Jack Benny: The Art of Laughter


Jello again!
See my post on radio comedies for an introduction to this stellar cast.
Little more can be said here that I didn't say there.

 Here he is. After talking about this man in almost every post, it's time for him to finally receive his own spotlight post. This is a man who has taught me so much about living life and not letting it pass you. Back there existed a man with a wonderful family and a long-lasting circle of great friends. To him, life began at 40, and he walked along a golden path for 40 wonderful years.


A very Film Noir-esque still of Jack, circa mid-late 1940s if
I had to hazard a guess.


Now, I don't want to spend too much time recounting Jack's history, as it's my firm belief history doesn't define and shouldn't define someone, so let me put it as briefly as I could. He was born in Chicago on February 14th 1894, but according to him, he was carried in Waukegan and lived there, so that's where he was born. He started as a violinist in vaudeville at the age of 17, before transitioning into radio after a guest appearance on Ed Sullivan's program in 1932 at the age of 39. From there, the flood gates were open.


"This is Jack Benny talking, and making my first appearance on the air professionally,
 which means I'm  finally getting paid,
which I'm sure will be a great relief to my creditors,"


Jack's persona was strong from the get-go. I suppose vaudeville had something to do with this, but he always knew what to say to make his character stand out. In the early days of his act, he portrayed a starving artist with delusions of grandeur. As Benny himself put it, he was "The embodiment of every annoying person you meet in day to day life," Never nefarious or dastardly, just the culmination of every irksome experience, which led to great comedic effect overtime. His character would change slightly, from the starving artist to more the uptight, miserly yet affluent comedian later on, but one great change was on the horizon, and his name was Rochester Van Jones.

Rochester: Hello, Mr. Benny's residence, star of 
stage, screen, radio and I guess you could
say television!"

Originally meant to be a one time appearance in 1937, audiences loved Eddie Anderson's character so much, he was brought on as a permanent cast member that same year. Eddie Anderson as Rochester played Benny's wise-cracking butler who always got the last word against Jack, who was always none the wiser. Rochester fit in beautifully with the rest of the cast, and would become basically second fiddle (a fitting phrase) to Jack in both radio, television and his movie appearances. At one point, Rochester was the highest paid performer in the crew next to Jack, quite a feat for a black man back there. 


An interesting story involved Jack doing a performance for US troops in Iran during World War II. Jack did not bring Rochester on the trip, and one soldier noticed and asked him about it, remarking, "Why, Mr. Benny, I'd walk 10 miles to see that Rochester" Jack Benny retorted asking if he would sit at the same table as Rochester, to which the soldier's expression, "Got nasty". The soldier said he wouldn't, due to where he was from and how they don't really sit with people like Rochester. Jack had expected this response. He knew bringing Rochester on this particular trip would see him with people who laugh at him instead of with him. Jack's final words of "You make me sick" to the soldier tells it all.


Rochester with Theresa Harris in
Buck Benny Rides again (1940).
My, My!


It's easy to dismiss Rochester's character as racist, due to him playing a butler character, but as the characters' relationship evolved, they basically became more like roommates than a master/servant style relationship. They were on equal standing and Jack didn't go anywhere without Rochester. In Jack's 1940 film Buck Benny Rides Again, Rochester is in almost every scene, has two musical numbers, and has the last line of the movie. Jack purposely made it that way, wanting him and his love interest played by the beautiful and talented Theresa Harris, to be the stars of the film. 

Now this is a who's who!
Aside from the usual cast, you got Mel Blanc,
the sportsman quartet and all the behind the scenes folks.
Well!

I've mentioned this before, but the formula and characters created by Benny and his writers, fit into television like a glove. For 15 years, plus more in specials and such, Jack Benny was entertaining audiences on their TV tubes. On radio, certain things were just naturally not going to be shown, such as Jack's wonderful ability to get laughs with just a look. Once he hit the TV sets, nothing was left out. Every joke was punctuated with that classic Jack Benny look, and the audience would absolutely love it. In fact, part of Jack Benny's appeal truly came from his audience. Fans loved him, and they loved to see him. They didn't miss a beat, every joke, every funny line, every visual gag was picked up and got a laugh invariably.


George Burns and Jack in "Goldie, Fields and Glide," 
A comedic twist on a terrible vaudeville act.


Jack Benny became more than a character, he became an institution, an era in and of himself almost. He was more than a cheap character, he was the face of character based comedy. Everyone who wanted to be known for being someone had something to learn from Jack Benny. He didn't just hoard money, he had a vault in the middle of a cave like batman. He didn't just drive an old car, he drove a 1916 Maxwell that he haggled the owner for. He didn't just lie about his age, he was 39 for 41 years and he made sure that everyone knew it. He became indistinguishable from the man he'd been portraying all those years. But, of course, the real Jack Benny was nothing like that.

"Part of what made him able to make others laugh,
was that he himself loved to laugh,"


We can hear this from the friends who knew him and were around him. They all describe him the same way. A man who loved to laugh, and loved to make people laugh. Of the over 700 pictures of Jack on the pinterest board, my favorites are the one of him laughing and falling over, or having to grab hold of something or someone. That sort of absolute joy from laughing that hard speaks volumes to the kind of man Jack was. George Burns, a great friend of Jack's and a man all too deserving of a spotlight post himself, often described making Jack laugh as this sort of euphoric experience that made him the happiest in his life. I can only imagine what it would have been like to spend a day with the man. He was a gentle man, who surrounded himself with long-lasting friendships and a loving family. All stars fade, and 80 years into his journey, Jack's walking came to a close on December 26th 1974. He lived an exemplary life that we can look back on today and learn from.


“There’ll be times from now when the lightning would crash with a special kind of sound, and the thunder would peal with a special roar, and I’ll think to myself that Cantor, or Fields, or Fred Allen, must’ve told Jack a joke,”

The legacy of Jack Benny can definitely be seen today. For example, his opening and closing monologues were the inspiration for the Tonight Show monologues. His style of character humor inspired many comedians of his day including Bill Cosby, Johnny Carson and Steve Allen to name a few. He wasn't much for ad-libbing, but his style of story based joke telling served as the stepping stone for modern standup. Naturally, such a style of joke telling existed before Benny rose to fame, but one can make the argument that it was he who popularized it. 


Jack, seen here with Johnny Carson, receiving the key to the city of Anaheim. 
(This was based off a running gag in the radio show, mentioning a train leaving on track five to "Anaheim, Azusa and Cuc-amonga!")


Jack Benny was one of the comedians who got me into back there in the first place. People say comedy changes, and what was funny 50 years ago can't possibly be funny today, but Jack proved otherwise. He called upon the basic principles of comedy. Nothing raunchy, for the most part avoiding dated, obscure references, just the simple things. This will never fail to get a laugh. It's difficult to try and fully convince someone to go out of their way to watch or listen to recordings so old the Dead Sea just had a cough at the time, but I hope if nothing else, this blog will promote open-mindedness.

As a young person myself, I often hear my friends talk about getting older with apprehension. An actual conversation with my friends entailed them fully believing that all plans in life should be made by 30 or else it's too late. Jack Benny, of all people, taught me otherwise. His career started at 39, and before that, he lived in the moment. There was no reason to fear aging for him, as it never mattered to him. He was as famous in his 70s as he was in his 40s. I don't know where my life will lead, but I've learnt from the stars back there, that whatever happens, I intend to laugh my way through it. Make friends that'll make my time here as worthwhile as possible, because I won't be back here again to make good on any of my regrets.


Out of 741 photos, this one is my favorite of Jack on the pinterest board. It's blurry, it's pixelated, and Jack isn't even center frame, but I love it. I don't know why, I really don't, but it feels like a testament.
Can you imagine looking at your own name in big block letters
on a marquis? This wouldn't have been the first time for him,
nor the last, but it's just a glimpse, I suppose, in what it must have felt like to be someone back there. 

This post cannot do the 80 years this man walked back there justice, so I urge you to do your own digging. His radio work, his TV episodes, even some of his movies, are easily found. On a quiet weekend, sit back and turn on his show. Maybe you'll find a new obsession, or a new guilty pleasure. Maybe his shows aren't your bag, and you prefer merely to listen on boring car rides. Maybe both, and all eras of Benny interest you as they do me. Or none at all. In any case, I hope you enjoyed this editorial on Jack Benny, a man who commanded the galaxy in his day, but now his light shines dimmer. It will, however be a long, long time before it disappears completely, and the candles that we burn for him today will shine like an echo of a sun, gone so long ago. Thank you, Jack Benny.


 I hope to see you Back There.





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