名人轶事51:People in America – Jack Benny
I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA.
Today, we tell the story of Jack Benny. He was one of America’s best-loved
funnymen during the Twentieth Century.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Jack Benny was one of the most famous names in show business for more than
fifty years. He started as a serious musician, before he discovered he could
make people laugh.
Jack Benny (left)
Jack Benny became famous nationwide in the Nineteen Thirties as a result of
his weekly radio program. His programs were among the most popular on
American radio, and later on television.
Jack Benny won the hearts of Americans by making fun of himself. He was known
not as someone who said funny things, but as someone who said things in a
funny way.
VOICE TWO:
Jack Benny was born in Chicago, Illinois, on February fourteenth, Eighteen
Ninety-Four. His parents, Meyer and Emma Kubelsky, were religious Jews. They
had moved to the United States from eastern Europe. They named their first
child Benjamin.
Benjamin Kubelsky and his family lived in Waukeegan , Illinois. Benjamin was
a quiet boy. For much of the time, his parents were busy working in his
father’s store. As a child, Benjamin, or Benny as his friends called him,
learned to play the violin. Benny was such a good violin player that, for a
time, he wanted to become a musician.
VOICE ONE:
While in school, Benny got a job as a violin player with the Barrison
Theater, the local vaudeville house. Vaudeville was the most popular form of
show business in the United States in the early Nineteen Hundreds. Vaudeville
shows presented short plays, singers, comedians who made people laugh and
other acts.
Benny worked at the Barrison Theater -- sometimes during school hours. He
left high school before completing his studies. The piano player for the
theater was a former vaudeville performer named Cora Salisbury. For a short
time, she and Benny formed their own performing act. Later, he and another
piano player had their own act.
At first, Benny changed his name to Ben K. Benny. However, that name was
similar to another actor who played a violin. So, he chose the name Jack
Benny.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
The United States entered World War One in Nineteen Seventeen. Benny joined
the Navy and reported to the Great Lakes Naval Station. He continued using
his violin to perform for sailors at the naval station. In one show, he was
chosen more for his funny jokes than for his skill with the violin. That
experience made him believe that his future job was as a comedian, not in
music.
VOICE ONE:
After leaving the Navy, Benny returned to vaudeville. His performances won
him considerable popularity during the Nineteen Twenties. He traveled across
the country with other well-known performers, including the Marx Brothers.
In Nineteen Twenty-Seven, Benny married Sadie Marks, a sales girl from the
May Company store in Los Angeles. Missus Benny soon became part of the
traveling show. She used the name Mary Livingstone.
Jack Benny appeared in a few Hollywood films, but then left California and
moved to New York. He had a leading part in the Broadway show, “Vanities.”
VOICE TWO:
Benny made his first appearance on radio in Nineteen Thirty-Two. He was
invited to appear on a radio show presented by newspaper reporter Ed
Sullivan. Benny opened with this announcement:
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is Jack Benny talking. There will be a short
break while you say, who cares?”
However, many listeners did care. Within a short period, Benny had his own
radio show. It continued for twenty-three years.
(JACK BENNY OPEN)
ANNCR:“The Jack Benny Program…”
(MUSIC)
“…starring Jack Benny, with Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Rochester,
Dennis Day, and yours truly, Don Wilson…”
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Jack Benny developed a show business personality that had all the qualities
people dislike. He was known for being so stingy he refused to spend any of
his money, unless forced to do so. He always was concerned about money. For
example, he would put on a jeweler’s glass to examine the diamond on a
wealthy woman he had just met.
In another example, a robber points a gun at Benny.
(JACK BENNY PROGRAM)
ROBBER: “This is a stick-up.”
BENNY: “Mister, put down that gun.”
ROBBER: “Shut up. I said this is a stick-up. Now, come on. Your money or
your life.”
((laughter))
