名人軼事51:People in America – Jack Benny

VOICE ONE:

I’m Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA.

Today, we tell the story of Jack Benny. He was one of America’s best-loved

funnymen during the Twentieth Century.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Jack Benny was one of the most famous names in show business for more than

fifty years. He started as a serious musician, before he discovered he could

make people laugh.

Jack Benny (left)

Jack Benny became famous nationwide in the Nineteen Thirties as a result of

his weekly radio program. His programs were among the most popular on

American radio, and later on television.

Jack Benny won the hearts of Americans by making fun of himself. He was known

not as someone who said funny things, but as someone who said things in a

funny way.

VOICE TWO:

Jack Benny was born in Chicago, Illinois, on February fourteenth, Eighteen

Ninety-Four. His parents, Meyer and Emma Kubelsky, were religious Jews. They

had moved to the United States from eastern Europe. They named their first

child Benjamin.

Benjamin Kubelsky and his family lived in Waukeegan , Illinois. Benjamin was

a quiet boy. For much of the time, his parents were busy working in his

father’s store. As a child, Benjamin, or Benny as his friends called him,

learned to play the violin. Benny was such a good violin player that, for a

time, he wanted to become a musician.

VOICE ONE:

While in school, Benny got a job as a violin player with the Barrison

Theater, the local vaudeville house. Vaudeville was the most popular form of

show business in the United States in the early Nineteen Hundreds. Vaudeville

shows presented short plays, singers, comedians who made people laugh and

other acts.

Benny worked at the Barrison Theater -- sometimes during school hours. He

left high school before completing his studies. The piano player for the

theater was a former vaudeville performer named Cora Salisbury. For a short

time, she and Benny formed their own performing act. Later, he and another

piano player had their own act.

At first, Benny changed his name to Ben K. Benny. However, that name was

similar to another actor who played a violin. So, he chose the name Jack

Benny.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

The United States entered World War One in Nineteen Seventeen. Benny joined

the Navy and reported to the Great Lakes Naval Station. He continued using

his violin to perform for sailors at the naval station. In one show, he was

chosen more for his funny jokes than for his skill with the violin. That

experience made him believe that his future job was as a comedian, not in

music.

VOICE ONE:

After leaving the Navy, Benny returned to vaudeville. His performances won

him considerable popularity during the Nineteen Twenties. He traveled across

the country with other well-known performers, including the Marx Brothers.

In Nineteen Twenty-Seven, Benny married Sadie Marks, a sales girl from the

May Company store in Los Angeles. Missus Benny soon became part of the

traveling show. She used the name Mary Livingstone.

Jack Benny appeared in a few Hollywood films, but then left California and

moved to New York. He had a leading part in the Broadway show, “Vanities.”

VOICE TWO:

Benny made his first appearance on radio in Nineteen Thirty-Two. He was

invited to appear on a radio show presented by newspaper reporter Ed

Sullivan. Benny opened with this announcement:

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is Jack Benny talking. There will be a short

break while you say, who cares?”

However, many listeners did care. Within a short period, Benny had his own

radio show. It continued for twenty-three years.

(JACK BENNY OPEN)

ANNCR:“The Jack Benny Program…”

(MUSIC)

“…starring Jack Benny, with Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Rochester,

Dennis Day, and yours truly, Don Wilson…”

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Jack Benny developed a show business personality that had all the qualities

people dislike. He was known for being so stingy he refused to spend any of

his money, unless forced to do so. He always was concerned about money. For

example, he would put on a jeweler’s glass to examine the diamond on a

wealthy woman he had just met.

In another example, a robber points a gun at Benny.

(JACK BENNY PROGRAM)

ROBBER: “This is a stick-up.”

BENNY: “Mister, put down that gun.”

ROBBER: “Shut up. I said this is a stick-up. Now, come on. Your money or

your life.”

((laughter))