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dates— even-'sunshine. It slices it, wraps it. Then, it embarks on a $1,000,000 advertising campaign, assaulting both eye and ear.Industrial America has glorified bread the way Hollywood has glorified the American girl. Man does not live by bread alone, but it isthe foundation of our diet, and our sliced' loaves of cotton batting are a weak foundation for' anything.What America needs is bread with crust to exercise the teeth and stick to the ribs, bread to strengthen the heart for the tasks which'lie ahead.His Stuff May Be Corny But It’s Money-Making1 CornThe year 1932 Stay be remembered for several reasons, not least for the debut of a comedian on an American radio programme. He walked nervously up to the microphone and said: “Hallo, folks! This is Jack Benny. There will now be a slight pause for everyone to say, ‘Who cares?’ ”As a result of '•this broadcast, letters poured into the studio praising his unusual and nonchalant style, which hitherto had not been exploited by any other comedian. Today, Jack Benny is acknowledged to be one of America’s leading radio funsters and every- Sunday some thirty million citizens tune in to listen to his show.1The “Average Man”For Benny has perfected a characterization, fraught with human frailties.. He is a typical “Average Man,” a lovable boob, mean, cowardly, middle-aged—but with young ideas! All of which has endeared him to the man in the street with similar faults and weaknesses writes David B. Williams in Tit-Bits.That some members of' the public'really believe in this comedian’s failings is exemplified by an ad-vertisment that appeared in the classified section of the “Sacremento Union”: “Two women about Jack Benny’s age would like a small, unfurnished house. Would like to pay what Jack Benny would like to pay.Unlike Bob Hope and other contemporaries of wit, Benny is no master of repartee. - But when he does come through with an ad-lib, his timing and delivery are perfect. On one occasion, Benny was appearing with Fred Allen, who was talking so fast that Jack foundit impossible to get a laugh himself, In desperation, and to the delight of the audience, he exclaimed. suddenly: “You. wouldn’t dare do this if my writers were here.”If anyone deserves the tag of “right-hand man” where' Benny is concerned, she is Mary Livingstone who, besides being the comedienne on the programme, is in private life Mrs. Jack Benny. She is noted for her wonderful sense of humour, and Jack always relies on her keen judgment whenever he’s worried about a joke or routine. Although Mary has- had countless offers to be a star in her own right, she refuses them all: “I just want to be Mrs. Jack Benny,” she says.When they were married in 1927, Jack recalls that a big stag dinner was given in his honour and he felt very important. In the midst of the proceedings, the Master of Ceremonies called for silence while he read a telegram. It ran:“When you come home tonight, be sure to take out the garbage.— Mary.”George and GracieWhile on tlie subject of marriage it might be as well to mention the George Burns-Jack Benny routine. It all started when George and Gracie Allen were betrothed. Jack ; was playing in San Francisco j at the time and thought he would rib his newly-wed friends. He telephoned them at 3 a.m.. on their; wedding night. Getting an answer from a. man, Benny inquired: “Hallo? George?” A g-rufl voice| replied, “Send up two orders of ham and eggs”—and the receiver was slammed down. Since then the comedians have always telephoned each lother on important occasions.When George and Gracie were about to open at the London Palladium recently, Val Parnell threw a party for them. During the evening peorge was called to the telephone. Picking up the receiver he heard a girl with a Southern drawl say: “Mr. Burns? Long distance . .- . one moment, please! Jade Benny from Hollywood wishes to speaki to you.”At the end of his chat with his fellow comic, George told his guests about it:. “Fancy Jack calling all the way from Hollywood just to vrish us good luck!”And There He Was!He survey the gathering a smile of self-satisfaction spreading across his face. But at ifnat moment his eyes fell upon the doorway ... were Jack Benny was standing.! He had arrived here unannounced, having made the journey especially for his friends’ opening night. His practical joke had been carried out with the help of film star jane Wyman . . . and extension telephones!As a-youngster, Jack studied the violin and at eight years old he was referred to as the “child prodigy” of Waukegan, his home town. Later he tried to, obtain work with a theatre orchestra but was engaged as a ticket collector instead! The violin, much to his regret, soon became nothing more than a prop during his vaudeville appearances. Yet even today, this “frustrated Kreisler” practises in his spare time and constantly complains about his lost chance to make a name for himself as a musician.When Benny moved his family and radio programme to California in 1937, the very first show there was an enactment of their journey west. The script required someone to play the part of the Pullman porter encountered ion the train and the role was awarded to a coloured actor, Eddie Anderson. He made such a good job of of it that his one night stand became a permanent engagement—and that's how Rochester was born, Benny’s gravel-voiced valet and chauffeur.It is not surprising that Benny, having made a reputation on the stage and radio,. should turn to Hollywood to re.ap further laurels. Since 1932 he has made over a score of films. His best known are “Buck Benny Rides Again” and ‘George Washington Slept Here.” Counter AttackHe believes in giving the public what it wants, even if it does not always satisfy the radio critics, and says: “It took eighteen years to develop the characters on my show. They’re as good as my writers and I can make them.' Each week we’ve tried to inject a new situaVon, idea or character into our script and filling: twenty: pages a week for thirty-nine weeks isn’t easy“So what happens? A reviewer comes along, says the show was great, the audience loved it, the script was hilarious . . . BUT . . . I was the same stingy, toupee-topped, faulty fiddler; Mary was still snippy: Phil Harris continued as a fugitive from Alcoholics Anonymous; and Rochester was the same sassy butler.“Now, I’ve been reading this reviewer’s column for many years, and it’s a darned good column. But every week, every year, this columnist’s style of -writing is always the same. Never changes. Always verbs, pronouns and adjectives. Why doesn’t lie get some new things?”jjf1 .-jillScA jilliFarmers Combine Their Combines—|A score of “good neighbors” front nearbv farms mussed their combines here recently to hanjest a 125-acre wheat field for a widowed mother of two, Mrs. Marie Buller. Her husband was killed in this very same field a year ago, while cuttingclover.
Newspaper Details
Orono Weekly Times
Orono, Ontario, CA
Thu, Jul 27, 1950
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Los A.
CA, USA 16 Dec 2024
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