I could never understand why Benny was considered by his peers as a comedian's comedian, much in the same way The Clash was the rock band's rock band. The Jack Benny Program episode I just watched did nothing to clear that up, but it was interesting none the less.
It's from 1961 and when Jack took the stage he referred to it as "The Lucky Strike Show". That goes back too far for me. I'm used to seeing the old shows on a tight budget where Jack stood in front of an imaginary audience and wasted a lot of time with Don Wilson and Dennis Day and a regular cast of Rochester and his wife Hillary Marx, Mel Blanc and that department store Benny foil that would exasperate Jack.
But this show had moving platforms, a live audience and a lion! Also there was a good cast of extra's including Larry Mundello's mother, a Stooge player who's name I've never known. ("How can guys be so dumb?") There is a gangster over his left shoulder that played a host of heavies and goons because of his startling face. Does anybody know anything about this guy?
http://retrovision.tv/jack-benny-the-64000-question-spoof-1961/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RetrovisionInternetTelevision+%28Retrovision+Internet+Television%29
