Common errors in Jack Benny sets - a list

[Bluesmouse]

Hi everyone, a few months back I made a list of common errors myself and others had found in Jack Benny radio collections to help put together a decent set and weed out the usual duds. This work wouldn't have been possible without the help of Phineus, Mister Nelson and Nightkey from the Cobalt Club (whose original notes I have added to), Catfreak, Neilh from the OTR-TNT forum, Razzilla, and Fess (without whom I wouldn't even have a Jack Benny collection, thanks again Fess).

Please feel free to have a browse through the list below to make sure your own set is correct. Phineus's site should be able to put you right with any fills we have available that you may need for your own
sets:
http://vicandsade.net/list.cgi?id=15

If you have any fills in your collection that aren't on there then do please let us know (check them first against the opening lines provided here though to ensure they are correct). My apologies for any errors you find here, just flag them up if there are any and, once they've been verified with Mister Nelson, then I'll amend the list accordingly. Thanks!



Common Errors In The Jack Benny Show Set


The first lines come from "39 Forever" a two volume log written by Laura Leff and published by the International Jack Benny Fan Club.

33-04-14 Kiddies Night is often really Edward G Robinson 4-21-33. It starts "Frank Black opens the program with "The Start of the Big Parade." Kiddies Night is not thought to exist.

33-05-05 Russian Sketch is often really Who Killed Mr. X 6-9-33. It starts "Frank Black opens the program with "Roll up the Carpet." Russian Sketch is not thought to exist.

33-06-23 Mary’s Birthday Party Often incorrectly has the last few minutes of 06-09-33 tacked on the end.

33-10-29: Election Day Opening
If it starts with a Jell-O open and the band playing "'Tain't No Use", it's really 1936-10-11 Anthony Adverse. Real opening is: "And now, ladies and gentlemen, who do you think is standing right here at the microphone ready to talk to you."

33-12-17 Mae West usually turns out to be 33-03-31 She Done Him Right (With Mary playing the part of Mae West in the play). 33-12-17 is though not to exist.

34-07-13 Why Gals Leave Home is often really 33-04-21 Guest Edward G Robinson.

34-08-03 To New York On The Twentieth Century Limited is often really 34-07-20 Who Killed Mr Stooge Part Five.
34-08-03 To New York On The Twentieth Century Limited opens with: “Hello everybody, this is Don Vester (sp?) speaking. Jack Benny hasn’t arrived yet but we have, uh, finally located him on the Twentieth Century train, nearing New York ”

34-08-10 The Stooge Murder Case Is often a mislabel of 34-07-20 Who Killed Mr Stooge Part Five.
34-07-20 should open with: "Another half hour of music and entertainment starring Jack Benny."
This is the correct show for that date as, at the end of the show, Jack says it is the last number of the 16th program in the General Tyres series. Despite shorter cuts of this show circulating, it exists in its entirety of 27:53 minutes.

35-11-17 Blue Room usually turns out to be Don't Live Right 34-2-18. It starts "And now for the winner of the World Telegram Radio Editors Poll, Jack Benny." The show opens with a discussion of living right and mentions Jack's birthday (which was Feb 14) and the previous week's show Little Women (34-02-11). Blue Room is not thought to exist.

37-10-03 Guest Abe Lyman is often really 37-01-03 Buck Benny Rides Again. 37-01-03 opens with the song "One In A Million"

37-10-31: The Devine Farm
Often incorrectly labelled. In the correct version the orchestra open the program with ‘Love Is On The Air Tonight’.

37-11-14: Buck Benny
If it starts with the band playing "Life Begins When You're In Love" it's really 1937-01-17 Buck Benny In Ensenada, Mexico (aka "Buck Benny's Mexican Adventure"). Listen to the last few minutes. It is the 16th show of the 36/37 season which is right for ep 241

37-12-26: Christmas Show
If it starts "An Hour of Smiles and Town Hall Tonight, folks. Sixty minutes of fun and music brought to you by Ipana toothpaste and Sal Hepatica." it's really an episode of the Fred Allen show, 1937-12-22 Santa Will Not Ride Tonight, with Jack as a guest star

39-01-29 Jack Goes Into Training For Fight is sometimes switched with 39-02-05 Jack Challenges Fred Allen To Boxing Match. 39-01-29 opens with the song “Jubilee.” 39-02-05 opens with the song “Just One of Those Things”

40-01-21 Gladys Zybisco Is Discussed is sometimes really 40-12-15 From The Ritz Hotel In New York/Jack Has A Bodyguard
40-01-21 Gladys Zybisco Is Discussed: The orchestra opens the program with ‘Night After Night’
40-12-15 From The Ritz Hotel In New York/Jack Has A Bodyguard: The orchestra opens the program with ‘Cheerio’


40-11-10 Dog Catcher of Beverly Hills– Check the mp3 meta-tag title is spelt correctly

40-06-16 - 379 - Father's Day is often really 40-06-09 - 378 - Vacation Plans

40-12-15 From The Ritz Hotel In New York/Jack Has A Bodyguard Is often mislabelled as 40/04/21 From The Ritz Theater In New York/In New York Preparing For The Premier Of Buck Benny Rides Again and vice versa- check both episodes.
Correct openings for each show are as follows:
40-12-15 From The Ritz Hotel In New York/Jack Has A Bodyguard: The orchestra opens the program with ‘Cheerio’
40/04/21 From The Ritz Theater In New York/In New York Preparing For The Premier Of Buck Benny Rides Again: The orchestra opens the program with ‘My Little Girl’

40-12-22 Christmas Shopping ‘Kenny Baker Christmas Program’ (Jerry Haendige log has it listed as 30:20 minutes but it often turns out to be an incorrect 3:40 Love Thy Neighbour Christmas promo). Opening lines for the correct version are as follows (after orchestra): Don: “And now, ladies and gentleman, there being just two more shopping days ‘til Christmas, we bring you that fugitive from Gimble’s basement- Jack Benny.”

41-05-04 Jack’s Tenth Anniversary On Radio and 41-05-11 NBC Tribute To Jack’s Anniversary (Thirty minute version) are often duplicates of one or the other. Both exist (both are half hour shows) and are separate episodes, the openings for each are as follows:
41-05-04 Jack’s Tenth Anniversary On Radio: Orchestra opens the program with “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now That I’m Drafted”
41-05-11 NBC Tribute To Jack’s Anniversary (Thirty minute version): Orchestra opens the program with “Brown Eyes, Why Are You So Close To My Nose”

41-05-04 Jack’s Tenth Anniversary On Radio is also sometimes mistaken for a Behind the Mike show with the same date.

Testimonial On Tenth Anniversary tribute (the one hour and forty-five minute, “not for broadcast” version- it opens with singing of American National Anthem) is from 41-05-09, according to the Jack Benny Fan Club website.

41-05-11 NBC Tribute To Jack’s Anniversary (Thirty minutes long) and 41-05-09 Testimonial On Tenth Anniversary (one hour and forty-five minutes long, “not for broadcast”) are often confused. The correct openings for each are as follows:
41-05-09 Testimonial On Tenth Anniversary tribute (the one hour and forty-five minute, “not for broadcast” version): Opens with singing of American National Anthem and then: “Ladies and gentlemen, and friends of Jack Benny, the National Broadcasting Company is very happy to welcome you here tonight and we appreciate your joining in with us in this testimonial to a great artist.”
41-05-11 NBC Tribute To Jack’s Anniversary (Thirty minute version): Orchestra opens the program with “Brown Eyes, Why Are You So Close To My Nose”

41-06-01 414 From San Diego Naval Base is often really 803 52-03-30 My Naval Career
41-06-01 414 From San Diego Naval Base opens with: “And now ladies and gentlemen, from the naval training station here in San Diego, California, we bring you our master of ceremonies, that ex-sailor who doesn’t know a porthole from a doughnut – Jack Benny.”
52-03-30 My Naval Career opens with “And now ladies and gentlemen, from the naval training centre in San Diego, we bring you a man who was so proud of his career in the navy he had an anchor tattooed on the sleeve of his underwear – Jack Benny.”

41-12-14 Horseradish Is often really a copy of 41-12-07 Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde Pt.2.

42-02-22 The Presidio In San Francisco Some copies of this skip at around 15:28, just after Jack says of Phil, “There’s the only marcelled ham I ever saw”, it then skips to Phil saying “…Francis Hotel”. A better copy exists without the skipping- Jack should say after the ‘ham’ comment: “Well Phil, here we are in San Francisco, the old town’s as peppy as ever isn’t it?”. Phil’s “Francis Hotel” should occur later, at around 16:54.

42-03-22 Jack And Phil Play Golf Some copies of this skip at around 7:01 as Dennis is talking to Jack, saying “Yeah, this one struck me as rather amusing” and cut mid-way into his song instead, missing out his robin joke with Jack and further banter about Dennis cutting Jack’s lawn. A better copy exists without the skipping and all the dialogue intact.

42-11-08 Twink Family is sometimes really Take it or Leave it - Guest Jack Benny

42-12-13 From New York Some copies of this are only 19 minutes long and skip during Don’s intro, it also exists as 29 minutes 31 seconds, however, without the initial skipping and with the complete ending.

43-02-07 468 Jack Is Late For The Program is often incorrectly 38-04-03 Returning To Hollywood from the Jell-o series when Jack was late.

43-04-04 Little Red Riding Hood is often incorrectly a repeat of 43-03-28

43-04-04 Little Red Riding Hood is also sometimes 43-03-28 Too Much Mayonaise. Both star Orson Welles. In the 43-04-04 episode, the opening song is identified (when it is over) as "Night Train to Memphis"

44-xx-xx Jack Dates Four Movie Stars is incorrectly labelled. It is not a Jack Benny show – it is a mislabelled copy of Mail Call 45-03-07 Guest Jack Benny. The Mail Call show exists in better sound and with the correct introduction.

44-02-13 From March Field is often really 44-02-06 From Terminal Island. The correct show opens with the language "The Grape Nuts and Grape Nuts Flakes program coming to you from the March Field Air Base"

44-02-13 From March Field is also sometimes only half a show. Full show is available.

44-04-16 Bob Hope Parody- Bob isn't in the 1944 show, but his brother George Hope is. The gang does their version of Bob's Pepsodent show with Jack as "Bob Benny". Is often incorrectly really a copy of 1953-01-11 Road To Bali. 44-04-16 starts out "that first joke. Oh brother, It'll kill em." "But Jack, it's such an awful.."

44-04-16 Bob Hope Parody is also sometimes mistaken for 44-01-16 From Camp El Toro, CA.

44-10-29 Allen's Alley Often incorrectly a copy of 44-10-01 Jack Looks for a Replacement Singer. The correct 44-10-29 show starts “And now, ladies and gentlemen, let’s go out to Jack Benny’s house in Beverley Hills. Jack has invited the gang over for a late Sunday breakfast and right now he’s in the kitchen getting things started.”

45-03-11 How Jack Found Rochester Often incorrectly the famous "Grass Reek" show from 50-12-03. This incorrect version opens with Jack not being named Most Outstanding Personality In Television. The correct 45-03-11 show starts "Ladies and Gentlemen, last week we intimated that it was raining here in sunny California." and opens with the gang playing archery. The two "finding Rochester" sketches are similar, but there are some differences between them (Mr. Kearns the interviewer vs. no Mr. Kearns; Rochester's cab being stopped on the street vs. being up on the grease rack, for example).

45-10-21: Jack Dreams Of The Race Horse "Texas Sandman"
45-10-21 show opens "Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday was the annual running of the Hollywood Park Gold Cup race."

If it starts "Ladies and gentlemen, last night Jack Benny was in Washington, DC where he was Master of Ceremonies at the annual White House photographers' ball." it's really 1950-02-26 The Whistler

45-10-21 Jack Dreams Of The Race Horse “Texas Sandman” is also often incorrectly 36-11-22 Buck Benny Rides Again Pt 2. The incorrect show opens with "Plenty of Money and You"

45-11-04 Jack Is Sick In Bed After Being Robbed Of $10,000 is often replaced with Tire Trouble 11-25-45 which starts off with Jack and Rochester changing a tire. 45-11-04 starts out with "And now ladies and gentlemen, we take you to Jack Benny's home in Beverly Hills, where we find Jack sick in bed suffering from the shock of last week's harrowing events"

46-03-24 I Stand Condemned with Peter Lorre is sometimes 47-01-19 I Was Condemned with Boris Karloff. 46-03-24 starts out "And now Ladies and Gentlemen, let's go back to last night and out to Jack Benny's house where the whole gang has gathered for rehearsal.

46-12-22: Christmas Party At Birmingham General Hospital
46-12-22 show opens "And now ladies and gentlemen, since this is the Sunday before Christmas, Jack is expecting his whole gang and some of his old friends to drop in for his annual Christmas party. So let's go out to Jack's house in Beverly Hills where we find Jack and Rochester preparing for the occasion."

If it starts "Hello again, this is Jack Benny. Well the Christmas season is here again, so through the Armed Forces Radio Service, your voice of information and education, I want to send my personal greetings for a very merry Christmas and a wonderfully happy new year." it's really an AFRS special Christmas program that aired somewhere near Christmas, 1946.

47-04-13 Jack Fixes A Phonograph And Buys A Baseball Team is sometimes incorrectly from the Grapenuts Flake period and begins with the following line:
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, let's go back to Jack Benny's home in Beverley Hills where we find Rochester working, as usual."

The correct version of the 470413 show is a Lucky Strike show and begins with the following line:
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, let's go out to Jack Benny's home in Beverley Hills where we find Jack trying to fix his broken phonograph."

47-11-16: Cleaning Jack's Den
47-11-16 show opens "And now ladies and gentlemen, let's go out to Jack Benny's home in Beverly Hills, where we find Rochester tidying up Jack's den."

If it starts "And now let's go out to Jack Benny's house in Beverly Hills where we find...hmm, must be something wrong here. No, that's what it says...where we find Jack down on his hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor." it's really 1948-03-28 Jack Is Robbed Of Ronald Colman's Oscar

48-12-05 Professor La Blanc Gives Jack a Violin Lesson is sometimes the wrong episode. It is sometimes really 47-12-07 633 Jack Takes Violin Lessons and Goes to the Vault or vice versa.

48-12-05 starts “And now, ladies and gentlemen, let’s go out to Jack Benny’s home in Beverley Hills where we find – uh-oh – there’s something wrong – there’s a crowd gathered on the corner near Jack’s house.”

47-12-07 starts with “And now, ladies and gentlemen, let’s go out to Jack Benny’s house in Beverley Hills. It’s morning and Rochester is preparing the bath for his boss.”

48-11-07 668 Jack Hears An Echo - Sees Psychiatrist - had Dennis' song cut out (full version exists)

48-11-21 670 Jack Tries to Reach His Advertising Agency - was only 19min15sec - AFRS maybe? (full version exists)

48-12-12 Jack Tries To Relax At Home - Some copies are incomplete at only 22min37. They include the following cut, as an example:
at 10.34 - a conversation finishes between Jack and Phil and then abruptly cuts halfway into a sentence of Jack saying "...Daisy." Followed by Rochester saying "Daisy who, boss?."

A full copy of this show exists at 29min30 in length with no cuts.

49-01-30 680 Don Still Won't Sign His Contract is often really 49-01-23 679 Don Won't Sign His Contract (Jack locks Don in room & Barbara Stanwick is on phone)

49-01-30 680 Don Still Won't Sign His Contract is also often very quiet- a louder copy exists.

49-10-09 Jack's Memory Is Lost And Found is sometimes 49-01-09 The Brown Derby. 49-10-09 starts out "Ladies and gentlemen, last week, while Jack was taking inventory in his pantry."

49-10-30 Don Wilson's Story Of 25 Years In Radio is sometimes 47-11-02 Dark Passage Movie Skit. 49-10-30 starts out "And now ladies and gentlemen, in bringing you the star of our show, it gives me great pleasure..." "Just a minute Don.."

49-12-04 Guest Show with Tyrone Powers is sometimes 47-12-07 Jack Takes Violin Lessons And Goes To Vault. 49-12-04 should start out "Ladies and Gentlemen this may come as a surprise to some of our listeners but before this program goes on the air it is rehearsed."

50-04-30 731 Easter Basil Rathbone is often really 44-04-09 511 Repairing Jack's Sidewalk. 44-04-09 starts out "Ladies and Gentleman, Today is Easter Sunday."

50-04-30 opens: "Ladies and gentlemen, in a couple of weeks now Jack Benny will be travelling throughout the country on a personal appearance tour. So naturally he feels that he should brush up on his violin. At the moment, Jack is home waiting for his violin teacher to arrive."

51-01-21: Jack Goes To The Doctor
51-01-21 show opens "Ladies and gentlemen, each Saturday after the Benny rehearsal the cast drops into the corner drug store for a bite to eat. At the moment, Phil Harris is sitting there all alone waiting for the other members of the cast.”

If it starts with Bob Stevenson subbing for Don Wilson saying “Ladies and gentlemen, last week Jack did his fourth television show in New York and is now back in Hollywood for his radio series. Many of you probably wonder how he keeps fit with such a strenuous schedule. So let's go out to Beverly Hills and see how our little star keeps in shape. Right now he's standing in front of the radio doing his exercises.” It's really 1951-05-27 Jack Meets Speed Riggs At The Doctor's Office

51-11-11 Jack Benny in 1971 is usually Jack Gets a Haircut 52-1-13. Jack Benny in 1971 is not thought to exist.

51-12-16: Jack Renews His Drivers License
51-12-16 show opens "Ladies and gentlemen, in 30 minutes Jack Benny will do his second television show of the season. While you're waiting, let's show you what happened last Tuesday when Jack was packing to come home from Palm Springs."

If it starts "And now, ladies and gentlemen, here it is Sunday again, so let's go out to Jack Benny's house in Beverly Hills." HOWEVER, Don's opening is often cut. In that case, the show opens with the phone ringing and Rochester says "We may not be funny, but we've sure got suspense." it's really 1951-11-25 Jack And Mary See "Golden Girl" With Dennis' Mother.

51-12-23 Christmas Tree Decoration is often really 52-01-13 Jack Gets a Haircut

52-05-25 810 Jack Prepares For London Trip is often really 520601 - 811 - Jack Prepares for Houston & London. 810 starts out with Rochester saying 'Mr Benny sure is taking a lot of violin lessons lately.' 811 starts out with a mention of it being the last show of the season

52-11-16 Purple Pirate is often really a later broadcast of the show from
54-10-17. The opening lines for both versions are the same: "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight Jack Benny does another television program. But in the mean-time, let's go back to this morning in Beverley Hills. As we look in on the Benny household, we find Jack just entering the kitchen."
We believe, however, there may be a subtle difference between the two: the 1954 show has a scene with Mr. Kitzel that is not in the 1952 version (the Mr. Kitzel scene occurs around 13.52 minutes into the 1954 show).

52-11-23 USC - UCLA Game is often really 53-03-08 Snows of Kilimanjaro.
Correct opening lines should be: “Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday one of the biggest football games in the country was played here at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Because of that fact, I had hoped to bring you the USC quarterback or the UCLA quarterback...”

Incorrect 53-03-08 show opens with: Don: “ Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday Jack Benny returned from a trip to New York where he attended a dinner given for Bob Hope by the Flyers Club”

52-11-30: Thanksgiving Pilgrims
52-11-30 show opens "Ladies and gentlemen, immediately after this program Jack Benny does his television show. Meanwhile let's go back to last Thursday and show you how our gang spent Thanksgiving."

If it starts "Ladies and gentlemen, last Thursday was Thanksgiving, and Jack invited his whole gang over for dinner, but let's go back to the day before Thanksgiving. As we look in on Jack's home, he and Rochester are taking inventory to make sure they have enough of everything for the big event.", it's really 1953-11-29 Thanksgiving Dinner

52-12-21 826 Setting Up Christmas Tree was a rebroadcast from 57-12-22 From Veterans Hospital - Long Beach sponsored by Insurance Company of New York. The 1952 episode was sponsored by Lucky Strikes

53-04-05: Easter Parade
53-04-05 show opens "Ladies and gentlemen, it's Easter Sunday, and in cities all over the country people are parading. Right now in Beverly Hills Jack is getting ready for his stroll down Wilshire Boulevard as is his custom every Easter. At the moment he's taking a shower, and Rochester is laying out his clothes." This is a tough one - there are many that start out much like this. This one can be identified by the "cimeron rolls gag," but I believe that is well into the program.

If it starts "Ladies and gentlemen, last night Jack Benny gave a party at his home for the sponsor. It's now the morning after, and we find Rochester, with the aid of his boy friend Roy, cleaning up the house." it's really 53-01-18 Jack Buys An Elephant Leg Umbrella Stand

53-05-17 I Flew To Mars is sometimes really 53-02-01 High Noon. 53-05-17 should open: "Ladies and gentlemen, immediately after this radio show, Jack Benny will do another of his monthly television programs [over the CBS network]. But in the meantime, let's go back to last Monday when Jack returned from a successful personal appearance at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. As we look in on Jack, he is at home going over some mementos of his theatre appearance."

The "over the CBS network" is cut out of the AFRS version.

53-07-06 Jack Goes For A Walk does not exist in the logs and is really 53-03-22 A Walk Through Beverley Hills

54-01-24 (871) Jack Goes To The Races
Is actually an AFRS version of "The Shooting Of Dan McGrew" I assume this is the correct show, despite the ‘races’ title, as the online script and reference book for this show both feature the Dan McGrew sketch. AFRS show opens with: Don: “Ladies and gentlemen, many times in the past I’ve opened this program by taking you out to Jack Benny’s house in Beverly Hills”

According to the script for 54-01-24 at tobaccodocumentsonline.org, "Dan McGrew" is the correct show for that date!!

"The Shooting Of Dan McGrew" was also done on 3/27/55. As far as I can tell, it's a rerun of the 1954 show, except that Dennis' song is different. ("Hey Brother, Pour The Wine" in '54; "Almost Like Being In Love" in '55).

54-07-18 Mean Old Man is an incorrect date for that show. It should be 54-03-21

54-08-15 Ghost Of Diamond Jim Brady is usually really 54-04-25 Jack And The Cast Hold A Séance. 54-04-25 opens with: “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s go back to Saturday noon. The cast of the Jack Benny show has just completed rehearsal and are now walking to the corner drugstore for a light lunch.”

54-10-17 Purple Pirate Jack did "Purple Pirate" twice, on 1952-11-16 and 1954-10-17. Apparently, the 1954 show is NOT a pure repeat of '52. The scripts and my reference book indicate that the '54 ep includes a phone call from Mister Kitzel that is not in the '52 show (the Mr. Kitzel scene occurs around 13.52 minutes into the 1954 show). They both, however, have the same openings:
"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight Jack Benny does another television program. But in the mean-time , let's go back to this morning in Beverley Hills. As we look in on the Benny household, we find Jack just entering the kitchen."

54-12-05 Christmas Shopping It plays at a high speed at times, and it appears to have new material, but also seems to have bits from a previous episode spliced in.

55-05-22 Trouble with Wimbly should be 55-05-22 Trouble with Twombly


Miscellaneous:

39-12-17 Christmas Shopping Two different versions of this show exist, despite this not being reflected in OTTER’s log, the east coast version and the west coast version. I have distinguished them in the following way:
In both versions, at around two minutes into the show, Jack tells a gag about being awake all night because he is trying to sleep on top of a snooker table. It is the differences in the jokes he tells immediately after this that distinguish the two versions:
39-12-17 Christmas Shopping (East Coast Version) – “I didn’t mind that so much but I dreamt I was an ostrich and I woke up this morning with my head in the side pocket.”
39-12-17 Christmas Shopping (West Coast Version) – “I didn’t mind that so much but Rochester charged me sixty cents an hour.”

40-05-05 Clown Hall Tonight Two different versions of this show exist, despite this not being reflected in OTTER’s log, an early show and a late show. I have distinguished them in the following way:
At the end of each show, before Don’s commercial, Jack impersonates Fred Allen and in his final line, says “I must stop this ad-libbing.” In the late version of the show, Jack’s voice goes up a pitch on the ‘must’ part of the line.

Jerry Haendiges’ log has 53-12-06 listed as 'Jack Gets Mugged - Don's For Dinner'. This is incorrect as ‘Jack Gets Mugged – Don’s For Dinner’ was originally broadcasted on 54-11-14 and repeated on 56-12-16.

Jack did "High Noon" twice, on 1952-09-28 (opens with Bea Benadaret saying "Hello, this is CBS, the stars' address. May I help you?") and on 1953-02-01 (opens "As you know, ladies and gentlemen, the new administration is carrying on a big change in Washington. But this is Hollywood, so now I give you a man who never carries any change, Jack Benny!")
Despite what some logs say, the '53 show is NOT a rerun of the '52 show.

The 1956 Christmas Special show (40+ minutes in duration) - The Jack Benny Fan Club lists the show as 12/21. UCLA, which has a copy of the show, has it at 12/23! I'd suggest dating it as 1956-12-xx pending further investigation. This show is also being mistaken for the 12-26-37 Christmas show on some sites.



Jack Benny guest appearances, specials and tributes:


Academy Awards Ceremony for 1943 (for which Jack Benny is a host) – the date of this broadcast is 44-03-02

Amos & Andy 53-02-14 Life Story Of Amos & Andy/25th Anniversary Program should be 54-02-14

Bing Crosby 53-12-12 – Guest Jack Benny should be 53-02-12

Burns And Allen 43-10-29 should be 43-11-02

Eddie Cantor/Pabst 48-12-17 is often really 42-11-25
42-11-25 opens with: “Operator, this is Eddie Cantor” (I believe this to be the correct line for the 42-11-25 show as the sponsor is Sal Hepatica and so it can't be 48-12-17 as the sponsor then was Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer).
Some versions of this show run a little short at around 25.45 minutes, missing out Jack and Eddie singing ‘Ida’ and further dialogue and a closing song from Eddie. The full version of 27.50 minutes exists.

Edgar Bergen And Charlie McCarthy – Jack Benny and W.C. Fields. The correct title and date for this are: The New Edgar Bergen Hour 55-11-25

Harpo 1944 - A Conversation With Harpo is an extract from Command Performance 44-06-17 (it occurs at around 15.34 minutes into the show)

Hollywood Is On The Air – Love Thy Neighbour 40-12-17. To distinguish this show from the other Love Thy Neighbour extras, the one I’m referring to opens with: “How do you do ladies and gentlemen, this is Ken Carpenter bringing you a preview of the film that every radio listener is waiting for, Love Thy Neighbour.” There are two versions of this show – the correct one lasts for around 14.02 minutes whilst the incorrect one lasts for around one hour two minutes and is the same show but padded out with both Jack Benny 42-12-27 and The Big Show 50-12-27 tacked on the end.

Pabst Blue Ribbon Town 45-10-03 should be 44-02-26

Tommy Dorsey/Raleigh Kool Program 38-07-28 Guest Jack Benny should be 38-07-20

[Bluesmouse]

I've just updated the list with the following correction:

47-04-13 Jack Fixes A Phonograph And Buys A Baseball Team is sometimes incorrectly from the Grapenuts Flake period and begins with the following line:
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, let's go back to Jack Benny's home in Beverley Hills where we find Rochester working, as usual."

The correct version of the 470413 show is a Lucky Strike show and begins with the following line:
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, let's go out to Jack Benny's home in Beverley Hills where we find Jack trying to fix his broken phonograph."

[Bluesmouse]

I've just updated the list with the following:

48-11-07 668 Jack Hears An Echo - Sees Psychiatrist - had Dennis' song cut out (full version exists)

48-11-21 670 Jack Tries to Reach His Advertising Agency - was only 19min15sec - AFRS maybe? (full version exists)

54-12-05 - Christmas Shopping It plays at a high speed at times, and it appears to have new material, but also seems to have bits from a previous episode spliced in.

[Bluesmouse]

48-12-12 Jack Tries To Relax At Home - Some copies are incomplete at only 22min37. They include the following cut, as an example:
at 10.34 - a conversation finishes between Jack and Phil and then abruptly cuts halfway into a sentence of Jack saying "...Daisy." Followed by Rochester saying "Daisy who, boss?."

A full copy of this show exists at 29min30 in length with no cuts.