Many think Johnny Carson was the King of talk show television but no one will dispute the title has to go to the pioneer of the art, Jack Benny.
Born in Chicago as Benjamin Kubelsky in 1894, Benny had an early start in show business. In 1911 he played in the same theater as the young Marx Brothers, and had a very good friendship that lasted generations with Zeppo Marx and Jack was often found trading insults with Zeppo’s brother, Groucho. His relationship with the Marx brothers did not stop there, in 1927 he married Sayde Marks who was a cousin of the famous comedians.
It was not until the first world war, while Benny was enlisted in the Navy, that he got his start in comedy. In an attempt to entertain the troops with his violin playing, he was booed during a performance. In an attempt to save any further embarrassment, Benny ad-libbed his was out of the situation and left the troops laughing in his wake. It was then, in 1917 that Benny began his comedic career.
Jack Benny’s career really did not take off until the great depression. In 1932 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?’…” That single line was the beginning of many more laughs by American families huddled around their old radio sets and for many it was comedians like Benny that made the depression bearable. It was not until 1950 that television seriously began to compete for radio audiences attention. It was in that year, 1950 that Benny’s television career began. It spanned for fifteen years until 1965 when Benny “retired” at the age of 71.
Jack Benny certainly was a man that we should never forget. Here are a few short videos to help us all remember this American Icon. Even though it has been more than 35 years since he left us, his comedy is timeless and it can still make us laugh just as it did nearly 80 years ago.
