Posted on 04/05/2009 6:58:54 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
This is the final chapter of the saga of Jack Benny’s jewel smuggling caper.
He should have hidden the jewels in “The Vault”.
Fascinating, especially the bit about the Supreme’s wife.
I can understand real time minus 70 years, but how do you get the stories for plus 70 years? Do you have a time machine?
Q: What was the story about Jack Benny being caught for smuggling?
A: Here is the story based on George Burns’ recounting of it. In 1938, George Burns and Gracie Allen were having dinner with a man named Albert Chapereau and his wife at “21.” His wife was sporting a very wide diamond bracelet. As a small child, Gracie had pulled a boiling pot off the stove, and it had left permanent burn marks on her arm. Because of this, she always wore long-sleeve blouses. On seeing this diamond bracelet, George realized that wearing that, Gracie could go out with a shorter-sleeve dress and hide her scar. Chapereau offered to sell George the bracelet for $2000, and George accepted.
George told Jack about the purchase. Mary then asked Jack to buy her a diamond pin from Chapereau, and Jack did so for $350. Shortly thereafter, Chapereau’s German maid informed the Customs Bureau of his smuggling activities, as she was angry over some anti-Nazi remarks he had made. Two of the goods were traced to George and Jack, and they were charged with possession of smuggled property. George pled guilty to the charge, and received a fine of $15,000 and a one-year-and-one-day suspended sentence. Jack pled innocent to the charge but was found guilty, and received a fine of $10,000 and a one-year-and-one-day suspended sentence.
http://www.jackbenny.org/faq.htm#A10
I saw Jack Benny perform live at Lake Tahoe when I was a child. He put on a great show, and I still remember him walking by my family with his violin case on the way in to the hotel. Now I find out he was a tax evading, free trading smuggler - and I like him even better.
Sorry, appears it’s a New York Supreme Court justice, not the US Supremes.
Jack Benny was an innocent victim of the stupid depression era tariffs.
The story mentions the name of Benny’s lawyer as one William J Donovan.
I note with interest that there was a contemporaneous Wall Street lawyer named William J Donovan who went on to win the Medal of Honor and establish the OSS (later the CIA).
Same guy? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Joseph_Donovan
Jack Benny: "I'm Thinking, I'm Thinking!"
I’d like to order two or three of those new LaSalle’s. Can someone direct me to a dealer?
Interesting that one of Jack Benny’s Lawyers was Colonel William J. (Wild Bill) Donovan, head of the OSS in WWII.
I’m guessing Judge Leibell bore a strange resemblance to Frank Nelson...
i wonder what $1200 is worth today?
This explanation raises more questions for me. Burns and Benny bought the trinkets at a New York nightclub. Did they know it was smuggled? If Benny bought the pin for $350 and it was appraised at $2,131 then it must have been hot as well as smuggled. Was there no investigation about that? Did the German housemaid/informant work for Chaperau or Mrs. Justice Lauer?
One of the best comedians ever! (IMO)
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=%22jack+benny%22&aq=f
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA_r1Ynl4Ls
At the time he was one of the very top lawyers in the country and would have been a first choice if you could afford him. FDR tapped him for what became the OSS for many reasons but a prime reason was his already well established connections to the Brits. By all accounts Donovan was a man that we could really use today but the establishment would be scared silly of him, he had morals!
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