Friday, November 23, 2012

A Comedy Classic: Jack Benny and Mel Blanc in "What's in a Name?"


It's not in HD color; it's black and white. The picture is grainy and the sound isn't great. But the comedy! They don't make them like this any more.

Last night we came across an old routine on the Jack Benny show that had the master of comedy interviewing prospective candidates for a talent show. Who should be the first candidate but a character named Stanley Gropff. Every time Benny pronounces his name, well, you have to see it.

The skit involves some dog imitations and shows off Gropff's talents. Of course, we know that Gropff is really Mel Blanc, who was known as the man of 1,000 voices including Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and Yosemite Sam.

We profiled Blanc last year when he was the subject of a special exhibit at the Oregon Jewish Museum. If you missed that post, it's worth taking a look

Enjoy! Tha-tha-that's all, folks!

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5 comments:

  1. Reminds me of my childhood. My mother & dad never missed the Jack Benny show on radio.

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  2. Thanks AL... it was great seeing two of my favorite comedians ...that I had a chance to interview. I'm still laughing.
    Phil Fink
    Shalom America...Radio-j.com
    Have a GREAT Shabbat.

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    Replies
    1. Benny and Blanc! Comedy just doesn't get much better than this. Benny still does the best double takes and reactions of just about anybody. And this clip sounds as fresh as these guys sounded on our old Super-Het Radio, back in the day when I was sure they were bot tiny little critters living somehow among the vacuum tubes in back of the radio.
      Les Schaffer, Richmond, VA

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  3. This is wonderful. I really laughed out loud while watching it. I am of the generation which never missed a Jack Benny show on radio, and this brings back a lot of memories.

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  4. 1957 - wow, I hadn't been Bat Mitzvahed yet... Am I really that old?

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