Posted on 04/17/2018 6:36:05 AM PDT by NRx
Old time radio show starring the cheapest man in the world, Don Wilson, Mary Livingston (Benny), Phil Harris, Dennis Day and Rochester (Eddie Anderson).
(Excerpt) Read more at archive.org ...
Constantly vexed by the hilarious and ubiquitous (YYYEEEEESSSSSS?!?") Frank Nelson.
Little local radio station I live near plays a best of Christmas old time radio collection featuring Amos and Andy's Christmas show, A Christmas Carol featuring Basil Rathbone as scrooge, Fibber McGee and Molly, Jimmy Durante, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Red Skelton in a series of holiday skit and Phil Harris and Alice Faye with a guest appearance by Jack Benny. Always fun.
Every old-time radio show imaginable (including all of Jack Benny’s programs...from the 30’s to the 50’s) can be found on “Dumb.com”. They are all free...just find the category you are looking for and drill down.
I listen just about every night before I go to bed.
My favorites: Jack Benny, Johnny Dollar, Our Miss Brooks, Burns and Allen, Dragnet, Gunsmoke...
Great stuff...if your a fan, you will enjoy!
Jack Benny was simply the best comedian Of All Time.
Who is Jack Benny?
My favorite was Bob Hope but Jack Benny was a close second.
I have some old WWII photos of Benny and Dinah Shore performing on the back of a flatbed truck body amidst the ruins of some city. They were taken by a member of Daddy’s battalion and later shared with the children of other members.
Who is John Galt?
Bmp
Tax evader, fined 10K.
I really like Damon Runyon Theater, Our Miss Brooks, and Great Gildersleve.
Back when comedy writing teams knew what got a laugh. Jack’s show writers were the best!
There’s maybe a dozen or so 24/7 streaming audio OTR or old time radio websites. Some of the programs were put together well, others not so much.
Anything with a laugh track, then as now, for me anyway is just unlistenable. There’s this formulaic setup - innocent comment, smart aleck response, huge audience laughter - over and over and over - that quickly grows tiring. Somewhere along the way I became completely allergic to laughtracks. I can decide for myself what’s funny, thanks.
And fake accents, foreign or otherwise, the “Mid-Atlantic” or “Trans-Atlantic” accent is also tough to listen to when overdone.
If you listen to much old time radio you quickly pick up on the fact that just a few actors and actresses filled virtually all of the roles. Maybe a dozen or so. Howard McNear who later went on to star as “Floyd” on the Andy Griffith Show, was one of them. He is in EVERYTHING. He must have been dependable. He’s the “George Kennedy” of radio. Parley Baer, who played Mayor Stoner, was another. William Conrad, John Dehner, Virginia Gregg, Vic Perrin, Jack Kruschen, and a few others are in just about every radio program.
Jack did indeed have outstanding writers and a great regular show cast. In an age when there was often a high turnover rate among support staff including writers, his people were remarkably loyal. One of the reasons for this is that Jack treated them very well including in their pay. When Eddie Anderson (Rochester) retired he was one of the wealthiest blacks in the entertainment business. Also where a lot of comedians got jealous of others getting too many laughs on their show, Benny didn’t care who got the laughs as long as the laughs were on his show.
JB struck me as a decent fellow to work for.
Rochester was really good too.
Thank you for the reference. Appreciate it.
Well that fits. :)
Ever notice Mary Livingston’s distinct laugh is EXACTLY the same laugh as Elaine’s laugh on Seinfeld?
I’ve noticed other parallels between the two programs. Seinfeld is about himself as a comedian at home and other parallels. I just found the similarities of the above mentioned laughs (normally 3 quarter notes and then a fourth whole note much higher pitched) to be interesting. They tend to be laughs when they are poking fun of the main male character (Seinfeld or Jack benny).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.