onesmedia Store HOME | BOOKS | JEAN SHEPHERD | MOVIES | OLD TIME RADIO AUDIO CD | OLD TIME RADIO mp3 CD ROM |OLD TIME RADIO mp3 DVD ROMJACK BENNY (1945-1957) Disc 2Includes extra files as guest in other showsOld Time Radio - DVD-ROM - 550 mp3Benny was born on February 14, 1894 in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in neighboring Waukegan, Illinois. He was the son of Meyer Kubelsky and Emma Sachs Kubelsky. Meyer was a Jewish saloonkeeper, later to become a haberdasher, who had emigrated to America from Poland. Emma had emigrated from Lithuania. Benny began studying the violin, an instrument that would become his trademark, when he was just six, with his parents' hopes that he would be a great classical violinist. He loved the violin but hated practice. By age 14, he was playing in local dance bands as well as in his high school orchestra. Benny was a dreamer and a poor student and he was expelled from high school. He did equally badly in business school and at his father's trade. At age 17, he began playing the instrument in local vaudeville theaters for $7.50 a week.In 1911, Benny was playing in the same theater as the young Marx Brothers and whose mother Minnie Palmer was so enchanted with Benny's musicianship that she invited him to be their permanent accompanist. The plan was foiled by Benny's parents, who refused to let their son, then 17, go on the road, but it was the beginning of his long friendship with Zeppo Marx. Benny's wife Mary Livingstone was a distant cousin of the Marx Brothers.The following year, Benny formed a vaudeville musical duo with pianist Cora Salisbury, a buxom 45-year-old widow who needed a partner for her act. This provoked famous violinist Jan Kubelik, who thought that the young vaudeville entertainer with a similar name (Kubelsky) would damage his reputation. Under pressure from Kubelik's lawyer, Benjamin Kubelsky agreed to change his name to Ben K. Benny (sometimes spelled Bennie). When Salisbury left the act, Benny found a new pianist, Lyman Woods, and re-named the act "From Grand Opera to Ragtime". They worked together for five years and slowly added comedy. They even reached the Palace Theater, the "Mecca of Vaudeville", but bombed. Benny left show business briefly in 1917 to join the Navy during World War I, and he often entertained the troops with his violin playing. One evening, his violin performance was booed by the troops, so with prompting from fellow sailor and actor Pat O'Brien, he ad-libbed his way out of the jam and left them laughing. He got more comedy spots in the revues and was a big hit, and earned himself a reputation as a comedian as well as a musician.Shortly after the war, Benny started a one-man act, "Ben K. Benny: Fiddle Funology".[5] But then he heard from another lawyer, this time that of Ben Bernie, another patter-and-fiddle performer who also threatened to sue. So Benny adopted the common sailor's nickname Jack. By 1921, the fiddle became more of a prop and the low-key comedy took over.Benny had several romantic encounters, including one with a dancer, Mary Kelly, whose devoutly Catholic family forced her to turn down Benny's proposal because he was Jewish. Benny was introduced to Mary Kelly by Gracie Allen. Later on, years after the split between Mary Kelly and Jack, Mary resurfaced as a dowdy fat girl and Jack gave her a part in an act of three girls: one homely, one fat and one who couldn't sing. This lasted till, at Mary Livingstone's request, Mary Kelly was let go.In 1922, Jack accompanied Zeppo Marx to a Passover seder where he met Sadye (Sadie) Marks, whom he married in 1927 after meeting again on a double-date. She was working in the hosiery section of May's department store and Benny would court her there.[5] Called on to fill in for the "dumb girl" part in one of Benny's routines, Sadie proved a natural comedienne and a big hit. Adopting Mary Livingstone as her stage name, Sadie became Benny's collaborator throughout most of his career (according to Fred Allen's book on vaudeville, Much Ado About Me, it was a custom for vaudeville comics to put their wives into the act once married, in order to save on expenses and so that the marital partners could keep an eye on each other). They later adopted a daughter, Joan.In 1929, Benny's agent Sam Lyons convinced MGM's Irving Thalberg to catch Benny's act at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. Benny was signed to a five-year contract and his first film role was in The Hollywood Revue of 1929. His next movie, Chasing Rainbows, was a flop and after several months, Benny was released from his contract and returned to Broadway in Earl Carroll's Vanities. At first dubious about the viability of radio, by this time Benny was eager to break into the new medium. In 1932, after a four-week nightclub run, he was invited onto Ed Sullivan's radio program, uttering his first radio spiel "This is Jack Benny talking. There will be a slight pause while you say, 'Who cares?'..."EPISODES LIST1945450107 (534) Leaving for New York450114 (535) Mrs. Nausbaum Invites Jack and Cast To Her Restaurant450121 (536) Mary Tells About Jack's Visit To Empire State Building450128 (537) From Mitchell Field450204 (538) From St Albans Navel Hospital In New York450211 (539) Boy Was I Seasick450218 (540) From St Joseph, MO450225 (541) From Fitzsimmons Hospital In Denver, CO450304 (542) Jack And Mary Pick Up Their Bags At Train Station450311 (543) How Jack Found Rochester450318 (544) How Jack Found Mary450325 (545) Murder Mystery450401 (546) How Jack Found Phil Harris450408 (547) From Torney Hospital In Palm Springs450422 (548) Desert Sketch450429 (549) First Performance of Professor La Blanc450506 (550) How Jack Found Don Wilson450513 (551) Jack is Going to San Francisco450520 (552) From San Francisco450527 (553) How Jack Met Mary450930 (554) Steve Bradley Wants To Be Jack's Publicity Man451007 (555) Jack Listens To The World Series On The Radio451014 (556) Gaslight451021 (557) Jack Dreams Of The Race Horse Texas Sandman451028 (558) $85,000 Bet - Jack Gets Held-Up451104 (559) Jack Is Sick In Bed After Being Robbed of $10,000451111 (560) Joe Louis Acts as Jack's Bodyguard451118 (561) From Buckingham Hospital In Van Nuys, CA451125 (562) Tire Trouble451202 (563) Steve Bradley Explains 'I Can't Stand Jack Benny' Contest451209 (564) Jack is Invited to The Colman's For Dinner451216 (565) Too Many Letters451223 (566) The English Butler451230 (567) End of the Contest1946460106 (568) Rose Bowl Game460113 (569) State Fair Rehearsal460120 (570) State Fair460127 (571) Contest Winners460203 (572) Contest Winners Names Announced460210 (573) From Palm Springs, CA460217 (574) Rochester Lost At Sea - Briefly460224 (575) Palm Springs Shopping460303 (576) Murder At Lone Palm460310 (577) Lost Weekend460317 (578) Dennis Returns from The Navy460324 (579) I Stand Condemned460331 (580) A Sad Soldier Is Discharged460407 (581) Weekend at the Acme Plaza460414 (582) Violin Practice Interrupts Ronald Colman's Rehearsal460421 (583) Aboard The Saratoga 4 Days Before It Sank460428 (584) The Kid From Brooklyn460505 (585) Leaving For Chicago On The Train460512 (586) Quiz Kids Contest460519 (587) Fred Allen Asks Jack to Appear On His Program460526 (588) Ed Sullivan Gives Jack An Award460929 (589) Jack is Upset Because Phil & Dennis Have Their Own Shows461006 (590) Jack Listens to The World Series461013 (591) Jack And Mary Walk To The Studio461020 (592) The Fiddler461027 (593) Mary's 'Chiss Wheeze' Sandwich Fluff461103 (594) Jack Tries to Break His Contract With The Sportsmen461110 (595) Jack Gets A Haircut - More Trouble With The Sportsmen461117 (596) Guests Ronald Coleman and Leo Duroche461124 (597) The Killers461201 (598) Jack Is To Appear On Phil Baker's Program461208 (599) Jack Buys Don Shoelaces For Christmas461215 (600) Jack Learns Don Has Metal Tip Shoelaces461222 (601) Christmas Party at Birmingham General Hospital461225 (XXX) AFRS Christmas Special461229 (602) Jack, Mary, Gladys And Dennis Go To A Nightclub194747xxxx (xxx) Unexpected_Guests w. Ronald Coleman470105 (603) Guest Show470112 (604) Gracie Wants to Listen To Jack on the Radio470119 (605) I Was Condemned470126 (606) Margie470202 (607) It's a Wonderful Life470209 (608) What Happens After The Show Goes Off The Air470216 (609) Jack's Birthday Party470223 (610) Jack Fires The Sportsmen470302 (611) Jack Tries To Rehire The Sportsmen470309 (612) Jack Tries to Find Replacement For The Sportsmen470316 (613) The Sportsmen Replacement470323 (614) The Sportsmen Are Hired Back470330 (615) From San Francisco470406 (616) Jack Tries To Get Goldwyn To Do 'The Life Of Jack Benny'470413 (617) Jack Fixes a Phonograph And Buys A Baseball Team470420 (618) The Egg and I470427 (619) Leaving for Chicago470504 (620) To the Train Station For Chicago470511 (621) From Chicago470518 (622) From New York470525 (623) Allen's Alley471005 (624) Jack Is Back From Sun Valley Vacation471012 (625) Jack Fixes Breakfast471019 (626) Golf Match at Hillcrest Country Club471026 (627) Seventh Hole At Hillcrest Country Club471102 (628) 'Dark Passage' Movie Skit471109 (629) Corner Drug Store471116 (630) Cleaning Jack's Den471123 (631) Movie of Jack's Life - Thanksgiving Show471130 (632) Turkey Dream471207 (633) Jack Takes Violin Lessons and Goes To The Vault471214 (634) Jack Has a Sprained Ankle471221 (635) Last Minute Christmas Shopping471228 (636) New Tenant1948480104 (637) Jack Tries to Get Tickets For the Rose Bowl480111 (638) Going to Denver For March-Of-Dimes Benefit480118 (639) In Denver for March-Of-Dimes Benefit480125 (640) On the Train to Hollywood480201 (641) Jack and Mary See Colman's Movie480208 (642) Nightmare Alley480215 (643) Jack's Birthday Party480222 (644) From Palm Springs, CA480229 (645) Jack's Girlfriend Gladys Comes To Rehearsal480307 (646) Jack Benny is The Walking Man480314 (647) Winner Of The Walking Man Contest480321 (648) Academy Awards Are Discussed480328 (649) Jack is Robbed of Ronald Colman's Oscar480404 (650) Ja