The Jack Benny Program was a hit on radio and TV for more than 3 decades. Jack's show is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century American comedy. Best of @ChestertonRadio on Elfland Radio - our all-day live stream: http://Listen.ChestertonRadio.com Benny Playlist: http://JackBenny.ChestertonRadio.com Originally Broadcast 4/10/1938 Jack Benny – played himself. Protagonist of the show, Benny is a comic, vain, penny-pinching miser, insisting on remaining 39 years old on stage despite his actual age, and often playing the violin badly. Eddie Anderson – Rochester Van Jones, Jack's valet and chauffeur. Early in the show's run, he often talked of gambling or going out with women. Later on, he generally complained about his salary. Don Wilson – Himself. Don generally opened the show and also did the commercials. He was the target of Jack's jokes, mostly about his weight. Gene McNulty – Dennis Day, a vocalist perpetually in his 20s (by the time of the last television series, McNulty was 49 years old). He was sweet but not very bright. When called upon, he could use a wide variety of accents, which was especially useful in plays. He usually sang a song about 10 minutes into the program. If the episode was a flashback to a previous time, a ruse would be used such as Dennis singing his song for Jack so he could hear it before the show. McNulty adopted the name "Dennis Day" as his stage name for the rest of his career. Sadie Marks – Mary Livingstone, a sarcastic comic foil whose varying roles all served as, to use the description of Fred Allen, "a girl to insult (Jack)." Marks, who in real life was Benny's wife, later legally changed her name to "Mary Livingstone" in response to the character's popularity. Her role on the program was reduced in the 1950s due to increasing stage fright, and Livingstone finally retired from acting in 1958. Phil Harris – Himself. A skirt-chasing, arrogant, hip-talking bandleader who constantly put Jack down (in a mostly friendly way, of course). He referred to Mary as "Livvy" or "Liv", and Jack as "Jackson". Harris explained this once by saying it's "as close as I can get to jackass and still be polite" Spun off into The Phil Harris–Alice Faye Show (1946–1954) with his wife, actress Alice Faye. Harris left the radio show in 1952 and his character did not make the transition to television Originally Broadcast 5/1/1938 Chesterton Radio Podcasting the Classics! Works of G.K. Chesterton and Friends Plus, Drama, Comedy, Mystery, Science Fiction and more Chuck the TV and discover a whole new world! True - Good - Beautiful The Soundtrack for your Chesterton Day! Our 24/7 Live Stream - Elfland Radio is here: http://Listen.ChestertonRadio.com Your support is the only thing that keeps Chesterton Radio on the Air! https://www.patreon.com/ChestertonRadio https://www.SubscribeStar.com/Chester... http://BuyMeACoffee.com/ChestertonRadio Programs on Chesterton Radio are sponsored by: MachineDesignPro.com: Engineering and Product Development Services http://MachineDesignPro.com BatteryJobs.com: Energy Career Portal - Electric Vehicle - Lead-Acid - Lithium - Solar http://BatteryJobs.com Contact us to learn how you or your company can become a Chesterton Radio sponsor: http://Sponsor.ChestertonRadio.com Do you enjoy the variety on Chesterton Radio? Like, Share and Subscribe to be notified of our new shows Discover new Chesterton Radio shows in our Playlists! http://Plays.ChestertonRadio.com http://Chesterton.ChestertonRadio.com http://Orthodoxy.ChestertonRadio.com http://EverlastingMan.ChestertonRadio.com http://Eugenics.ChestertonRadio.com http://Distributism.ChestertonRadio.com http://FatherBrown.ChestertonRadio.com http://Freedom.ChestertonRadio.com http://1984.ChestertonRadio.com http://Jukebox.ChestertonRadio.com Follow us on social media https://mstdn.social/@ChestertonRadio https://www.gab.com/chestertonradio https://mewe.com/i/chestertonradio https://chestertonradio.locals https://twitter.com/chestertonradio https://Discord.ChestertonRadio.com ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlHx_7a3sR4