Did Mary phone it in?

[helloagain]

I've been listening to some Benny rehearsals and find them very interesting. They were done without the audience or orchestra so there is no laughter or music. Mary's part was read by either Joan Benny or Jack's secretary, I'm not sure which. I've heard that when Mary lost her desire to perform before an audience, that she would pre-record her lines at home. Does anyone know how the show was finally put together? Did they splice it together using a laugh track, or was Mary overdubbed later, or what? I compared the rehearsal to the broadcast show and the audience response sounds canned to me.

[shimp scrampi]

I've always read that Mary overdubbed the lines from home later; it would be difficult to pre-record. If Joan or Jeanette bobbled a line during the live performance, or the surrounding timing changed, Mary would have to replicate to some extent that performance for it to "fit". Laura tagged the overdubbed shows in 39 FOREVER, and it's actually a much smaller number than was usually assumed.

MORE interestingly, where are you hearing the rehearsals? I've heard that some exist but have never run across them.

[helloagain]

Thanks for the info. I must get a copy of 39 Forever. So it sounds like the studio audience only saw Mary's stand-in for these shows. I do notice a difference in some of the later programs in regard to the audience reaction. It's hard to explain, but sometimes it just doesn't sound live to me. I stumbled upon these rehearsals at http://www.otrrlibrary.org/ They are listed near the end of the Benny shows. I only found 2, but maybe there are more somewhere. I love this stuff. It makes you feel like you are a fly on the wall. Some of the dialog is done off mike, so you have to listen closely and maybe kick up the volume in spots. Funny thing, the sound quality of the rehearsals is far superior to any broadcast show I've ever heard. Also, does anyone know if any of the live west coast rebroadcasts exist? I know about the one from 12-17-39, but there must be others. It's interesting to compare the differences.