny Rides Again". And Devine worked in television. He played "Hap" on the TV series Flipper and hosted a children's TV show, Andy's Gang. He starred in a Twilight Zone episode as "Frisby", a talkative fibster faced with an alien invasion called "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby". He was also a frequent guest star in many television shows throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Finally, Devine performed voice parts in animated films, including "Friar Tuck" in Disney's Robin Hood. He provided the voice of Cornelius the Rooster in several Kellogg's Corn Flakes TV commercials. In 1973, Devine came to Monroe, Louisiana at the request of George C. Brian, an actor and filmmaker who headed the theater department at a Louisiana university, to perform in Edna Ferber's Show Boat. Devine died of leukemia on February 18, 1977, at the age of 71, in Orange, California. The main street of his home town of Kingman was renamed "Andy Devine Avenue" in his honor. His career is also highlighted in the Mohave Museum of History and Arts in Kingman, and there is a star in his honor in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Quotation * When asked if he had strange nodes on his vocal cords, Devine replied, "I've got the same nodes as Bing Crosby, but his are in tune."

Podcast 1 JACK BENNY - 1937-03-28 - A Train Trip to Los Angeles

Buck Benny — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:05:41 GMT

First episode featuring Eddie "Rochester" Anderson! Eddie Anderson Biography Part 1 Eddie Anderson (comedian) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Birth name Edmund Lincoln Anderson Born September 18, 1905(1905-09-18) Oakland, California, USA Died February 28, 1977 (aged 71) Los Angeles, California, USA Show The Jack Benny Program Station(s) NBC, CBS Style Comedian Country United States Edmund Lincoln Anderson (September 18, 1905 – February 28, 1977), often known as Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, was an American comic actor who became famous playing "Rochester van Jones" (usually known simply as "Rochester"), the valet to Jack Benny's eponymous title character on the long-running radio and television series The Jack Benny Program. Birth and early career He was born in Oakland, California, USA on September 18, 1905 into a family of performers, Anderson began his show business career at age 14 in a song-and-dance act with his brother Cornelius and another performer. They billed themselves as the Three Black Aces. At a young age, Anderson permanently damaged his vocal cords (he had to yell loudly for his job selling newspapers), leading to his trademark "raspy" voice. Benny's ordering of his "valet" and Anderson's responses (sometimes a resigned "Yes, Boss", but just as often a snappy joke at Benny's expense) were among the weekly highlights of the long-running show. Anderson's role as a servant was common for Black leads in the popular media of that era, such as Ethel Waters in Beulah. The stereotyping of Blacks (or any ethnic group) had been standard practice in the entertainment business for generations. The relationship between Anderson and Benny became more complex and intimate as the years went by, with Rochester's role becoming both less stereotypical (in early episodes he carried a switchblade and shot craps) and less subservient (though he remained a valet), reflecting changing social attitudes toward Blacks. According to Jack Benny's posthumous autobiography, Sunday Nights at Seven, the tone of racial humor surrounding Rochester declined as a conscious decision between Benny and the writing staff during World War II, once the enormity of the Holocaust was revealed. In short, Benny didn't find such humor funny anymore, and he made an effort to erase it from the character of Rochester. The high esteem in which the two actors held each other was evident upon Benny's death in 1974, in which a tearful Anderson, interviewed for television, spoke of Benny with admiration and respect. Benny was often protective of Anderson, and this led to conflict. For instance, in World War II, Benny toured with his show, but Rochester did not, because discrimination in the armed forces would have required separate living quarters. Interestingly, though, during performances of the radio program staged before armed forces audiences at bases and military hospitals, the appearance of Rochester routinely drew enthusiastic applause that arguably often outstripped that received by other members of the cast. Stateside, a similar incident was defused by Benny when, according to reporter Fredric W. Slater, Rochester was denied a room at the hotel that Benny and his staff were planning to staying in Saint Joseph, Missouri. When it was announced that Anderson could not stay there, Benny replied "If he doesn't stay here, neither do I." The hotel eventually allowed Anderson to remain as a guest. Even though some of the humor was stereotypical, it was always done so that the racial element of the joke came from Anderson and no one else. For instance, when Jack takes a vacation, he takes Rochester along; but as a guest, not a servant, because Jack drives just as often as Rochester does. When they get to Yosemite to go skiing, Jack says "Don't wander off now, you're not used to being in the woods, you'll get lost in all the snow." Rochester replies "Who me?" Thus the race element of the joke was provided by Anderson. Among the most highly-paid performers of his time, Anderson invested wisely and became extremely wealthy. Despite this, he was so strongly identified with the "Rochester" role that many listeners of the radio program mistakenly persisted in the belief that he was Benny's actual valet. One such listener drove Benny to distraction when he sent a scolding letter to Benny concerning Rochester's alleged pay, and then sent another letter to Anderson, which urged him to sue Benny. A similar letter came from a correspondent in the South who was angered that on an episode of the radio show where Benny was sparring with Anderson, that Benny allowed himself to be struck by Anderson. Benny retorted in a letter that it would not have been humorous the other way around.

Gunsmoke - The Cabin

Buck Benny — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 04:59:00 GMT

Powerful "Christmas" episode - very dark in nature!

Jack Benny - Your Money or Your Life

Buck Benny — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 17:08:19 GMT

Worlds Finest Superman meets Batman

Buck Benny — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 07:28:46 GMT

Christmas Is for the Family - 06 - I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day.MP3

Buck Benny — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 07:53:48 GMT

Dennis Day - Christmas Is for the Family - 05 - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.mp3

Buck Benny — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 02:37:13 GMT

Dennis Day - Christmas Is for the Family - 04 - May Santa Fill Our Hearts.mp3

Buck Benny — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 10:03:13 GMT

Dennis Day - Christmas Is for the Family - 03 - White Christmas.mp3

Buck Benny — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 09:42:10 GMT

Dennis Day - Christmas Is for the Family - 02 - Jingle Bells.mp3

Buck Benny — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 09:37:56 GMT

Dennis Day - Christmas Is for the Family - 01 - Jack Benny Intro.mp3

Buck Benny — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 09:34:27 GMT

Michael Nesmith - First National Rag

Buck Benny — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 04:58:36 GMT

Fun little interlude!

Welcome!

Buck Benny — Sun, 13 Nov 2005 05:26:02 GMT