This Day in Jack Benny

March 8, 1953 - Jack and the gang parody the movie "The Snows of Kilimanjaro". Plus Buck Rogers was re-released, Hank Williams has a hit song, and Marilyn Monroe's famous calendar.

March 5, 1939 - Just after "The Richest Horse Race in the World" the Santa Anita Handicap, Jack and the gang discuss the bets they placed. Then they continue their 2-part play Jesse James.

March 2, 1941 - The Jack Benny show is on location in Palm Springs. They spend some time swimming then go on a hike with an "Indian" guide to Taquitz Falls. Let's just say the true history of the Navajo people is much more dynamic than the joke characterization in this episode.

February 26, 1939 - Jack Benny and Fred Allen are at it again. But Jack still has time to put on his rough and tough cowboy voice as Jesse James. The episode takes place just after the Academy Awards when Spencer Tracy won the Best Actor Oscar for "Boys Town" which won Best Picture.

February 20, 1944 - Special guest star Groucho Marx visits Jack at his home. Then, in a bonus segment Jack visits Groucho on his program sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer.

February 19, 1939 - Jack Benny's new polar bear gets a name. It's also Oscar season for films made in 1938. Who will win for Best Actor - James Cagney, Spencer Tracy...or Jack Benny??? We also talk a bit about the stereotypical views of Chinese immigrants and Boris Karloff's portrayal of Mr.Wong in a series of movies of the time.

February 15, 1953 - Bing Crosby joins his brother Bob (now a regular member of the Jack Benny Show cast) in Palm Springs, Jack was also a guest on Bing Crosby's show that week.

February 13, 1955 - Happy Birthday Jack Benny! In this episode they let Jack's real age slip, but he still insists he's 39. They also make reference to the Good Humor man and The Jackie Gleason Show which would soon become the classic 39 episodes of The Honeymooners.

February 8, 1953 - A lively episode from Palm Springs! Mel Blanc does his now famous impression of an English Horse.

February 5, 1939 - Jack Benny does some boxing practice just in case his feud with Fred Allen comes to blows. They reference Tarzan and "Oliver Twist" and the Queen Mary, a ship which took some time at dock for repairs that year.

January 30, 1944 - The Mills Brothers song "Paper Doll" was at the top of the charts. In this episode Jack Benny is promoting his upcoming movie "The Horn Blows at Midnight" by visiting the studio lot. It is a whole lot of fun. Too bad the movie would end up bombing at the box office.

January 29, 1939 - Jack Benny is in the midst of this feud with Fred Allen. In this episode the reference the Western movie series "Hopalong Cassidy" which ran through they 1930s and 1940s. They also make a few very old references. The comedy recording "Cohen on the Telephone" from 1913 (and 1916) and the real life exotic dancer and WWI spy Mata Hari.

January 25, 1948 - Jack Benny has not his real name. His real name was was Benny Kubelsky. In this is a very fun episode where the cast is on a train home after a trip.

January 22, 1939 - They make a very early reference to television in this episode. But it's mostly about Jack Benny telling how he saved Fred Allen's life back in the days of Vaudeville. There is an obscure reference to the animal stage act "Fink's Mules".

January 19, 1936 - "JAIL-O again" Jack is in Jail for speeding. Unfortunately the audio quality is really bad. So instead... January 19, 1941 - Jack spoofs the James Cagney boxing movie "City of Conquest" plus they talk about him getting his feet in the forecourt of Grumman's Chinese Theater.

January 15, 1939 - On Jack's Screen Guild Performance with Joan Crawford he tries to prove he can make love on screen as well as any other actor. The Cast doesn't buy it. Plus a fun sitcom style opening with Jack ordering lunch at the local diner. A great episode!

January 10, 1954 - The episode celebrates Jack Benny's announcer Don Wilson with a joke biography. That day a real biography of Jack appeared in Parade Magazine. Also on news stands you could read the latest gossip on Zsa Zsa Gabor.

January 8, 1939 - This is the second time Jack and they gang performed this parody of Snow White on the air. It is a lot of fun. Listen after the episode for a clip from the Screen Guild Show starring Jack Benny from that same night.

January 7, 1940 - Barbra Stanwyck guest stars to reprise her role in "Golden Boy", only things don't go exactly as planned. This is also just after the 1940 Rose Bowl. Jack won a bet with Phil Harris and he is giddy about getting paid off. A great episode!

December 31, 1939 - Gladys Dissapoints Jack on New Year's Eve. This episode has a few old references. Alexander Woollcott was an author and critic. Sally Rand was a Burlesque dancer, and Ginger Rogers was an actress. This is a light hearted and fun episode.

December 28, 1947 - This is a sort of year in review for 1947. Princess Elizabeth gets married. The new look in fashion is a style that includes longer shirts. Perry Como's "Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba" is a hit as well as Phil Harris' "That's What I Like About The South". In This episode of the Jack Benny Show they do a fantasy skit personifying the year 1947 as an old mat at the end of his year. The New Tenant is a young 1948. Listen after the show for a selection from Phil Harris' other Show "The Fitch Bandwagon."

December 24, 1939 - It's Christmas Eve and Jack invites the gang over. This is in 1939 at the end of the Great Depression. Listen after the show for a Christmas clip from The Aldrich Family.

December 23, 1945 - Newsreel of Christmas shopping for dolls and hobby horses in 1945. The US is working on withdrawing troops from Europe after WWII. In this episode Ronald Coleman has a touching speech about Christmas after wartime.

December 17, 1939 - The Jack Benny Program was broadcast live each week, so they did it twice. Once for the east coast time zone, once for the west coast time zone. There are two versions of this episode, listen to what changed from one to another.

October 9, 1949 - Mel Blanc sings does his Al Jolson impression "Neyyyaa" singing along with the Sportsmen quartette. He also just made a record imitating Jolson singing "Toot-Toot-Tootsie Goodbye". Meanwhile Jack is recoverying from nose surgery and accidentally impersonates the Fisk Tire boy.

December 10, 1939 - Jack finishes the Murder on the Gridiron episode which is less gridiron and more murder mystery. They have some great double-talk nonsense voices. They also mention the movie "The Private Life of Henry VIII" starring Charles Laughton.

December 5, 1954 - This is the last of the great Christmas Shopping episodes on The Jack Benny radio show. Jack Buys oil paints for Don for Christmas. Dennis Day had many vinyl records.

December 3, 1939 - Jack Benny AKA Buck Benny the cowboy joins other western stars for the Santa Claus Lane Parade. Meanwhile in cinema, Spencer Tracy won the Oscar that year for "Boys Town". The skit in the episode is part one of "Murder on the Gridiron" where they spoof college football.

November 27, 1949 - Dis you know Ricardo Montalban & Esther Williams sang the first recorded version of the holiday hit "Baby, It's Cold Outside"? Or was it Red Skelton? In this episode Jack spends and evening playing bridge. How could something so average wind up so crazy?

November 26, 1939 - References in this episode include Earle Liederman, a strongman on the vaudeville stage who sold a mail-in bodybuilding course. The Tyrone Power movie "The Rains Came" (1939) and the movie "The Devil is a Sissy" (1936). Plus Jack and the gang talk about his Thanksgiving party and they go duck hunting with Andy Devine.

November 21, 1943 - Happy Thanksgiving from the front lines! The war is on which means the rationing of meats, but Jack is still able to get turkey. Then he dreams he is a turkey. Plus Jack plays violin as a guest on the USO broadcast "Soldiers in Grease Paint".

November 19, 1939 - The year with two Thanksgivings. President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving from the last Thursday of November one week earlier and the nation almost lost it's mind. Some stays stayed with the old Thanksgiving time, some the new, some both. Jack Benny and the gang celebrate the holiday in this episode.

November 16, 1947 - Cleaning Jack's Den before Jack goes to the DMV to get his Driver's License. Movies in '47 included "Forever Amber" and "The Egg and I".

November 12, 1939 - Jack Benny has a toothache and goes to the dentist. Dr.Frank Nelson. What could be more torture? Only Fred Allen and his sponsor Ipana Toothpaste.

November 1 & 8, 1936 - Clips from a few episodes of the Jack Benny Program from 1936. It's also election week Landon vs FDR.

November 5, 1939 - It's s spoof of the movie "The Women" with Jack Benny, Phil Harris and Don Wilson as the women. A podcast of the greatest Old Time Radio ever, The Jack Benny Program! Starring Jack Benny with Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Rochester, Dennis Day, and Don Wilson. The Jack Benny Show AKA The Jello Program AKA The Lucky Strike Program aired from the 1930's right through to the 1950's. Each week your host, John Henderson, brings an episode from that week 60-80 years ago. It's old, yet still as funny as ever. An OTR podcast Read more at http://thisdaybenny.com

November 4, 1951 - Listen after the episode for a clip from Jack's TV show that day. Harry Shearer is well known as the voice of Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Smithers, Otto, Kent Brockman and many more. His very first job in entertainment was on The Jack benny Program.

October 29, 1939 - Happy Halloween! This episode of the Jack Benny program takes place at a masquerade party and it's no surprise that Don Wilson is dressed like a bowl of delicious JELL-O. Plus, before the show we take a trip to The San Fransisco World's Fair of 1939-1940 and learn about the swing version of "The Mikado".

October 26, 1936 - Jack Benny stars in "The Big Broadcast of 1937". They talk about the movie "Anthony Adverse", and the star-studded "Romeo and Juliet". Plus a brief answer to the question 'what are minstrel shows?'.

October 22, 1939 - This episode spoofs the movie "Stanley and Livingstone", no relation to Mary Livingstone. And Kay Kaiser from the movie "That's Right You're Wrong" is a guest.

October 19, 1947 - Jack Benny is out golfing. Mel Blanc is still looking for a job doing his Al Jolson impression. References to Fibber McGee and Molly, the song "My Blue Heaven", and golfers George Fazio, Lou Clayton, and Artie Steppens.. Plus the Maxwell, Dennis Day, Mary Livingstone, Rochester, and Phil Harris. This episode has some great moments!

October 15, 1939 - Disney's Cinderella features Verna Felton as the Fairy Godmother. But long before she sang "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" she was Dennis Day's mother on the Jack Benny Show.

October 9, 1949 - What?! Jack Benny suddenly stopped being cheap and became the soul of generosity? He give Mel Blanc a raise, he offers Rochester spending money and the night off, and he buys himself a yacht.

October 2, 1949 - They mention vaudeville performers like Al Jolsen and The Avon Comedy Four, Jack Benny is cheap. That is until one day while taking inventory of his cupboard he gets hit on the head with a large can of tomato juice.

October 4, 1953 - Baseball manager Leo Durocher AKA "Leo the Lip" watches the Yankees vs Dodgers 1953 World Series with Jack Benny. Bob Crosby discusses his brother Bing Crosby. Plus Mary Livingstone, Dennis Day and Don Wilson.

October 8, 1939 - Aldrich Family was the summer replacement show. This is the first show of the new season and the first episode ever with Dennis Day. Find out why the previous singer, Kenny Baker, left the show. Hint: It wasn't about the money.

September 29, 1946 - Jack is humming the hit song of the day "South America, Take it Away" by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. Jack is upset Phil and Dennis have their own shows ("Fitch Bandwagon" and "A Day in The Life of Dennis Day")

September 25, 1949 - Jack Benny visits the CBS studio to start a new season on the radio and runs into ventriloquist Edger Bergen and his pal Charlie McCarthy, Red Skelton and Amos n Andy.

September 21, 1952 - Jack Benny and Rochester do their own version of Abbot and Costello's famous bit "Who's on First?". Plus Shopping in Scotland with Jack and Mary. and Bing Crosby's less famous brother Bob.

September 18, 1949 - Mel Blanc is remembered as "The man of 1,000 voices" in this episode he is begging Jack Benny to let him do a voice, any voice on his program.