Thank you for this wonderful interview. How generous of Joan Benny to lovingly talk about her dear father; if we miss him, how much more does she! I so much want to contact her. Jack Benny was a gift to so many of us.
I am 83 years old now (it is 4/29/2019) and I've watched, listened to, and observed Jack Benny since around 1940-something. He was always a great comedian, humorist, person, and I have witnessed other comics, Johnny Carson, and others mentioned in this video, lavish truely believed praise, about Jack Benny, surely one of a kind. Not to ever be forgotten.
Joan Benny - such a lovely, gracious person. I'm sure she's been asked the same questions a million times.. but she takes it all in stride and gives each answer the same energy .. as if she were hearing it for the first time. Pure class. I LOVED her book "Sunday Nights at 7:00"
i know Im randomly asking but does any of you know a way to get back into an Instagram account..? I was stupid forgot the password. I would love any tips you can offer me!
I worked as a stagehand at a benefit concert for the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra on April 24th, 1974. It would turn out to be his last visit to his home town. I had the opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with Jack before the curtain went up. It was clear that his was old and weak. He had difficulty walking into the theater but when the lights came up, he was a young 39 all over again. I asked him why he didn't just retire - after all, he wasn't even getting paid for this. He said: "What, you think you just pull up a rocking chair and wait for death to come and get you? Death will get me soon enough and I'm not about to sit around and wait for it to show up. No. You don't stop. You keep going until you can't. You can't go as fast as you did when you were young so you down shift. You go a little slower but you keep going." And that's exactly the way he lived his life.
What a great interview! I grew up watching Jack Benny on television. There are only a few series I watched as a kid which are as funny and enjoyable today as they were then. The Honeymooners...Sgt Bilko...Amos 'n' Andy...and the great Jack Benny Program. Earlier this evening, I watched an episode from 1954 in which Joan Benny played herself when she would've been 20. I thought (tonight), "Wow, what a pretty girl!" So, I googled to find out more about her and was lucky enough to find this outstanding interview which I thoroughly enjoyed. Joan Benny is as attractive today as she was in 1954!
RIP lovely Joan Benny, June 2021. This interview was so beautiful so truthful and such a fitting tribute to a beloved father and entertainer, so well done it brought tears to my eyes.
Joan & Jack's book is well worth seeking out; I've also read the one by his manager, Irving Fein. They honestly show how special this man was to so many.
OH YES!!! Thank you for this video! Jack Benny was the FIRST major star I saw perform in person! My Lord, days before I was causious about telling people that we were going to see Jack Benny because it was like a dream come true-too good to actually be true. My Lord, he walked out on stage and I said, "He's in color!" These were the days of B&W TV! I could say more if anyone wanted to know what he said, who was on the bill etc. I loved this interview. Beautiful job!
Thanks for this. I have been listening to all of Jack Benny's radio shows for the past two years. They transport me back in time in history. I loved his television show from the age of 5 or 6 in the late 1950s. I also watch them on youtube when I get the chance.
It is so refreshing to watch an interview that is positive instead of the typical salacious scandal-loving interviews that are so common these days. What a lovely woman.
Loved Jack Benny.I have in my possession a number of his old shows on DVD. I'm now reading his bio Sunday Nights at Seven, where I am also getting acquainted with his sweet and devoted daughter. Thanks for this video. I'm really enjoying it.
Wonderfully done interview! The only thing not mentioned that I wish he would have asked about was her fathers relationship with Fred Allen. I’m certain their “feud” was all a put on but it would have been interesting if it had been discussed.
I was really too young to remember much radio. I did like Jack on tv and movies. I love that I have been able to get so many of his shows on cd from Radio Spirits. I listen to them all the time. Thanks for this good interview.
Well, I can only add my AMEN to all the good things said by others. I was raised with Jack on the radio. I remember he was on the list of stars my parents and grandparents liked. The Rabbi is such a good and gentle interviewer I have subscribed. Am looking forward to more.
What a great interview with a wonderful woman. I grew up in Jack Benny's last couple of decades and he remains as relevant today as he was then. Jack Benny's soul is available to us all in hundreds of radio and tv shows, that are as funny today as they were then. Thanks Joan for reminding us just how important Jack Benny is in the lives of so many of us. Read her book, "Sunday Night's At Seven"!
Jack Benny was one of my all-time favorites, along with George Burns and Gracie Allen. I remember the day the news came over the radio announcing Jack's death. I remember exactly where I was sitting in my family's den. It was a sad day for me and the entertainment world. Back then, his TV shows were not readily available in my neck of the woods. I'm making up for the loss now that his shows are on RU-vid. Thanks for making them available.
Regina Maraist I remember it, too. I also remember that the news agencies announced "Jack Benny Dies, Age 39"! It was such a loving tribute! One of the greatest of all time. 💖
The real tribute to Jack Benny : Joan Benny mentions that Jack Benny dropped out of high school . she however was sent to Stanford . She mentions her four children , two by one man and a younger set of two by another man. A girl and boy in each set . they ALL went to college and are successful productive people . She even mentions her two grandchildren went to college , including a child or grandchild who has a PhD from MIT . ( old Beverly Hillbillies joke ) . That is a great legacy for Jack Benny . Thank God that Mary Livingston made a decision to adopt that child . I doubt her biological parents could have given her and her prodigy as much . i read Joan Benny s book and Mary Livingston does come off as a sort of villian . But she was probably the real displinarian . Making sure Joan was brought up right , not being an embassment to Mr. Benny . I recall in her book she disappears for a time and after she is found she is given a stern lecture by the usually easy going, soft hearted Mr. Benny . But Mary Livingston was so upset with her she could bring herself speak to Joan . Joan Benny is so polished , poised and posh , thanks to iron hand of Mary Livingston . the forgotten mother .
Joan Benny is so charming and warm. Her parents would be very proud of her, as she represents them well. I remember Miss Benny from her few appearances on her dad's series, as well their appearance on "Password," a game show I think would still do well even today, if aired in the original format, with the right host and celebrity contestants with civilian partners. ("Millionaire Password" was simply too fast-paced and dumbed-down, an entire program of "Lightning Round" with no regular game-play and enough pacing for short chats and humor.) I was just a boy when Jack Benny was at his peak on television, and still only a teen when he died in 1974. But Mr. Benny was a constant presence on TV as much as Lucille Ball, George Burns, Johnny Carson, Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Dick Van Dyke, and others of "the greats." I recall watching Mr. Benny's show mostly from daytime reruns on CBS, as I was too young to watch his prime time series still airing until I reached about third grade. But I certainly watched the later specials in prime time. Oh, I miss those daytime shows, mostly on CBS--Lucy, "The Andy Griffith Show" ("Andy of Mayberry" when the prime time series still aired), "December Bride," "Pete & Gladys," "The Real McCoys," "Make Room for Daddy," "The Dick Van Dyke Show" ("The Dick Van Dyke Daytime Show," while the series was still in prime time),"Art Linkletter's House Party," "Password" with Allen Ludden, Bud Collyer and the gang on "To Tell the Truth." It's a cliche, but they really "don't make 'em like that anymore." From my reading, I may confirm Jack Benny most certainly did help Gisele Mackenzie's career, at least in the United States, although Miss MacKenzie was already well-known in her native Canada. He had actually met MacKenzie with some other entertainers, on Bob Crosby's radio show or some such to my recollection, but then gave her her first guest appearance on "The Jack Benny Program," where she was featured through an entire episode that was called "the most expensive audition (at that time) any newcomer ever had on television," and led to Miss Mackenzie's getting an open slot on NBC's "Your Hit Parade," which really catapulted Miss MacKenzie to national acclaim. After that, Gisele made regular appearances on Jack's show every or nearly every season, which became famous for their violin duets together. Jack also co-produced Miss Mackenzie's one-season variety series on NBC, which really should have been a hit, except it was up against some serious competition, from the very popular "Have Gun - Will Travel" on CBS, and "Lawrence Welk's Dodge Dancing Party" on ABC. Perhaps had NBC shifted Gisele's show to a different night and/or time slot, she would have had a long-running series in the manner of Dinah Shore.
Thank you for this video, I am in my sixty's I well remember Jack on TV. I love his body of work, I have all of his radio shows from 1932 to the end of his radio days, it is on MP3 I sometimes have trouble sleeping so just put on head phones and listen to Jack and the gang trying not to wake up my wife next to me with all the laughing. I never travel with out Jack, you get stuck some place for hours Jack passes the time. I see the comments below and shake my head I am not Jewish it should not make any difference it does not even enter into my thoughts. I just enjoy the Master. Who cares if he is black, white, red, yellow, Jew or Gentle when one is that good .PEOPLE STOP ALL THE CRAP IT MEANS NOTHING.
Give yourself a treat and read her book, "Sunday Nights at Seven"----with parts of it being from an unpublished autobio Jack wrote!----It is a fabulous inside view of this wonderful man, and his very smart daughter!
As I watched this, I kept thinking that Joan reminded me of someone. You know how it is. You go over and over it in your brain...who does she remind me of? Then it hit me, Hilary Clinton. Politics aside, please. Love this interview. Loved Jack Benny! What wonderful memories!
when I was a kid in the 70s, I actually believed George Birnbaum was really G-d himself. I grew my hair and learned guitar, thinking he'd do a movie with ME! Just kiddin, oi... ... .
Joan Benny, Remember the 1950s, rumors that the IRS saw Hollywood as a gold mine and this agency goal was to receive its fair share. Jack Benny name was mentioned. An agent requested Mr. Benny appearance where upon he was instructed to have his accountant with Mr. Benny’s books. He was given a date and time for his accountant and him where sometime later to learn how much he would owe in delinquent taxes, fines, and penalties. It was explained that after the IRS audit, the agency greeted Mr. Benny with open arms. I heard it may not happen because Mr. Benny was very popular and information would be available. Some mentioned it could be part of his act. But I understand a grain of truth exist in a large lie. I would like to learn the definite answer. If you can info and correct this data, I want to learn the true.
as do thousands of others brag to say that Jack Benny was our favorite show business performer- i still cringe to watch this interview. it would have been better to make it strictly a secular discussion. how could this guy ask Joan about Jack's Jewishness when she had no clue as to what that really meant. so i'll tell you- 1. Before Jack married Sadie Marks (not Marx- no relation to the zany comedians) he was in love with another woman named Mary. She was Irish and her father was a Chicago cop. He wanted to marry her but Jack's father Meyer and the cop both laid down the law and Jack was miserable until he subsequently met Sadie. 2. When Al Jolson died, his very good friend Jack insisted that the burial not take place until a Talis (prayer shawl) was wrapped around Al in the coffin- the proper way of Jewish burial even though Al was irreligious. Jack came to have much respect for his religion even if he didn't practice it.
Yes, its a shame Joan was so unaware of Jack Bennys contribution to the Jewish cause. She seems to have been very ignorant and its a shame she is negative about Mary. Was she resentful if her mother?
Who in the world (and who in the world really cares) is Sandra Shevey (see below, if you want to bother with nonsense) and what in the world is she ranting and raving about? I mean, really, rife with anti-Semitism, aren't you. But more to the point - Jack Benny - Jewish or otherwise, as if it matters in the end - was a classic performer with a wonderful heart. You might benefit from paying closer attention. Or probably would not.
Jack Benny was a Jewish comic. He used Yiddish words and made Yiddish jokes. Tony Randall was a comic who was a Jew. Jerry Lewis was told off by Susskind about being `too Jewish` and I think that Lewis was `less Jewish` than Jack Benny. Also the Jew conceit...he was stingy...very Jewish also very Scottish but more Jewish...the antiSemitic thing...
Joan Benny is a living doll! She is so kind and generous. I got to meet her unwittingly on the phone at American Express. Really a wonderful lady, who has a great legacy!
I think George Burns and Gracie Allen also belonged to Hillcrest...sooo??? I still say Gracie Allen was a Jew..might have gone to a Catholic high school but I wonder if she has a baptism certificate???
Are you Jewish Sandra? I am also curious is it the aspect of Jewishness affecting the humour of various comedians that you are remarking on? That is what I think, perhaps people are reading you wrong.
