Montana history almanac - Western icon Gary Cooper passed away May 12, 2008
Cooper's pallbearers included Jack Benny, who on the evening of Cooper's funeral, won a television Emmy in the field of humor. Benny didn't attend the ceremonies out of respect for Cooper. (Missoulian, MT)
News and programs from the Wilmington Memorial LIbrary May 3, 2008
He will turn back the clock with a video presentation of the all-time favorite comedian Jack Benny. Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. (Wilmington Advocate, MA)
Demystifying eBay at Library May 2, 2008
Mel Simons "the world's most generous cheapskate... Jack Benny" ... He will turn back the clock with a video presentation of the all-time favorite comedian Jack Benny. (Wilmington Advocate, MA)
Upcoming events at the Wilmington Memorial Library Apr 22, 2008
Mon Apr 21, 2008, 11:31 AM EDT. Book Store Next Door anniversary celebration. (Wilmington Advocate, MA)
Sci-Fi Movie: The Final Countdown Apr 5, 2008
When they awake, the storm has passed, but normal communications are inoperable -- save for old World War II broadcasts and a radio skit from The Jack Benny Show. Not sure of their position, Captain Matt Yelland dispatches an F-8 Crusader and two F-14A Tomcats on a search and report mission. (Suite101.com)
Minute steaks and the close of the greatest generation Apr 3, 2008
Jack Benny, Jackie Gleason, Ed Sullivan, Fibber McGee and Molly and their kind performed yeoman work lifting our spirits. Your family and mine did what we could with war drives, rationing, volunteer work and on and on. (Rensselaer Republican, IN)
Shining a light on Rolling Stones' film roles Mar 30, 2008
Watching him try to wrangle a sometimes deservedly obstinate Chuck Berry for an all-star concert in his honor is a case study in slow burns that even Jack Benny would've appreciated. It's not as if the other band members haven't had their moments to shine. (Boston Globe)
Jeff Garlin definitely will not curb your enthusiasm Mar 7, 2008
Garlin spent hours as a youngster watching his favorite comedians like Richard Pryor, Woody Allen, Jackie Gleason, Jack Benny, Abbot and Costello and Martin and Lewis. I m still blown away when I think that Sid Caesar s Show of Shows was done live before millions and millions of TV viewers, he says. (Cleveland Jewish News, OH)
Speed-The-Plow Feb 14, 2008
He also essays a parodic Groucho-like lope in pursuit of the departing Karen and, when Bobby naively asks "what if she just likes me?", Spacey stares at him with a prolonged pause worthy of Jack Benny. The greatness of Spacey's performance, however, lies in the suggestion that, under the comic bluster and feverish energy exists a desperate human being and a source of infinite corruption. (Guardian Unlimited)
The Comeback Kid always gets work in Hollywood Feb 14, 2008
Before stepping in to take the role originally intended for an ailing Jack Benny, Burns hadn't made a movie since the 1939 comedy Honolulu. He went on to make a several more films, with varying degrees of success, until his death in 1996 at the age of 100. (The Augusta Chronicle)
GRP brings sunshine to Tri-State Area's winter Feb 14, 2008
This weekend, the Grand Theatre hosts a play originally written for Jack Benny and George Burns, comedians, friends and actors who started in vaudeville. Benny died before the show could be produced. (Keokuk Daily Gate City, IO)
DTV Voucher Bows in D.C. Feb 9, 2008
On Feb. 17, 2009, it will be lights-out for the old analog TV transmission system that's been in use since Jack Benny. Television will still go on, but it will be sent over-the-air or through a wire as a bunch of ones and twos. (MediaWeek.com)
NASA Says, Hello, Universe. Meet the Beatles. Feb 2, 2008
God forbid any aliens show up looking to settle the brutal war they heard about between Earth s leaders: Jack Benny and Fred Allen. Posted by umbriago. (New York Times)
Deep in the heart of Texas Jan 24, 2008
Among the fans were John F. Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jimmy Stewart and J. Edgar Hoover, and one night Jack Benny called up for a couple of gallons to go. Elizabeth Taylor may have loved Chasen's chili more than anyone. (Boulder Colorado Daily, CO)
Watch the Living History Lesson Jan 15, 2008
Some of the ones I remember particularly that you didn t want to miss were: The Shadow, Jack Benny, Burns, Allen, of course the baseball games and the prize fights. That was something you might go to the neighbor s for so you could listen to the prize fights. (Rensselaer Republican, IN)
Johnny Grant, Hollywood's honorary mayor; at 84 Jan 13, 2008
He did Lucky Strike cigarette commercials on radio's "The Jack Benny Show" and radio celebrity interviews at the Ham & Egger restaurant on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. He also did radio interviews in the lobby of Ciro's on Sunset Boulevard, now the Comedy Store, which was the personification of glamour and glitz in the 1940s and 1950s. (Boston Globe)
Affable, emotional TV host turned viewers on to late-night talk Jan 10, 2008
As a member of the U.S. Army stationed in the South Pacific, Paar entertained troops with impersonations and other comic bits during World War II. He returned to radio after the war, appearing on "The Breakfast Club" and "The $64 Question." He worked as a summer replacement for Jack Benny, a comic influence, and had his own radio show, "The Jack Paar Show," on NBC. A 1947 magazine poll touted him as "the most promising star of tomorrow.". After ending his "Tonight Show" run in March 1962, Paar... (Yahoo News -- Jack Parr)
From the Army Archerd Archive Dec 21, 2007
Jack Benny didn't waste any time when dancing with Kim Novak. Borgnine was so happy, he was even dancing the rumba with his mother-in-law. (Variety)
Visionary businessman inundated L.A. with his ads but not his image Dec 16, 2007
Some of the period's biggest comedians -- Bob Hope, Jack Benny and Red Skelton -- used the "Madman Muntz" theme in some of their routines, and each of their seemingly endless jokes raised the used-car salesman's profile ever higher and brought him more business. During this period, Muntz ran 176 60-second commercials every day on 13 Los Angeles radio stations, according to Times stories. (Los Angeles Times)
Palm Springs stargazing Dec 12, 2007
It is hard to escape Hollywood's stars in the Californian desert city of Palm Springs where crooner Frank Sinatra's recorded voice welcomes you to one of its parks; and where comedians Bob Hope and Jack Benny, cowboy Gene Autry and a dozen other headliners are remembered in street names. Hollywood's stars began coming to Palm Springs, in California's Coachella Valley, an oasis in the desert, in the 1920s to create a playground and to escape Los Angeles but be close enough when an agent called. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
Scrooge And More Nov 25, 2007
It Could Have Been a Wonderful Life A failed stand-up comic is ready to give up when his guardian angel, Jack Benny, intervenes and, with help from Woody Allen, Jackie Mason and others, gets him back on track in time for Chanukah. Writer-performer Fred Raker offers a showbiz take on a familiar holiday tale. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
KTLA plans retro holiday weekend Nov 22, 2007
The 60-hour marathon will include episodes of black-and-white entries such as "The Jack Benny Program," "The Honeymooners" and "The Munsters," as well as 70s fare like "CHiPs," "Happy Days" and "Wonder Woman," 80s entries such as "Charles in Charge" and "Doogie Howser," and more recent shows including "Friends" and "Fresh Prince of Bel Air.". Station will also air classic kids shows, including "Time for Beany, "Popeye ds" and "Underdog. (Variety)
Ronnie Burns, 72; actor son of comedians Burns and Allen Nov 18, 2007
He studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and appeared in other television shows in the '50s and early 1960s, including "The Honeymooners," "The Jack Benny Program," and "Playhouse 90," and headlined his own short-lived series, "Happy," in 1960. George Burns and Allen adopted Mr. Burns a few months after he was born, and about a year after they adopted his sister, Sandra. (Boston Globe)
Comedian Joey Bishop, 89, last of 'Rat Pack' Oct 19, 2007
Jack Benny called him "one of the funniest men I've ever seen.". And Danny Thomas was so impressed with Mr. Bishop, he had a weekly situation comedy built around him. (Boston Globe)
NBC packing its bags for Universal City Oct 11, 2007
"When looking at our long-term business operations, we realized there are very real strategic and synergistic opportunities in bringing our production facilities and talent together to grow in Los Angeles. The new NBC content facility will be located at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Red Line Subway Station in Universal City, directly across the street from Universal Studios. It will be modeled after the NBC News World Headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, which is... (Hollywood Reporter)
Fred Thompson Sep 19, 2007
He s approaching the polls as if he were Jack Benny doing standup. The persona rules all the topical spin. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Opinion)
Fall Arts Preview Sep 9, 2007
10/14: 7:30 p.m. Jack Benny "Laughter in Bloom." $29. 10/17: 7:30 p.m. "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)." $32. (Boston Globe -- Living)
More to Life Than Politics Sep 5, 2007
As Jack Benny replied when the stickup man gave him the choice of his money or his life, "... I'm thinking.". One thing I'm thinking about is the eclipse in our time of the commanding figures who used to line up for the privilege of running America -- the Goldwaters, the Tafts, the Ikes, the Roosevelts, the Johnsons, the Nixons. (Human Events Online)
More about Phil Harris from a Virginia librarian Sep 2, 2007
"As if you needed more from me but, being a librarian, I am compelled to look things up especially since I have many databases available on my desktop. I have confirmed that Harris' real name was indeed Wonga by finding his family in the 1920 census. When your name is Wonga finding things in the Census is pretty easy. His age is listed as 14 meaning, if correct, that he was 89 when he died as first reported in his obits. It is possible, however, that since his family was living in a rooming... (Wilkes Barre Citizen's Voice, PA)
Remembering Groucho Marx Aug 20, 2007
"He'd be fully dressed standing up watching reruns of Burns and Allen and Jack Benny.". Gould says what made Groucho great was his ability to find humor in anything even death, for example. (CBS News)
Heaths celebrate 70 years of marriage Aug 18, 2007
Some of their favorites were Jack Benny, Jackie Gleason, Ma ttle, Lawrence Welk, Carol Burnett, Red Skelton, and the George Gobel Show, then in later years Hee Haw was a favorite. Today they still reside at the home they constructed in 1959, in Strum, regularly surrounded by family and friends. (Chippewa Falls Chippewa Herald, WI)
Comeback? They never stopped singing Aug 17, 2007
The trio has also appeared on American Bandstand, The Ed Sullivan Show and other television programs and have toured with such greats as George Burns, Jack Benny, Frank Sinatra, and Davis. Their most-recent TV appearances are on PBS stations across the country, announcing the fulfillment of Butala s dream a Vocal Group Hall of Fame and Museum in his birth place of Sharon. (Carlisle Sentinel, PA)
Leonard Anderson rates a curtain call for impact on LOTS Aug 13, 2007
I have enjoyed such off-season programs as the Red Skelton and Jack Benny tributes, comedian Barry Martin, Rave On. the Buddy Holly tribute, and last fall s Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. (Mattoon Journal-Gazette, IL)
'Brother, can you spare a dime?' Aug 10, 2007
" The story their year-long investigations has revealed is of a town spared the worst horrors of the Great Depression, Ms. Morales said. Princeton depended largely on Princeton University for jobs, and it remained sound. Even during the worst of this era, there were wealthy parents who wanted to send their sons to Princeton. These boys needed not just an education, but clothes, books, food and entertainment all of which the merchants of Nassau Street were happy to provide. When President... (South Brunswick Post, NJ)
10 questions for Jay Leno Aug 3, 2007
And Bob Hope, Red Skelton and Jack Benny. Q: Are you a different performer in clubs than on TV. (AZCentral -- Entertainment)
1967: Thomas, Wolper talk 'Love' Jul 20, 2007
2 billion facility's funds were raised by the showbiz likes of Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Frank Sinatra, Jan Murray, Dinah Shore, Bob Hope, George Burns, in appearances around the country. Recent additions to the tradition have come from Jennifer Aniston, Robin Williams, Antonio Banderas, Ray Romano, Bernie Mac. (Variety)
Mad Men" class="topstory">Weiner Goes Into Detail About AMC’s Mad Men Jul 19, 2007
Like I have a pair of cufflinks that belonged to Jack Benny ; The important thing you realize, though, is that the amount of work that is required to make something look realistic is far greater than making it look stylish. These people are so good at this, the clothing, the hair, the makeup, the furniture. (Multichannel News)
'M*A*S*H' star Farrell puts his career where his heart is Jul 6, 2007
As a shy kid growing up on the wrong side of the Hollywood tracks, Farrell spent years delivering groceries to the likes of Jack Benny, Lucille Ball and Jimmy Stewart before he found the nerve to pursue his own star. From early success as a soap opera actor on "Days of Our Lives," he landed TV series roles in "The Interns" and "The Man and the City" before "M*A*S*H" made him a household face. (USA Today -- Money)
Phil Harris was a character Jul 1, 2007
Then I thought about Phil Harris, who worked with Jack Benny for nearly 20 years ... He worked with Jack Benny from 1936 to 1952 ... Later, on Jack Benny s radio show, he and the band took on a reputation of being hard-drinking bums. (The Citizen's Voice, PA)
New features coming to Daily Press Jun 20, 2007
Jack Benny, who easily made the transition from radio s biggest star, to the small screen, said of TV: It isn t great; we just try to keep it from being lousy. Actress Sigourney Weaver s father, Pat Weaver, was early television s creative genius, developing Today, The Tonight Show , and other spectaculars that were designed to attract a higher culture. (Montrose Daily Press, CO)
Ray Erlenborn, 92; longtime sound effects man for CBS Jun 18, 2007
"At CBS-TV until his retirement in 1977, Erlenborn did sound effects for programs such as "The Jack Benny Show," "Playhouse 90," "The Red Skelton Show," "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" and "The Carol Burnett Show. "One of his favorite sound effects was created by crushing peach baskets to make the sound of Skelton's hand smashing into a door, followed by popping a champagne cork as the comedian pulled out his hand.Erlenborn did animal sounds for "Crusader... (Los Angeles Times)
Shakespeare: The run sheet Jun 18, 2007
Films include: To Be or Not to Be (with Jack Benny, 1942); A Midwinter's Tale (Branagh, 1998). Claim to fame: Shakespeare's longest (and most analyzed) play. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
READ MORE > Jun 17, 2007
"It was 18, 19-year-old students that didn't have a clue what I was talking about, I says, does anybody remember Fibber McGee and Bob Hope? No. Jack Benny? Nah. So I'm sitting there talking for almost two hours, watching them go to sleep and falling out of their chairs practically. It was the wrong audience," he said. The teacher made them stay awake and turn off their laptops. (Sioux City Journal)
BEHIND THE MUSIC Jun 1, 2007
"I would sit there in the conference room, and Jack Benny would be rehearsing the show for that night," he said. "Jackie Gleason, they were all dear friends of mine. There's where I learned.". (Orlando Sentinel -- Entertainment)
Santa Maria Inn steeped in Central Coast history May 28, 2007
Anne Baxter, Jack Benny, Gary Cooper, Bing Crosby, Bette Davis, Doris Day, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Alan Ladd, David Niven, Kim Novak, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne added their names to the growing list of nearly 100 famous guests. Today, doors in the old portion of the hotel are adorned with stars and the names of the celebrities believed to have stayed inside those very rooms. (Santa Maria Times)
'Once you've laughed, you've lost' May 27, 2007
"That's what the early American-Jewish comedians, the Marx Brothers, George Burns, Jack Benny did," he says. "Comedy is the language of minorities, it's a way to cope and get by ... and hopefully be understood.". (Globe and Mail)
More of this story May 19, 2007
According to the Conservancy, the theater helped launch the careers of stars such as Jack Benny, Lena Horne, Judy Garland and Sammy Davis, Jr.. Down the street, the Million Dollar Theatre predated Sid Grauman's other venue, the 1927 Chinese Theater in Hollywood, by almost a decade. (Los Angeles Downtown News, CA)
Laughs On Parade May 10, 2007
It's education and laughs. " They estimate that in the next year 150,000 to 300,000 people will visit the nonprofit museum, which has a $6.50 admission for adults and takes about one hour to tour. "This is the only museum along the Gulf beaches," Belmont said, standing on the balcony outside the entrance. "I look forward to the day when we can close this street for the inductions of, say, Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. (Tampa Bay Online, FL -- News)
Remembering great radio comedians May 8, 2007
I think Jack Benny had two theme songs ... On Sullivan s, he introduced himself by saying, Hello, ladies and gentlemen; this is Jack Benny. (The Citizen's Voice, PA)
Tom Poston, 85; for four decades on television, he made bumbling lovable May 2, 2007
"I grew up watching Tom on 'The Steve Allen Show' as a kid. What an incredible gift to become friends with him and to learn about comedy from a true professional. He was a combination of Stan Laurel and Jack Benny.". In Allen's famous "Man on the Street" sketches, Mr. Poston was the man who could never remember his name. (Boston Globe)
TV's Tom Poston dies May 2, 2007
"I grew up watching Tom on 'The Steve Allen Show' as a kid. What an incredible gift to become friends with him and to learn about comedy from a true professional. He was a combination of Stan Laurel and Jack Benny. We will all miss him.". Poston's run as a comic bumbler began in the mid-1950s with "The Steve Allen Show" after Allen plucked the character actor from the Broadway stage to join an ensemble of eccentrics he would conduct "man in the street" interviews with. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Shearer delight Apr 29, 2007
" The longest is the 55-minute HBO Comedy Hour piece, The Magic of Live, which Shearer kicks off with a musical dance number lampooning Michael Jackson. In between, there are clips from various sources, including Saturday Night Lives skits such as his brilliant and still hilarious men's synchronized swimming routine with spindly Martin Short. "Except for Saturday Night Live, I own everything I've ever done," Shearer says. "I learned that from Jack Benny: 'Own your stuff. " Shearer worked with... (Edmonton Sun)
Showtime for Hitler Apr 27, 2007
Certainly, says Frost, the appeal of The Producers to Australian audiences comes from the American television comedy we watched and still watch from Jack Benny and Burns and Allen to Jerry Seinfeld. "If we hadn't been brought up on American television, I'd be more worried," he says. (The Age, Australia -- Features)
Color TV in 1956 Apr 21, 2007
You could watch Sgt. Preston of the Yukon, Wild Bill Hickok, Alfred Hitchcock Presents or the Jack Benny Program. There was even an NFL game on in the afternoon. (Buffalo Reflex, MO)
Columbia Square closes Friday Apr 21, 2007
The building originally included a restaurant and large auditoriums, where radio and music stars such as Jack Benny, Edgar Bergen, Bing Crosby and Burns performed. Columbia Square was located down the street. (Variety)
Affable, emotional TV host turned viewers on to late-night talk Apr 14, 2007
As a member of the U.S. Army stationed in the South Pacific, Paar entertained troops with impersonations and other comic bits during World War II. He returned to radio after the war, appearing on "The Breakfast Club" and "The $64 Question." He worked as a summer replacement for Jack Benny, a comic influence, and had his own radio show, "The Jack Paar Show," on NBC. A 1947 magazine poll touted him as "the most promising star of tomorrow.". After ending his "Tonight Show" run in March 1962, Paar... (Yahoo News -- Jack Parr)
So it goes! Beloved writer Kurt Vonnegut, 84, heads off into mother night Apr 13, 2007
" A lonely child A fourth-generation German American, Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis on Nov. 11, 1922. Although he had an older brother, Bernard, and a sister, Alice, Vonnegut was often lonely as a child. His mainstay growing up was a black woman named Ida Young, the family cook. He suggested that the "intolerable sentimentality" that some critics saw in his writing was owed to Young, who spent long hours reading to him from an anthology of poems about undying love, faithful dogs and humble,... (Sun-Sentinel.com)
Dead show walking Apr 3, 2007
Years ago, after he received the Jack Benny Memorial Award for Excellence in Entertainment voted on by the UCLA student body, I asked Belushi this: Why do young people like you so much. Said he, Because I relate to them. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Rolling through history -- From bears to celebrities, Valley Center's lure revealed in planned bus tour Apr 1, 2007
Valley Center also was home to Martin Gang II, a lawyer whose Hollywood clients included Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Marilyn Monroe and Burt Lancaster. Gang testified on behalf of Bette Davis before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and she drove to his Valley Center home to thank him personally, Lerner said. (North County Times)
Don Newbury column: Imbedded music can result in a big headache 03-20-2007 Mar 21, 2007
I m talkin about the stations with signals bouncing off satellites before hitting receivers full blast in the deepest swamps and on tallest mountains. Brags include high definition whatever that is. (Plainview Daily Herald, TX)
Impressionist takes stage at Sunshine Opry Mar 19, 2007
Counterfit impersonates actors, musicians and politicians of past and present, including Willie Nelson, Jack Benny, Johnny Cash and others. The impressionist has been on TV's America's Funniest People and was a guest at the Grand Ole Opry. (Orlando Sentinel -- Entertainment)
Ex-NYPD cop pleads not guilty in ex-wife's death Mar 11, 2007
During the 1960s, the group performed on TV variety shows including the Ed Sullivan and Jack Benny programs. District Attorney Daniel Donovan Jr. said surveillance video was being used in preparing the case against Galtieri. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Crime)
Tour the Tombs of the Movie Stars Mar 3, 2007
Here lie Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson, amongst others. 6001 Centinela Ave., Baldwin Hills; phone 800-576-1994. (Suite101.com)
Silverman's humor is offensively infantile Feb 11, 2007
Not only is she doing a narcissistic, nasty-girl version of what Larry David does now on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" but what Jerry Seinfeld did and, yes, Jack Benny did before her: that is, getting laughs out of an ugly fictionalization of her real self. We know that decent real people don't really act like "Sarah Silverman" does or say the things she says, just as America always knew that Jack Benny wasn't a selfish, small-minded, penny-pinching skinflint. (Buffalo News -- Entertainment)
Reflections on a life onstage Feb 11, 2007
He got it almost 40 years ago from its master, Jack Benny. Rowe had a part in a skit in a Jack Benny TV special in which Benny played Benjamin, the Dustin Hoffman role in "The Graduate," and Phyllis Diller played Mrs. Robinson. (Mail Tribune, OR)
