Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Arte Johnson Teaches Jack Benny How to Tell a Joke

In October 1964 Jack Benny was telling a joke on The Jack Benny Program. In the middle of the joke he was interrupted by the operator of the show's sound boom, telling him that he wasn't telling it correctly.

The sound boom operator was Arte Johnson, who four years later would become one of the stars of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in, a comedy show that would run for 140 episodes from 1968 to 1973. It  became the most popular TV show in the United States and was the forerunner to shows like Saturday Night Live, which debuted in November 1975.

Johnson became famous on Laugh-in for portraying the roles of the dirty old man on the park bench and the helmeted Nazi soldier who rose from his grassy hideaway to deliver his punch line "Verrry Interrresting."

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

   

#Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Jack Benny Tells a Scandinavian Story on Laugh-In

Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In was one of the most popular TV shows in the 1960s and 1970s. One of their regular segments was Story Time. In this segment, Jack Benny is asked to tell a story for a Scandinavian audience. When he protests that he can't speak Scandinavian, the hosts provide him with a Scandinavian translator played by hilarious comedian Arte Johnson.

Benny starts telling the story that's instantly translated by Johnson into a gobbledegook parody of Scandinavian speech. The sketch also provides an opportunity for Ruth Buzzi to hit Benny with her pocketbook, a regular feature of her skits with Johnson.

Ah, the memories that this skit brings back! Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

   

#Throwback Thursday     #TBT