Everybody starts somewhere. Jack Benny got his start in radio in 1932. Here are a few clips of his early humor,
mostly from early 1933. I wanted to give a quick over view of what he sounded like when he was still a newcomer.
Though he did use other writers, much of what he did back then was his own work.
These early episodes don't get much attention, not even on podcasts. Not that they aren't funny. They are definitely
topical and if you aren't familiar with what was happening in history at the time, the humor can go flying right
over your head. Also the audio quality makes them hard to hear. They tend to be very scratchy and the audio cuts out
or can get pretty mushy. I tried to pick a few clips that wer not so bad.
These early shows feature the Frank Black Orchestra and James Melton as Jack's tenor. They mostly stuck to
performing music, but Jack gave them lines occasionally. The shows announcer, also pretty much stuck to strictly
doing the comercials and giving Jack the barest of introductions. There wasn't a lot of poking fun at sponsors, as
would happen later. Jack wasn't big enough of a star to do that yet. Although he did go through about four sponsors
in his first four years or so. (Canada Dry, Chevrolet, General Tires and Jello).
In these early days, Jack wasn't yet known as a miser. There is a stray joke or two about him wearing a wig. In 1933
he really was 39. He tended to do the better jokes and give the others to his cast. He wasn't afraid to make himself
the butt of a joke though. In one early episode, he gave a large part of the show over to an impressionist who did a
bit where he impersonated a wide variety of celebrities of the era, while Jack gave only sparse comments. There
seemed to be more time given to the musical talent. Longer numbers for the band and the tenor was able to sing an
extra verse of his song. Mary, when she wasn't acting in a play or singing, was more dumb and less of a wisecracker.
From the beginning, Mary was wildly popular and though the show officially was known by the sponsor's name (the
Canada Dry Show or the Chevrolet Show) it often appeared in newspaper radio listings as the Jack Benny and Mary
Livingston Show.
The 1933 season lasted a little longer than later seasons would run. Usually the show would go off after the first
or second week of June. In 1933, the last show was on June 23. I may be mistaken, but this may be the only year it
stayed on so late. The significance of that date is that it is Mary's birthday. This is the only year she would have
a birthday show. In that episode, Jack claims that she is 21, but in reality she just turned 25.
In archive web sites, you will find several shows for the calendar year of 1933. However, a lot of them are repeats.
The show was broadcast from New york and was on at various times. Usually twice per week and at 10pm. That might
account for some of the repeat episodes. Some of them seem to be an identical recording to others on different
dates, with the same static, scratches, and weak areas in the audio. That might seem to imply that someone saved
their mp3 file with an incorrect title or date. Basically, these first few seasons surviving shows are rare, have
poor quality, but are interesting for their humor and historical significance.
I know my show today is a little different than I usually do. If you like the diversion, let me know. I may try a
few more in the future.
best regards from the Retro Radio podcaster and robot master,
Keith H.
PS: This is the weekend for house cleaning. All the shows from last September and older are being removed. Sorry,
but I gotta keep my storage allowance under control.
--kh
