October
28, 1950
The
Jack Benny Program
Radio and film comedian Jack
Benny brought his show to television with the premiere of a live broadcast from
New York of The Jack Benny Program, opening with the one-liner "I'd give a
million dollars to know what I look like on television." He and his
supporting cast would continue the radio show for five more years, and his TV
program, sponsored by Lucky Strike cigarettes, would run until 1964, winning
eight Emmy awards along the way
When Benny moved to
television, audiences learned that his verbal talent was matched by his
controlled repertory of dead-pan facial expressions and gesture. The program
was similar to the radio show, but with the addition of visual gags. Benny did
his opening and closing monologues before a live audience, which he regarded as
essential to timing of the material.
Benny set himself up as
comedic foil, allowing his supporting characters to draw laughs at the expense
of his own flaws. Benny said: "I
don't care who gets the laughs on my show, as long as the show is funny."
Benny felt he got the credit or blame either way, not the actor saying the
lines, so there was emphasis on the comedic bottom line. This attitude reached
its apogee in a broadcast structured as a Hollywood bus tour of the stars'
homes. Each "stop" on the tour was at a house belonging to one of the
show's supporting cast, who would then have a scene which included jokes about
the absent Benny. Not until the final moments of the program did the bus arrive
at Jack Benny's house, at which point the listening audience heard Benny's only
line of the episode: "Driver, here's where I get off”
Born in 1950?
Then
congratulations for turning 65 and entering the world of Medicare. If you
would like to know more about the maze we call Medicare …
