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!

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#Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Jack Benny Asks Ed Sullivan How Much He Earns

In 1967 Jack Benny was a guest on the Ed Sullivan Show and they struck up a conversation with Benny asking Sullivan exactly what he did on his show. 

After confirming that Sullivan didn't sing, dance, act, or tell jokes, but just introduced the acts, he asked him how much he was paid for each appearance.

The answer, $800,000, would be $7.1 million in today's dollars. Not bad for introducing acts.

Enjoy!

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  #Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Jack Benny and Mel Blanc on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show

Today we're going back 48 years to 1974, when Mel Blanc, the man of a thousand voices, appeared with Jack Benny on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.

Blanc, the man behind the voices of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird and Sylvester the cat, Yosemite Sam, and countless other Warner Brothers cartoon characters, has been called the first and best voice actor.

Blanc was a regular on the NBC Red Network show The Jack Benny Program in various roles, including voicing Benny's Maxwell automobile (in desperate need of a tune-up), violin teacher Professor LeBlanc, Polly the Parrot, Benny's pet polar bear Carmichael and the train announcer. 

 

In this video clip, Benny and Blanc reminisce about their many skits on the program and re-enact some of them to Carson's delight.

Enjoy!

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 #Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: George Burns and Jack (Gracie) Benny in London Royal Variety Review

Back in 1961, George Burns did a skit in the Royal Variety Performance in a London theater, with Jack Benny playing the role of George's wife Gracie Allen.

They performed one of the Burns and Allen classic routines that 12 years after Gracie died in 1964, George performed again with comedian Madeline Kahn, a routine that we posted on Jewish Humor Central in 2015.

We never saw the original skit, but thoroughly enjoyed both of the revised versions. We hope you'll enjoy them too.

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  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

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Classic: Jack Benny's Security System Outwits Robber Mel Blanc

Who needs a security system when you can install a series of devices to frustrate a robber like the character that Mel Blanc, the man behind the voices of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird and Sylvester the cat, Yosemite Sam, and countless other Warner Brothers cartoon characters, plays in one of the classic skits from the Jack Benny Program? 

The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, was a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and television careers, a caricature of himself as a minimally talented musician and penny pincher who was the butt of all the jokes. 

In this skit from the show, Mel Blanc,  and another actor play two robbers looking for a big heist from Jack Benny's home. Throughout the robbery attempt, Benny sleeps soundly, knowing that his unique security system will give him maximum protection.

Enjoy!

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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!

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#Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: Jack Benny and "The Landrews Sisters" in 1957

Back in 2012 we posted a comedy clip from The Jack Benny Show from 1957 in which Jack was conducting a talent show to give a break to new performers. Of course Benny's shows were comedies and so were the talent performances. 

The memorable clip that we posted featured Mel Blanc as Stanley Gropff, who created a spray every time he pronounced his name. Gropff (Blanc said his original name was Shpritzer) was the first contestant in this show. 

Today we're posting a continuation of this show, with the second contestants a trio called The Landrews Sisters, obviously a take-off on The Andrews Sisters. Not believing what he's seeing, Benny takes off his glasses, shpritzes "Gropff" onto the lenses, and proceeds to clean them.

The "sisters" were in reality three actress/comedians: Muriel Landers, Iris Adrian, and June Earle. The patter between Benny and the girls was funny in 1957 and is still funny today, but would likely be banned in today's cancel culture.

Enjoy!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Jack Benny Hosts Peter, Paul and Mary

On this Throwback Thursday, we're going back 55 years to 1964 when Peter, Paul, and Mary appeared as guests on The Jack Benny Program.

On January 14, 1964 Peter, Paul and Mary sang Blowin' in the Wind. To show that a folk song can be written from any bit of folklore, they performed Waukegan, a song they wrote based around Jack's age, cheapness, and other faults.

Enjoy!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: George Burns at 93 on the Johnny Carson Show

When George Burns was 93 years old in 1989 he was interviewed by Johnny Carson on his Tonight Show. In the interview Burns reminisced about the many entertainers that he knew and wrote about in his book All My Best Friends, including Al Jolson, Groucho Marx, and Jack Benny.

Burns, who lived to be 100, had Carson laughing as he joked about outliving his doctors and his habit of smoking between 15 and 20 cigars every day.
   
Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: George Burns & Jack Benny Impersonate The Smothers Brothers

It's another Throwback Thursday, so come with us in the time machine as we go back to 1967, when Jack Benny and George Burns appeared on The Smothers Brothers show and took a shot at impersonating the comedy duo. 

In this skit, Burns and Benny are dressed like the Smothers Brothers and take turns praising and criticizing each other until Tommy and Dick Smothers join them on stage dressed alike and get into the act.

Enjoy!

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Comedy Flashback: Rich Little Roasts Jack Benny at Friars Club

The Friars Club has been conducting celebrity roasts since 1950. A typical roast has many entertainment industry greats delivering funny tributes to the annual honoree. We'll be running a series of videos showing some of the funniest roasts at the Friars Club.

Comedian Jack Benny was roasted by the Friars Club in 1963 and 1970. In this video clip, Jack is roasted by Rich Little impersonating Jack, George Burns, and Jimmy Stewart.

Enjoy!

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The Great Jewish Comedians: Joey Bishop on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Jack Benny

Joey Bishop (1918-2007) born Joseph Abraham Gottlieb, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a talk show host. He then became the host of a late night talk show. 

Bishop later became a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin. sord

Like most of the old-time Jewish comedians, he wasn't known for any overt Jewish material, but he usually managed to insert a reference to a Bar Mitzvah or other Jewish term into his commentary.

The youngest of five children, he was born in The Bronx, the son of Anna (Siegel) and Jacob Gottlieb, Jewish Polish immigrants. His father was a bicycle repairman.  Bishop was raised in South Philadelphia.

He guest-hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson at least 175 times from 1971–76, more than anyone else until that time. Here is a video clip of one of his appearances on the show in October 1972.

Enjoy!

The Great Jewish Comedians: Jack Benny and How He Met His Wife, Mary Livingstone

No list of great Jewish comedians would be complete without Jack Benny, who was one of America's most beloved entertainers from the 1930s to the 1970s in vaudeville, radio, and television.

Born Benjamin Kubelsky in 1894, he used his comedic talents to create what many consider to be the first situation comedy that gave rise to the sitcom format that's been so popular for decades.

Benny portrayed his character as a miser, playing his violin badly. In character, he would claim to be 39 years of age, regardless of his actual age.

Benny was known for comic timing, and the ability to create laughter with a pregnant pause or a single expression, such as his signature exasperated "Well!" 

Benny's biography is much too long to reprint here, so we suggest looking at his Wikipedia entry for all the details. In 1927 he married Sadie Marks, who changed her name to Mary Livingstone, and appeared with him as his comedic foil on radio and TV. 

They met while she was working in the hosiery department at The May Company department store in Los Angeles, and today we're posting one of Benny's sitcom episodes that focused on their meeting. 

Enjoy!

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Comedy Flashback: Jack Benny and Groucho Marx Face Off 60 Years Ago

We find it hard to believe that it's 60 years since Jack Benny appeared in disguise as a contestant on The Groucho Marx Show. 

But it happened in 1955, when Benny, calling himself Ronald Forsythe, shows his famed attachment to money.

Playing Groucho's game, Benny tries to guess the secret word to get the duck to come down and give him 100 dollars. Groucho, seeing through Benny's disguise, tries to trick him into revealing his true age. This is a classic for both Marx and Benny.

Enjoy!

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