This Day in Jack Benny

May 9, 1948 - Ronald Coleman's Oscar is finally returned...or was it ever gone? They reference the Pilgrims (listen for a funny clip of Abbot and Costello from 1948). Bare midriff's are in fashion. The first villain pro-wrestler on television, Gorgeous George. And they mention Little Orphan Annie.

May 7, 1939 - Jack Benny makes a Kentucky Derby Bet. Then they do a skit as horses. Phil Harris is also teased for talking in baby talk when he sang the hit novelty song "Three Little Fishes".

May 2, 1948 - Guest Star Frank Sinata. That skinny kid won an Oscar for "The House I Live In" in 1945 and was currently in the movie "Miracle of the Bells". Not to mention the fact that he had his own radio show "Your Hit Parade". This week the negotiate a price for him to sing on The Jack Benny Show.

April 30, 1939 - It's Jack Benny's 7th Anniversary in Radio. At the time there where also two World's Fairs going on. One in New York, the other in San Francisco. Listen also for quick references to drive-in movies and "Lloyds of London" and Esquire Magazine.

April 26, 1942 - Jack Benny and the gang are at the new NBC building in San Francisco. Listen closely and you will hear them mention 7-Up, Red Skelton's catchphrase "I Dood It", and "Havanna Nights". They also do a western skit called Jack Hawkin's Revenge.

April 23, 1939 - On the set of Jack's movie "Man About Town" we meet Guests Binnie Barns and Mark Sandrich with a cameo by Claudette Colbert...all performed in the radio studio by the regular cast with bit players doing the celebrity voices. Meanwhile, Rochester tries to collect on the bet he made with Jack Benny after the Joe Lewis boxing match. And they subtly take a jab at Chamberlain and his Munich Agreement with Hitler.

April 19, 1942 - Don's play about JELL-O stars Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone and Dennis Day. Plus Jack steals a joke from his corny sound man and much more!

April 16, 1939 - Phil Shoots the movie "Man About Town" behind Jack's back. Bob Hope makes a quick reference to The Jack Benny Show on his program. This is one day before a big boxing match with the champ Joe Louis. Phil Harris and Dorothy Lamour.

April 18, 1954 (Re-run April 10, 1955) - A great Easter episode of the Jack Benny Program. Listen for a clip of Bob Crosby on his show "Club 15", the south pole explorer Admiral Byrd, the Statler Hotel, penny scales, and the Judy Garland / Fred Astaire film "Easter Parade".

April 9, 1939 - Jack Benny recruits his cast to play nurses in a parody of the movie Four Girls in White. They also mention Gunga Din, The Story of Louis Pasteur and The Dead End Kids.

April 4, 1948 - The Ink Spots are filling in for the Sportsmen. Jack Benny was robbed of the Oscar statue that he borrowed from Ronald Coleman in that famous "Your money or your life" episode. So Jack wants to borrow Bing Crosby's Oscar. This Day in Jack Benny with John Henderson. This is an episode of The Lucky Strike Program staring Jack Benny. Old Time Radio (OTR). The Jack Benny program, starring Jack Benny with Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Rochester, Dennis Day, and yours truly Don Wilson "Your Money or your life!" ... "I'm thinking it over!"

April 2, 1939 - Rochester sold Carmichael the polar bear to a pawn shop. Kenny Baker tries some April Fool's Day gags even though it's a day late. They also talk about the news that Clark Gable and Carol Lombard got married.

March 28, 1948 - This is the most well-known episodes of the Jack Benny Program because it includes his most famous joke. And it is a very funny episode where Jack goes to visit his next door neighbor, the classy Ronald Coleman. Jack convinces Ronny to borrow his Oscar! This Day in Jack Benny with John Henderson. This is an episode of The Lucky Strike Program staring Jack Benny. Old Time Radio (OTR). The Jack Benny program, starring Jack Benny with Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Rochester, Dennis Day, and yours truly Don Wilson "Your Money or your life!" ... "I'm thinking it over!"

March 26, 1939 - Fred Allen claims Jack Benny is an imposter named Maxwell Stroud. Newspaperman Ed Sullivan comes to check the story out.

March 21, 1948 - In this episode of the Jack Benny Program there is a subtle reference to the McCarthy era Red Scare. But most of the episode is spent talking about the 20th Academy Awards in which Ronald Coleman won the Best Actor Oscar for "A Double Life".

March 19, 1939 - Jack Benny has the measles and is at home sick in bed. Phil takes over. It's very funny. In the preface we talk about the early days of radio.

March 15, 1936 - One of the better early episodes of Jack Benny. Broadcasting from Washington DC they talk politics and banter. Then Jack goes to a banquet at the French Embassy. Plus the comic strip "Bringing up Father", and my favorite 1936 cartoon where the gong show host is Jack Bunny "I Love to Singa".

March 12, 1939 - Don Wilson celebrates his anniversary. Jack Benny got polar bear for his birthday and it is sick.

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.