The Jack Benny Program

[[File:jackbenny.png|frame|From left to right: [[Servile Snarker|Rocheste], [[Tenor Boy|Dennis Da], [[Ted Baxter|Phil Harri], [[Closer to Earth|Mary Livingsto], [[Straight Man|Jack Benn], [[Enforced Plug|Don Wilso], and [[Mel Blanc]].]] ""Train leaving on track five for Anaheim, Azusa, and Cuc...""

"Mugger: Your money or your life. (long pause) Mugger: Look, bud! I said your money or your life! Jack: I'm thinking it over!"

Comedian Jack Benny's [[Radi] program made its debut in 1932 as The Canada Dry Program and ran until 1955 under various titles: The Chevrolet Program, The General Tire Revue, The Jell-O Program Starring Jack Benny, The Grape Nuts and Grape Nuts Flakes Program Starring Jack Benny, The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny, and, finally, [[The Jack Benny Progra]. The program was also adapted into an eponymous television show, which aired from 1950 to 1965.

Generally, The Jack Benny Program was a [[Sitco] about the production of The Jack Benny Program. Some of the action flashed back to what the cast had been up to that week, and some took place on the stage of the program, where Jack and the gang would try to put on plays and sketches, often taking the form of parodies of popular movies. Celebrity guests were not uncommon, and could be easily introduced as Jack's friends or neighbors in Hollywood. One long-term [[Running Ga] was Jack's bitter "feud" with rival radio host Fred Allen.

Recurring characters included Jack's Closer to Earth co-star (and real-life wife) Mary Livingston; his long-suffering African-American valet Rochester; brash Southern bandleader Phil Harris; naïve boy tenor Dennis Day (and, beforehand, Kenny Baker in a similar role); and rotund announcer Don Wilson, who tended to turn the conversation or the sketch to a discussion of the sponsor's product. Jack himself, portrayed as notoriously cheap and self-aggrandizing, usually played the comic foil to the other characters: the real-life Benny is famous for noting, "I don't care who gets the laughs on my show, as long as the show is funny."

"Jack (after a round of playing with Heifetz): "Honest folks, can you tell the difference?" (Even announcer Edward Arnold is laughing in splits at this stage...)"
 * The Alcoholic: Phil Harris
 * [[The Alleged Ca]: Jack's Maxwell.
 * [[All Jews Are Cheapskate]: Jack Benny's birth name was "Benjamin Kubelsky". (In character, though, this was never alluded to as the reason for his stinginess.)
 * It should be noted that Mister Kitzel, a [[Recurring Characte] who was openly Jewish was never portrayed as being particularly tight-fisted or stingy.
 * [[Animated Adaptatio]: The 1959 [[Looney Tunes|Merrie Melodie] short "The Mouse That Jack Built", a short that unintentionally served, years later, as many younger viewers' initial introduction to Jack Benny.
 * One of the supporting cast of character on [[The Simpson is an animated (unnamed) version of [[Frank Nelso]'s "Yessssssssssss!" character. As in Jack's show, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpQVIlWPmac&feature=related Homer and company are usually waited on by hi in various episodes.
 * Annoying Laugh: Or, at any rate, a very distinctive laugh from Mary.
 * As Himself: Future [[Barney Mille] Detective Jack Soo made an appearence thanks to his appearing in the road company of Flower Drum Song. He's not quite a guest star in the usual sense - he first comes on pretending to be an agent for a fellow cast member when during negotiations with Jack, Jack says "Wait a minute....I know you...you're Jack Soo, aren't you?"
 * [[Aside Glanc]: Done to perfection by Jack on the TV version.
 * Big "Shut Up!": There numerous, hilarious versions of this on The Jack Benny Show. Many times, various people, often Mary Livingstone and Verna Felton (as Dennis Day's mother), would snap at Jack to shut up to keep him from making some corny joke. Sometimes, Jack would give it in response to someone either pointing out the obvious, or the flaw in a gag, or lancing his ego. Most of the time, though, it would be Jack hollering "Wait a minute!" at his quartet, the Sportsmen, in a [[Musicalis Interruptus|futile attempt to stop the] from going crazy with their latest wacky song.
 * [[Big Ye]: The usual opening for [[Frank Nelso].
 * [[Brooklyn Rag]: One of Mel Blanc's characters was a surly gentleman who spoke in a Brooklyn drawl, often giving Jack all sorts of grief.
 * [[Brick Jok]: ...amonga!
 * [[Catch Phras]: "Well!" "Now cut that out!"
 * Channel Hop: The radio show moved from NB] to [[CBS in 1949, one of a number of shows and personalities that the latter network "raided" from the former.
 * Closer to Earth: Mary
 * [[Cloudcuckoolande]: Dennis Day
 * [[Comic Book Tim]: sorta. The first year the radio show was on the air, Jack Benny's 39th Birthday occurred. The next year, as a gag, they had him turn 39 again. It became a running gag so popular that when he actually died in 1974, the headline in newspapers around the world stated, "Jack Benny dies at 39".
 * Continuity Nod
 * Crossove]: With [[The Burns and Allen Show. Jack and [[George Burn] were lifelong friends and appeared on each others shows often. In one episode of his show [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CoYC1QhjgI&list=UUoJDv_hP2zmTX8SIKPsuW7A&index=1&feature=plcp George gets Jack on his special televisio which Jack lampshades with "You're not watching me on your silly TV are you? I'm not on until Sunday Night!". After Jack then starts to quote his appearence fee George shuts off the tv! In another episode George threatens his announcer Harry Von Zell by pondering, "I wonder what Don Wilson is doing next year..."
 * [[The Danz]
 * [[Death by Materialis]: Parodied with the famous "Your money or your life!" skit.
 * The Ditz: Dennis Day
 * [[Dreadful Musicia]: Jack and his violin.
 * Though, he showed on other episodes that he actually was quite the talented violinist, so more along the lines of Hollywood Tone Deaf.
 * [[Refuge in Audacit]: To bring the world's greatest violinists like Jascha Heifetz and Isaac Stern on his program where he not only compares his skills with them, but also goes on to play duets for added effect, such as this one for USO troops in WorldWarII, is nothing short of pure hilarious audacity.

"Mel Look't what you made me do! You made me so nervous, I missed!!!"
 * [[Driven to Suicid]:
 * One Christmas episode has Jack shopping for presents. A clerk helps him with a gift and message, but Jack keeps recalling the gift so he can change the message. The increasingly frazzled clerk (Mel Blanc, at his hysterical over-the-top best) ultimately leaves to shoot himself. Jack decides to return the gift and get a cheaper version.
 * In another Christmas episode, the same clerk tries and fails to do it again.

"Girl on Phone: McGuire's Gym. We make mountains out of molehills. Jack Benny: Hello, this is Jack Benny.... Girl on Phone: Oh, Mr Benny! You'll want our male division..."
 * [[Enforced Plu]
 * The Eponymous Show
 * [[Getting Crap Past the Rada]: Jack and his writers were always battling with the censors. Sometimes, it was for legitimate reasons. For example, one skit originally described a beautiful woman wearing 3 fraternity pins, and no sweater, but at the censors' insistence, the number of pins was bumped up to 300. Other times, for rather inane reasons. Like, when (in another skit) the censors insisted on removing a scene where Jack placates a horde of cannibals with a dirty limerick in a nonsense language.
 * Phil Harris said that his character used to refer to Jack Benny as 'Jackson' because it was the closest he could get to saying 'jackass' on the air without getting into trouble with the censors.
 * One time Jack called a Gym.

"Sy (Mel Blanc): I was arrested for reheating the coffee. They got me for double perking."
 * Happily Married: Jack with Mary Livingstone. When he died, it was revealed in his will that he had provided for a long-stemmed red rose to be delivered to her, every day, until her own death.
 * [[I'm Thinking It Ove]: [[Trope Name].
 * "Yeeeeeesssss?")
 * Jack would use them as a part of his Self-Depreciation schtick.

"Jack: I was typing out a report on Slim-Finger Sarah, when the door opened. And there were detectives Simmons and Ross. They had brought in a vicious gunman, a killer named Baby-Faced Bogart. [[[Humphrey Bogar] enters to long applause from the audienc Jack: I didn't mind the applause he got on his entrance, but I resented the fact that Crosby and Wilson joined in. |undefined"
 * [[Irony as She Is Cas]: In real life, Jack Benny was actually a very good violinist. It takes a lot of musical talent to be able to play a musical instrument badly for comic effect and having it come out amusing rather than painful.
 * [[It's a Wonderful Plo]: The February 2, 1947 episode.
 * [[Jingl]: If you want better taste from your cigarette, Lucky Strikes is the brand to get!
 * J-E-L-L-OOOOOOOOO!!!
 * [[Lampshade Hangin]: There was so much hanging of lampshades everywhere, Jack's career could have doubled as a furniture store. One example, from the detective themed Bogart episode:

"Mrs. Day You know, Dennis, lots of people think you act strange, and I may be to blame. You see, when you were a baby, I dropped you on your head. Dennis That's okay, lots of mothers drop their babies on their heads. Mrs. Day Out of a 2 story window? Oh, I knew there was something wrong when you bounced right back up."
 * [[Long Runner]: 33 years on Radio and TV.
 * [[Mama Bea]: Verna Felton played the part of Dennis Day's mother, a tough as nails, literally frightening woman who clashed with Jack on numerous occasions in order protect Dennis from being taken advantage of.
 * Marathon Runnin]: On Dec 31 2011/Jan 1st 2012 Digital channel Antenna TV ran "Night of 2012 Laughs" a 20 hour marathon of [[The Jack Benny Progra] alternating with [[The Burns and Allen Show.
 * Mel Blanc: Did a number of minor voice-over and live-action roles, as well as some sound effects.
 * "Si."
 * [[Mr. Vice Gu]: Benny's central character flaw is that he's a miserly self-promoter, but this never rises to the level of making him a bad person, or rather, never rises to the level of making him unsympathetic to the audience.
 * [[Officer O'Har]: In the "Captain O'Benny" sketches.
 * [[Offing the Offsprin]: Dennis Day drove everyone nuts, especially his parents. Apparently, according to the show, his childhood was riddled with [[Parental Abandonmen] situations, and his parents trying to kill him:

"Rochester Whatever happened to the gasman???"
 * [[The Operators Must Be Craz]: Gertrude Gearshift and Mabel Flapsaddle of The Jack Benny Program, who are too busy making wisecracks and infuriating Jack to put the call through.
 * [[Orson Welle]: Guest-hosted for several 1943 episodes while Benny was ill with pneumonia.
 * Pretty in Mink: He went on a [[Butt Monkey|failed dat] with a girl who wore a fur wrap.
 * [[Product Placemen]: If Don Wilson is talking, prepare for Jell-O or Lucky Strike references soon.
 * In fact, the show sold product a little too well during World War Two. General Foods was forced to take Benny off of promoting their Jell-O and move him to Grape Nuts -- because Benny's show had created a tidal-wave of demand for Jell-O. Under normal circumstances, this would not be a problem. Except that this was circa 1943-44, when strict sugar rationing was in effect, and General Foods had absolutely no way to meet consumer demand for the dessert and still meet its obligations to the troops.
 * [[Reveal Sho], or the radio equivalent.
 * The Rival: Fred Allen, who was fond of [[Lampshade Hangin] the various contrived ways scripts would bring the rivalry up. And cracking Jack up in the process.
 * [[Rule of Funn]: This was the show's unspoken and spoken [[Madness Mantr] EVERYTHING on the show was done to get laughs. Obviously, this fact was also repeatedly lampshaded both on and off the show.
 * In one episode, Don Wilson goes into a Dude, Where's My Respect? rant about how the only reason why he's such a [[Big Eate] is to let Jack insult his girth, and then Phil Harris explains/complains how the only reason he's a womanizing drunkard is to stay in character for the show, whereupon Jack one-ups both them by complaining about how hard it is to be impossibly stingy.
 * During a rehearsal, a gag situation is explained to guest star Ronald Colman, who then asks "What's my motivation?" The writers then explain, "to get the biggest friggin' laugh possible." Ronald then asks again, "But what's my motivation?" His wife, Benita Humes, explained further, "To get the biggest friggin' laugh possible."
 * [[Running Ga]: So many... but above all, there is the truly epic feud with Fred Allen.
 * Also Benny's permanent age of 39.

"Jack: Mr Rains, when you take a joke away from Berle, it's not called "stealing," it's called "repossessing.""
 * Scottish. After Jack Benny, most penny-pinching jokes were about Jack Benny.
 * [[Servile Snarke]: Rochester
 * [[Shout-Ou]: On one episode of [[The Offic] Michael Scott blows a wooden train whistle and announces "Train leaving on track five for Anaheim, Azusa, and Cuc...camunda!"
 * Show Within a Show: A frequent device was to transition Jack and other characters from "real life" to the show, and vice versa.
 * [[Sound to Screen Adaptatio]
 * [[Straight Ma]: Jack
 * To elaborate, the underlying theme to pretty much the totality of Jack's schtick was that he was literally almost everybody's straightman.
 * [[Suspiciously Similar Substitut]: Dennis Day started out as the same character as Kenny Baker, whom he replaced. Dennis Day was a good enough actor that his part was fleshed out as the years went on.
 * [[Take Tha]: Most examples of this trope on Jack's radioshow were directed at Fred Allen, as a part of their ongoing "feud." Still, there have been numerous times where Jack took potshots at other comedians. Like for example, when his gueststar, Claude Rains repeated Allen's accusation that Jack is so uncreative that he had to steal jokes from infamous joke-thief, Milton Berle:

"Don Wilson Well, Jack, at least you don't have to listen to that announcer they had here. Jack You're right! Remember him? Thank goodness he's no longer here. Announcer on Speaker Attention, attention ... flights now arriving from Anaheim, Azusa, and Cuc... Jack Oh, No!!!! Announcer on Speaker Oh, Yes! ...camunga."
 * [[Take Me Out At the Ball Gam]: A 1939 sketch featured "Murder on the Gridiron".
 * [[The Tape Knew You Would Say Tha]: While waiting in an airport Jack had a variation with the Flight announcer.

"Polly Monsieur Benny, my money, please! *rawk* Jack Polly! You sounded just like Professor Le Blanc! Jack Come to think of it, you look just like Professor Le Blanc, too... |undefined"
 * [[Ted Baxte]
 * [[Tenor Bo]: Dennis (& Kenny before him). He once said he didn't have an opinion on an issue because "tenors are a dime a dozen."
 * [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonis]: Though combined with a very well-proportioned amount of [[Self-Deprecatio].
 * Who Writes This Crap?: A running gag was that Benny's writers were a gaggle of semi-literate boobs (and a convict) who only got their jobs by blackmailing Jack. Another running gag was that virtually everything Jack said was written by his writers.
 * Why Didn't You Just Say So?: Used with [[Hilarity Ensues|hilarious effec] with Dennis Day, often driving Jack to distraction.
 * Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?: Mr. Schlepperman, Mr. Kitzel, but especially [[Frank Nelso].
 * [[You Look Familia]: All of Mel Blanc's roles, lampshaded brutally and constantly.
 * [[Bea]*


 * [[Frank Nelso]'s many appearances (the roles vary, the character remains constant) also qualify. One episode even has Jack visiting a shrink, convinced that he's losing his mind because he keeps seeing Nelson everywhere he goes! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkXWw7W5_0w The psychiatrist is played by ... Frank Nelso.

''Goodnight, folks. And I'll see you soon.''

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