Jack's Grace Note

[Roman]

I was listening to the last show of the 1948-9 season the other day. On that show, Jack introduced all of the voice actors on his show by name (from Frank Nelson, Sheldon Leonard, Bea Benaderet, Artie Auerbach and, of course, Mel Blanc) and gave each of them a generous amount of time to perform their bits (in Mel's case, several bits). I thought that was a wonderful way to close out the season and showed what a class act Jack was. It reminded me of how, even in the 1930s, Jack often credited his writers at the conclusion of each program. I don't know if other stars did the same, but it certainly reflected the nature of a man who was more than glad to give the funniest lines to the other members of his cast.

[Gerry O.]

Yes, many radio comedians back then hated to admit that they USED writers, much less identify them by name!

Even as far back as the "Jell-O" days, Jack's last show of the season was always a special treat. Things would loosen up a bit for that last program, and often Mary and/or Phil would get a chance to sing.

Many of the big-name radio stars would take a few final moments during their last show of the season to thank their cast, writers and other staff members, as well as the "kind and loyal" listeners....a very nice touch which has disappeared over the years. Now many TV stars act as if WE'RE the lucky ones because the actors decided to return to the series for another season!

[Maxwell]

Yes, many radio comedians back then hated to admit that they USED writers, much less identify them by name!

Even as far back as the "Jell-O" days, Jack's last show of the season was always a special treat. Things would loosen up a bit for that last program, and often Mary and/or Phil would get a chance to sing.

Many of the big-name radio stars would take a few final moments during their last show of the season to thank their cast, writers and other staff members, as well as the "kind and loyal" listeners....a very nice touch which has disappeared over the years. Now many TV stars act as if WE'RE the lucky ones because the actors decided to return to the series for another season!

I think that the biggest difference is actually the type of entertainment we see nowadays on TV. The closest thing to the comedy-variety series we have now are the Tonight Show and its siblings. They have no season to wrap up, etc.

It's really ironic that radio and early TV had its roots in vaudeville (and burlesque), an entertainment form that radio helped kill.