by _bill » Thu Jan 26, 2006 8:22 pm
I took a different tack and tried to peice together the timeline from the scripts. It looks like at this time all the radio was transcribed, and the tv was live. So lets look at the transcription dates of a few shows...
(What follows is for those interested in script oddities/references not critical to the discussion)
Side note...The scripts are out of order. I'm now thinking the 2/22 show was the beavers show and the "out of order show" feb 22 is where you'd expect feb 8 show to be in the tobacco archive files. Meaning that page 141 is clearly the feb 8 show, so is 142. BUT, i suspect what's copied as page 143 is the feb 22 show. On page 162 mention of the tv show is crossed out.
Pge 165/21 about the tv show is crossed out. It's interesting that in crossing all that out we get another of those we're a little late, goodnight. I only have an afrs version of that show, a network one would be interesting.
Page 166 must go back to the real feb 8th show.
(end script notes)
If you buy that, here's the timeline.....
Feb 1 they transcribe feb 8.
Feb 4th they transcribe feb 15.
feb 15 they transcribe feb 22
Feb 14 they probably transcribe mar 1
Feb 18 they prob transcribe mar 8. (one spot says the 14th but that may be a typo)
The don't transcribe a radio show again until Mar 12, where they mention Jack is recovering from influenza.(probably plot)
On the tv side, show number 5 was broadcast Jan 25. At the end of this show, they plug Ann Southern's private secretary show premering next week and for 3 weeks. The next Benny show #6 appears to be Mar 22, where he says "The show you are going to see tonight is the one that I was supposed to do four weeks ago, but that same morning I was taken ill and my doctor advised me to go to the hospital...was told I had a thing called pancrestitis. This is something you get when you're doing well,..anyway I had a nice rest and doing well with a slight relaspe Mar 15th but I get that every year" (which has to be a tax joke and probably not true as he was working the 12th and 18th on his march 15th and 22nd radio show).
There is also, perhaps a bob hope friars club appearance around that time frame, and there was a radio plotline of going to palm springs for health (and he did that a lot this time of year, likely that is plot only and not true)... but as that was at least in 3 scripts before all this, and as it seems in live shows he tends to be more honest, perhaps there is a large kernel of truth in that certainly on feb 15 they expected the feb 22 tv show to be jeckyl and hyde, he was fine the18th, there was no tv show the 22 of feb, posibly he was taken to the hospital and rested until Mar 12, or whenever the friars club was? So, short notice? If you believe Jack, it was that very morning.