Jack and Nostalgia vs Jack and Timelessness

[shimp scrampi]

I've known people like characters on every show I've listed. The characters are, of course, exaggerations. That's what makes it comedy. But we all know people like Jack and Mary and Don and Dennis and Phil and Rob and Laura and Cliff Huxtable, etc., etc., etc.

Taking a slightly different tack on this, I've always thought that Jack Benny's character straddled two usually distinct genres of great sitcom characters - the ones who you would like to be friends with in real life - like Bill Cosby, Mary Richards, or Rob Petrie - vs. the ones you would LOATHE to be friends with in real life but love to watch anyway - a Basil Fawlty, a Fred Sanford, or an Archie Bunker. IMHO, it's a much tougher conceit to pull off an unlikeable lead character - but when it works right, there is nothing better. Interesting how Jack successfully combined these two approaches, I can't think of another comparable example.

[Maxwell]

I've known people like characters on every show I've listed. The characters are, of course, exaggerations. That's what makes it comedy. But we all know people like Jack and Mary and Don and Dennis and Phil and Rob and Laura and Cliff Huxtable, etc., etc., etc.

Taking a slightly different tack on this, I've always thought that Jack Benny's character straddled two usually distinct genres of great sitcom characters - the ones who you would like to be friends with in real life - like Bill Cosby, Mary Richards, or Rob Petrie - vs. the ones you would LOATHE to be friends with in real life but love to watch anyway - a Basil Fawlty, a Fred Sanford, or an Archie Bunker. IMHO, it's a much tougher conceit to pull off an unlikeable lead character - but when it works right, there is nothing better. Interesting how Jack successfully combined these two approaches, I can't think of another comparable example.

I think what is interesting about the character "Jack Benny" is that he is very much like people we really know. Jack was a decent guy, but he had his faults as we all do, most obviously stinginess (and who doesn't have a family member who squeezes that quarter "till the eagle grins," isn't it interesting that a character with this fault became so popular during the depression?) and vanity (which is a characteristic most of us display to a greater or lesser extent).

That's true of so many of the great comedy characters. To be funny, they have to be flawed in some way, but not so much that we can't relate to them at all.

[ZEjackbennykid]

I'm perfectly happy to be living in the Internet age and be able to enjoy "the good stuff" of previous eras. Is it nostalgia? You be the judge. I call it the best of both worlds.

amen LLeff. However it seems that there would be more fan club members had this been established in the golden age

as 4 me I think jacks humor deals with the time period itself. You can love it both ways and even laugh at the dated jokes. It's like Casablanca it's dated but it's always good 2 watch.

[LLeff]

amen LLeff. However it seems that there would be more fan club members had this been established in the golden age

True, but 2,000 members worldwide is pretty good in my book. (Of course, it's taken 25 years to build that.) Not everyone who loves Jack will be motivated to take the action of actually joining a club devoted to that. I love the Beatles and Star Trek, but I've never joined any clubs devoted to them. So happily, we have a core of very devoted Benny-philes and great discussions like we have on this Forum!

Also, I think it's that much more important to have the club now after Jack is no longer contributing to his body of work. Everyone knew Jack when he was alive, but if someone's looking for information on him now, you'd be limited to the biographies, the tapes/CDs/MP3/DVD sets, and whatever Web pages people had been motivated to create. So the IJBFC makes this material readily available to both experienced and new fans, and tries to perpetuate the work and memory of Jack Benny.

Heck, we're plantin' a tree for him in Waukegan...what more could you ask for?

[Maxwell]

amen LLeff. However it seems that there would be more fan club members had this been established in the golden age

True, but 2,000 members worldwide is pretty good in my book. (Of course, it's taken 25 years to build that.) Not everyone who loves Jack will be motivated to take the action of actually joining a club devoted to that. I love the Beatles and Star Trek, but I've never joined any clubs devoted to them. So happily, we have a core of very devoted Benny-philes and great discussions like we have on this Forum!

Also, I think it's that much more important to have the club now after Jack is no longer contributing to his body of work. Everyone knew Jack when he was alive, but if someone's looking for information on him now, you'd be limited to the biographies, the tapes/CDs/MP3/DVD sets, and whatever Web pages people had been motivated to create. So the IJBFC makes this material readily available to both experienced and new fans, and tries to perpetuate the work and memory of Jack Benny.

Heck, we're plantin' a tree for him in Waukegan...what more could you ask for?

I didn't even know about the club until a few months ago when I happened to do a Google search for Jack Benny. Now I've become one of the most annoying posters on these boards.

There is one more thing I could ask for, LL: That the planting would have been after June 10 so I could have attended. Rest assured I'll be there in spirit while my body is in beautiful Poplar Grove, IL.

[Roman]

Of course, we still see Jack's influence in the comedians and comedy actors who were influenced by him. Bob Newhart, Alan King and Kelsey Grammer have acknowledged the great influence that Jack had on them. Indeed, every stand-up comedian who simply addresses the audience with stories about every day life owes a debt of gratitude to Jack, even if they don't realize it.

[TimL2005]

My own frame of reference entertainment wise is the Mid-late 1960's. I was a confirmed Cartoonaholic enjoying mostly the Hanna-Barbera and Looney Tunes cartoons on television I liked a lot of the escapist sitcoms of that period..(I Dream Of Jeannie, Get Smart, etc.) Of course I knew of Jack Benny but didnt see him much till CBN Cable in the 80's..Since then I have bcome a big OTR fan, especially the comedies (JB, Burns And Allen, Fibbber and Molly)..The main connection to all that I mention above is they are all Character-Driven stories. I find it hard to watch some 70's shows, especially Dramas because they do seem dated to me. I guess I do have something of nostalgia for my younger days because things did seem simple then. It is neat to figure historical references in Benny Shows. BTW Game Show Network does run What's My Line? 7 nights a week at 3:30 AM..I find it a virtual "time machine" of 1950's and 60's culture and history..

Tim Lones

[WaltP]

I'm also a 60s kid. The few things I remember from the 50s were Zorro, Superman, Lone Ranger. Definitely a TV kid. In the mid-late 60s I discovered OTR thanks to "my" radio station that played 3 hours on Sunday nights.

What I look for is entertainment. Nostalgia to me is a desire for the old. Therefore I don't like OTR or 40s movies because of nostalgia. I like it because it's great entertainment.

Movies from all eras I like. Doesn't matter if they are B&W, flat screen -- they just have to entertain. Stewart, Grant, Hepburn (both), Lombard, Depp, Pfeiffer, Hanks, etc. I also learn a little about each era so I can appreciate more of the next story I run into from that era.

OTR is the same. I don't like OTR because I love the 40s. I like OTR because they are entertaining. And a side benenfit is I learn something about the 40s.

So basically, I'm an entertainment junkie. Era doesn't matter. Even if it's dated.