Jack and vanity

[shimp scrampi]

All right, here's a topic for discussion to wake up the forum snooze. I was thinking that one of the great aspects of Jack's character is his low-rent vanity (e.g., the $12 Hong Kong suit - or Rochester making a star for Jack's dressing room door out of a rotten orange peel thrown at Jack while on stage). I am trying to think of another performer who pulled off 'vanity' so well - and it strikes me that one of the constant comments about the real-life Jack Benny is what a humble, no-frills kind of guy he was. He got excited about a great cup of coffee or a fluffy towel - not mansions and sportscars. So, my observation is that Jack could play 'vain' so well - exactly because he was a non-egomaniac in a business notorious for vanity and excess.

Also, part of what makes the Jack Benny brand of vanity so funny is that you never quite believe it, it's usually so goofy or surreal.

Can anyone else think of comedians who really mined 'vanity' the way Jack did?

[LLeff]

Can anyone else think of comedians who really mined 'vanity' the way Jack did?

Actually, I'll vote for Orson Welles on Jack's show (and maybe therein lies the connection). Personal attendants keep running in to "inspect" the place for the mighty presence of Welles, and then his entrance is heralded with calls and gongs.

[shimp scrampi]

Orson Welles is an interesting example. Another thing that strikes me about the way Jack played 'vanity' is that it is vanity without arrogance or pomposity. That's the usual mix for a vain character - they're not only full of themselves, but blowhards as well. "Jack" - being essentially a patsy for his cast, never really has enough power to wield to rise to the blowhard level.

Welles is interesting (on Jack's show) - as I think a lot of the pomp seems to come from those around Welles, but not necessarily Welles himself (though it's been awhile since I've heard those shows).

[bboswell]

I would have to put a vote in for George Burns. Although his vanity is a little more fragile than Jack's. As Shimp pointed out, Jack is a patsy for his cast and no one consistently builds him up. On the other hand, Gracie helps inflate George's ego a bit, although we're never quite sure if she really believes he is all that she says he is.

[shimp scrampi]

Good one! Getting a little off topic - that points out to me another one of those subtle character shifts between the B&A radio program and the later TV show - and why I vastly prefer the latter. On radio, George was quite insecure (who else would sing Jack's song as a career move?) - and many plots involved Gracie scheming to boost George's career - including, as I recall, blackmailing Jack Benny into replacing Dennis Day with George. (Gracie as a blackmailer? ) Anyway - by the time the TV show rolled around, George was pretty comfortable with the fact that Gracie (allegedly) had all the talent in the family, and constantly made self-deprecating remarks to that effect. Like Jack, he exploited the comic effect of a "constantly bruised ego", albeit in a slightly different way. George was accepting of the fact that people considered him a lousy singer and freeloader on Gracie's talent, whereas Jack always seemed slightly befuddled or nonplussed that people were put off by his stinginess, etc.

[Gerry O.]

OK, I know that we're getting off on a "side street" here, but I have to say that I also enjoy the Burns & Allen of TV MUCH more than I do the Burns & Allen of radio.

I laugh at the Radio George & Gracie and find them funny, but I just can't warm up to them as people....they seem very cartoonish to me. However, the TV George & Gracie seem like old friends to me....they seem more real and there's a certain warmth and charm to them.

Jack Benny and his gang have the opposite effect on me.....The Radio Benny gang have a friendly warmth to them, and they seem like old friends or even family, but there's a certain coldness to the TV version of the same characters. I don't know exactly what it is, but the TV "gang" (at least what was left of them) just seem like actors going through the motions....the friendly familiarity is missing.

[Jack Benny]

I'm with you on all accounts! I think the show formats have a lot to do with the situation. The best format being Jack's radio show with a "family" of players that liked each other and made jokes at each others character flaws, but you could hear and feel the caring as well - they always seemed to be having a good time and you were invited in! The second best format was the Burns and Allen TV show, with George commenting on the story and breaking the fourth wall and talking to you - again inviting you into the show! Burns and Allen radio show never quite accomplished this same feeling. Jacks TV show with it's gutted cast, and the all over the map format was just not as warm and inviting as the radio show - I must say the varying format is appealing to me now and keeps the show fresh because you never know what you are going to get. It always feels to me like one of those Andy Hardy movies, you know, with Jack sort of coming out and saying, "Here's the show we've put together for you this week!" - or like Ed Sullivan, or Walt Disney or something.

Now if I extrapolate one level further, the Dean Martin Show was in some ways like the Jack Benny Show, but you were not invited! This was a , see how we stars all smooze together and have great insider fun, but I always felt left out somehow. Like looking in at the cool kids. I felt some of that on Jacks TV show as well. More later...

[LLeff]

The second best format was the Burns and Allen TV show, with George commenting on the story and breaking the fourth wall and talking to you - again inviting you into the show! Burns and Allen radio show never quite accomplished this same feeling. Jacks TV show with it's gutted cast, and the all over the map format was just not as warm and inviting as the radio show - I must say the varying format is appealing to me now and keeps the show fresh because you never know what you are going to get. It always feels to me like one of those Andy Hardy movies, you know, with Jack sort of coming out and saying, "Here's the show we've put together for you this week!" - or like Ed Sullivan, or Walt Disney or something.

So here's a thought...and I'd be curious to hear what people think about it. George breaks the fourth wall to talk to you. But Jack will react to something and stare out into the audience, or sometimes directly into the camera when it's closer in a situation comedy. Although he doesn't say anything, doesn't this have something of the same effect? Sort of like him turning and saying to you, the viewer, "Can you believe what s/he just said?"

[Maxwell]

So here's a thought...and I'd be curious to hear what people think about it. George breaks the fourth wall to talk to you. But Jack will react to something and stare out into the audience, or sometimes directly into the camera when it's closer in a situation comedy. Although he doesn't say anything, doesn't this have something of the same effect? Sort of like him turning and saying to you, the viewer, "Can you believe what s/he just said?"

Jack did on his TV show the same thing Oliver Hardy did, although probably more obviously, in his movies teamed with Stan Laurel. Usually when Stan did something that resulted in catastrophe for Ollie, there would be a cut to a closeup of Ollie in the midst of the debris looking at the camera with an expression that pretty much said, "Do you see what I have to put up with?"

[shimp scrampi]

Jack's show always was a step removed from 'pure' situation comedy though - the audience was usually more or less acknowledged - although Jack shared a closer relationship with the audience than the other characters. B&A on TV, however, spoofed the traditional sitcom (even while it was still in its infancy) - with George pointing out where a particularly absurd plot twist was coming up, or how the whole plot could usually be cleared up with a few words to the right character - though he wouldn't have a show if that would happen. Jack, for example, in his format couldn't turn to the audience and say "OK, Rochester is coming in here to do this, now" - it would undercut his ability to be a patsy. I suppose that's why Burns sometimes gets credited for being "postmodern" or ahead of his time - the conceit of playing the commentator with the audience while the 'fictional' world moves along is more obvious and clear-cut in B&A. It's interesting how both Burns and Benny would work with similar conceptual conceits and yet play them out in different ways in their work.

[Gerry O.]

Jack's show always was a step removed from 'pure' situation comedy though - the audience was usually more or less acknowledged - although Jack shared a closer relationship with the audience than the other characters. B&A on TV, however, spoofed the traditional sitcom (even while it was still in its infancy) - with George pointing out where a particularly absurd plot twist was coming up, or how the whole plot could usually be cleared up with a few words to the right character - though he wouldn't have a show if that would happen. Jack, for example, in his format couldn't turn to the audience and say "OK, Rochester is coming in here to do this, now" - it would undercut his ability to be a patsy. I suppose that's why Burns sometimes gets credited for being "postmodern" or ahead of his time - the conceit of playing the commentator with the audience while the 'fictional' world moves along is more obvious and clear-cut in B&A. It's interesting how both Burns and Benny would work with similar conceptual conceits and yet play them out in different ways in their work.

Yes, George usually had the upperhand in the B&A TV shows. He would "spy" on characters talking about him or plotting against him while he was out of the room, and later in the show refer to something that they had said in his absence....and it was always fun to watch the stunned and shocked reactions of the characters....sort of a "How does he KNOW about that?" type of reaction. And of course, George would glance at the camera and smile at us with a smart-ass "I got 'em GOOD that time!" expression....Priceless!

[Brad from Georgia]

For me the charm of Jack's vanity is that it's so easily punctured. Anyone can take him down a peg, and when they do, he has one of three reactions: long-suffering resignation (Hmmmmm....), pique and an ineffective comeback ("Fool around with me, sister!), or a thunderclap of outrage, over as soon as it begins ("Now, cut that out!"). His attitude of being a big kid, not really serious about his vanities, makes him acceptable rather than repellent, as a real-life counterpart might be. Somewhere under the surface, we know he's looking at it all like a game, and he invites us to join in as well.

My, but I wax philosophical today.

[shimp scrampi]

It's been fun thinking through this - definitely I now see the TV incarnation of George Burns as "puppeteer/mastermind" and Jack as a player getting once more into a game of entirely uncertain outcome. On the surface, they both seem like audience-friendly ringmasters of crazy circuses - but on deeper reflection, I am even more impressed with how carefully thought-out and consistent their characterizations are.