KNBC-4 1974 Special Report Jack Benny Death B/W Telecast 

As a College student I had a dream job in the Summer, driving the celebrities of Classical music and Hollywood, when they appeared at the Temple University Music Festival. On July 4th 1974, I was asked to drive from Philadelphia to the Wolftrap Music Festival outside of Washington DC. In those days there was no GPS and I followed a complicated set of driving instructions. I met Mr. Benny backstage after his performance, along with his longtime business agent Jack Fein. He is the ONLY celebrity that I felt nervous meeting, as I grew up seeing him on television. I was so nervous I asked several people where I could find access to I-95 North. Everyone said be sure not to miss the first left turn out of the Complex, and that it looked like an ordinary driveway. Of course I missed the turn and now I had to remember the ten turns it took me to get to the Theatre. Mr. Benny was seated next to me in the front passenger seat and his agent behind me. Nine turns later, the flop sweat pouring down my face, Mr. Benny never addressed me personally. In that inimitable drawl he turned to his agent and said, "Jack, I don't think this young man knows where he is going". At that EXACT moment the signage for I-95 North Baltimore and Philadelphia came into view. Mr. Fein pointed that out to Mr. Benny and all went well until I attempted a conversation. I told Mr. Benny that I really enjoyed a movie he did where he was a trumpet player who fell asleep during a commercial. He dreamed he was a Heavenly Angel whose trumpet at midnight would end the World. It was aptly named "The Horn Blows at Midnight". I mentioned to Mr. Benny how much I liked the film and with that straight face dryly responded, "I hated it, it made no money". This occurred only 5 months before his death. I took note of the fact he looked especially frail and tired. I wondered how he was going to do a show the next night after arriving past midnight in Philadelphia. But, the moment he took the stage he came to life, buoyant with energy. In retelling this story on a radio show asking what you did on the 4th of July, a features writer heard me. This led to a half page article with the headline "Temple Student Drives Festival Stars". It ran with me opening the door for Dionne Warwick, the performer that night. I will always remember Mr. Benny as the consummate comedian and performer, and though he wasn't fond of the film I mentioned, he is a Heavenly Angel playing his violin.

Back then , the media really paid tribute to passing greats .Today it's a 2 minute segment going over their career

Losing Jack Benny is my first memory of the loss of a true ⭐️ in my lifetime. It was 1974 and I was barely 6 years old. It rendered Christmas 1974 a real bummer; the first and last time Jack Benny was ever associated with a “bummer”. I recall how sad it made all of the adults in my sphere, my grandfather was not given to emotion but was clearly touched and shaken when Jack passed. Since then I have watched and listened to many of Jacks shows and routines and in particular when he is with Johnny Carson setting him up, I can laugh at Jack as heartily today as I heard my own parents and grandparents laugh at him. Now my parents are quite old, and my grandparents have all passed on, and when I think of Jack Benny I can’t help but think of them too, and the memories are always of laughter and some very good times. RIP Jack…. and thanks. But you still owe me that dollar I loaned you… 💵 🎻

Interesting tidbit when Mark Goodson was redoing The Price Is Right in 1972 he wanted Dennis James as the host but CBS at that time insisted on Bob Barker because of all things his voice had the same tone as Jack Benny. If you close your eyes and listen to Bob Barker in the 70s you can hear the resemblance in his voice.

Jack was one of the greatest comedians that American show business ever produced. ☺️

Jack Benny made being cheap an art form but was a charitable man in real life.

Still watch Jack Benny in reruns on my digital channels. Classic.

Jack Benny had a very understated comedy sense. Never over the top to get a laugh, Understated,

Thanks for sharing this. Jack Benny was a class act as a human being plus, comedy! There's a reason why young comics venerate him to this day - just watching a short clip of Benny is a master class in comedic writing, character and timing. He is truly missed but left us a legacy beyond compare.

I started listening to Jack Benny radio show about one year ago thanks to RU-vid. Amazing, intelligent and hilarious! Right up there with the Andy Griffith show. Very rare artistry genius indeed.

This is fantastic! Somehow, I have never seen this program before and II can't think of a reason why I haven't. Jack Benny, his wife Mary Livingstone, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Phil Harris, Don Wilson, Mel Blanc and many others that appeared on Jack's radio and TV programs. Jack Benny was one of the truly hilarious comedians that ever existed. His humor was not based in being angry or using nasty words, like so many comedians do today. My wife and I do laugh at comedians using foul language, but as we've gotten older, we find ourselves drawn to older radio shows from the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. The humor is based on intelligence and timing. That's rarely used now, but it was then and people like Jack Benny, George Burns and Mel Allen. We're poorer for it too, because those people were absolutely the funniest comedians I can think of, just the best. Thank you for putting this in circulation on youtube. It's a real pleasure to see this.

Thanx for sharing this..I was 7 when he died but barely remember him being on a Dean Martin roast when it first aired...love the 30s to 50s comedians..lot more funny lot more clean comedy..I will take that any day

Johnny Carson’s on TV relationship with Ed McMahon was inspired by Jack Benny’s relationship to Phil Harris and Don Wilson.

I was fortunate to go backstage during intermission and meet Jack Benny in 1971 at his show at the Circle Star Theater in California. What a nice man, so unpretentious. Had I seen his What's My Line 1953 episode where he was hilarious as the mystery guest, I would have mentioned it to him. But that show was on 3 years before I was born. I didn't get to watch it until 2016 on RU-vid.

Jack Benny’s radio show was simply a classic ! 1941’s “To Be or Not To Be” was his greatest film…Carole Lombard’s last film…Absolutely wonderful.

I can’t seem to get enough of Jack Benny here on RU-vid! I just love him! Loved his humor, and his deadpan faces! He was a classic!

Jack Benny was my favorite comedian. I was 15 when he died and his cold stare drove me hysterical.

Thank you for this. I remember Jack Benny's death. I was eleven years old and it hit me hard. I feel like he was the first person I really "knew" who had died.

Thank you for putting this up

The horn blows at midnight!

Jack was a sharp man. .I know he played a tight ass, but I think he was generous in real life

The program leaves out that Jack spent much of his career at CBS, on radio and television. It was the arrogance of NBC management, specifically David Sarnoff, that drove Jack and many others to leave NBC. Sarnoff thought people listened to NBC and it didn't matter whom they put on the air. It's often called the CBS "talent raid" but it wasn't a raid. It was NBC's alienation of talent. Jack, George Burns, Amos 'n' Andy, Edgar Bergen, Red Skelton and others who left NBC laid the groundwork for CBS' dominance of prime time television for the mediums first three decades.

At 75 years of age, Jack Benny said he didn't feel old. At 75, I don't feel old Even as walking starts to be a literal pain, however slight. So I guess it is true-"if you don't mind, it doesn't natter."

T.S. was terrific! This is an Historic Broadcast in that many of the early Pioneers from Vaudville, Radio, Television and Motion Pictures were still around to discuss Mr. Benny's greatness and passing. Thanks for sharing.

A truly beautiful human being,a treasure to behold

The ensemble cast in his radio and TV show was out-of-this-world. Such chemistry, class and hilarity !!

Jack was on CBS throughout most of his career. The closing years he was on NBC. Jack did so much for tv but far more for radio. I saw him perform in person n 1964. Amazing.

One of the few saddest days i can ever remember of any celebrity death in the 1970's along with remembering first hearing about Ed Sullivan's death a couple of months earlier, Elvis Presley's death and Chicago Terry Kath's death. i was a little too young to remember Jimi Hendrix's and Janis Joplin's deaths in 1970.

jack benny, a wonderful human being . . . .isaac stern

And now they are all dead: Tom Snyder, Sheldon Leonard, Mel Blanc, Dennis Day, Edwin Newman, Isaac Stern, Jack Paar

Thank you for sharing this link. I remember watching when it first aired. That man is still so missed.

Jack had the greatest comedy show on radio. The longest running gag, he was 39 years old.

These are the types of events that are fascinating to watch--just for the remembering of what everyone thought was important at the time.

Thank you for sharing this. I admired his career. God Bless You for this.

Thank You For A Wonderful yesteryear.

Jack Benny, who as a teen studied to be a concert quality violinist, and could have been, bequeathed his Stradivarius violin to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It is sometimes played, and it is said that players and listeners feel surrounded by Mr. Benny's magical energy and charm. The inscription on his crypt, in Culver City, says it all: "Jack Benny: A gentle man." And.....a gentleman.

What a fantastic panel!!

This is definitely not a commercial recording, most likely a Sony open reel home machine. The quality is still surprisingly good after all these years

Sad part to note is that Larry fine of the Three Stooges would suffer another stroke that would eventually take his life two weeks after

Benny once said it didn't matter who got the laugh...as long as the show was funny that's what mattered....his fake, manufactured, feud with Fred Allen is classic

What a career: a star in vaudeville, radio, t,v. the concert stage, and movies. An amazing man and talent.

Just recently me found out JB in youtube and I realized how great he is…he still lives and makes me laugh. Thanks

Jack Benny was a beautiful great man. He made the world a better place.

Have to agree with Tom Snyder's comment that it is 'a joke of the first magnitude' to only give a show like this a half-hour. CBS, where Jack did most of his TV work, gave him an hour in prime time on Sunday night, December 29th, hosted by Charles Kuralt(and available on RU-vid).

As a kid I remember how TV programs would pause for 15 to 30 minutes to pay tribute to a passing celebrity. Today it's just a passing comment in the evening news.

Sweet memories of a true comedy genius.

Oh how we need him now

IM 81 I'M REMEMBER WHEN SOMEONE GAVE MY BROTHER AN AM RADIO WHEN HE WAS 10. I WAS 8 LISTENING. TO JACK BENNY 1947. RADIO PROGRAM

Jack Benny was a class act.....I loved his show......

THE class act of the last century: Jack Benny

I remember Jack when he when he was funny I remember in fact I remember watching him and the late 60s and early 70s when he really came of age. And besides that that was just it I mean he was just one of the Great ones. And he still is today. Although it's been 47 years now since he died but I can tell you this much he sure made an impact on my life and he sure taught people how to be funny in their own right.

Jack started on NBC Radio in 1931 and stayed until the 1950 "Paley's Raid" that brought him to CBS and television. In the 60's, Jack returned to NBC, primarily in specials.

Real comedic great and legends giving tribute to a kind and great legend.... it's too bad many today can't even come close

Still watch his old tv shows

I was 12 at the time but do remember my mom and dad talking about it.

one of my favourite comics of all time

He was a great friend , as many a story about him have proven.

It was once said after Bill Paley got Bing and Benny to leave…CBS was called Crosby and Benny’s Strongbox

His death made the front pages. It was huge.

Jack Benny: the last of the old timer comedians.

39 is way too young to lose a star like Jack Benny.

Jack you are still making people laugh r.i.p

"Your money or your life!" LOL

I loved Phil Harris the most!

Then, there were GIANTS, we appreciated them, we cherished their existence, they spawned the Greatest Generation - which brought us into this world, but realized how very great they were - far too late for them to know just how much they were appreciated, and more importantly, loved... ,,, and today, we have "Auto-Tune®", and tolerate the present, by living in the past...... Progress??

This December will mark 50 years since this tragic news was announced. Mr. Benny passed away from pancreatic cancer, to this day, a most diffiult cancer to control.

I vaguely remembered the special.

The inspiration for Benny Hills stage name.

.mr benny always gave the spotlte to others

It’s a lie…he was 39❤

Why is this in black and white? By the way, thanks for this great memory of Jack!

Originally telecast on December 27, 1974.

With NBC Voice Over,, Eddy King!!

Oh my

OK. Recoded of rabbit ears. But what recording equipment was out then to record on

I'm familiar with the gentlemen on the stage but the fellow with the pipe I'm not familiar with,Who is he?

I know he was always parodied in merry melodies Cartoons.

With everything happening around the world at that time. Who worries about Jack Benny most people do some people don't

☹️😢

😥😥💔💔

Why was this in black and white?

This was 1974. Why is this in black & white?

Best of all time . Comedy today is vulgar, shameless, stupid, political and most definitely not funny and most disgusting.

🌆

IF. JACK. WERE. STILL WIYH. US. WOULD. HE. DO. COMMERICALS. FO. DOLLAR. TREE 🌳 ? OR. 99 CENTS. STORES ?

N.B.c purposely broadcast that in b and w as means of empathizing the nostalgia of the past.

Some people didn't like Tom Snyder, and he was a bit roughly treated. He didn't fit into the mold.

This reminded how bad this guy was a announcer.

Where’s Carson?

BENNY. BROUGHT. OUT VTHE. BES T😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅❤❤😅😅😅😅

Ed wasn’t the best interviewer.

Today the cancel culture would have canceled Jack Benny for promoting racial stereotypes due to his show that had a black assistant, Rochester.

Who is jack benny?

Poor audio

Why ruin the video by plastering that stupid logo on it?

😂😂😅😅😮😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😂😢😅😅😅😮😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢 WHEN. YOU. LOOK. AT. GREATS. LIKE. MISTER ( MR.) BENNY. THEY. HELP. PAVE. THE. WAY. FOR. MUCH. OF. WHO. WE ARE. AND. HOW. HOW. COMEDY. HELPS. MAKES. US. GET. GREAT. RELIEF. OF. STRESS. FROM. OUR. DAILY. LIVES