the end of the jack benny radio show?

[fred]

Well, hello all, Fred here. No, a different fred, one that's not dead. I am at the end of a very long journey. After 3 years and a lot of walking, i have listened to my last jack benny show. (not to mention i'm, like 27 hundred miles from home!) Anyway, i must say i am saddened to say good-bye. Jack and the gang have been great companions on the road. I know there are still the specials and the t.v. show to watch, but i really, really enjoyed all that radio stuff. The humour is incomparable. And i like a good joke, lemme tell ya. But listening to jack and the show develop has been a great study in a great comedian. o.k. I could go on, but i can imagine many impatient right clicking fingers poised above many mice, so ...
a question – is the last show really the last show? This is the one from 1955 May 22nd. Trouble with Wimbly. It sure doesn't sound like the end. No mention is made, as a matter of fact, jack says they'll be back in the fall. What happened? I know, i know, i could buy ms. Leff's book, and i will soon, as soon as i scrape together the cashola, but i first gotta find my way home.
o.k. Even i'm getting an itchy clicking finger, so, one last point/question. Where do i go from here? Before me sit amos and andy, Fred Allen (my namesake) and burns & allen. Which one should i try next? I must say, i find amos and andy real funny, but it's a serial, right? And i don't know if i got them all in order. (poor excuse, i know, sorry) i'll skip to burns & allen – very funny too, but *cough* a little samey? Sorry, i've read all the george books, i love the guy! Finally, and most troubling – my great uncle, Fred. Now, i've read his books too, and i really like 'em. On jack's show when he does the entire lucky strike commercial, well, i almost fell off the sidewalk! Absolutely brilliant. But, and it's a big butt (heh-heh) i haven't, uh, really, uh liked what i've heard. *** sorry *** i just haven't. Am i missing something? o.k., now i must stop here. Thank you for your kind attention, and if you have any thoughts or suggestions, please advise, i would truly appreciate it. My feet are getting itchy, so i wanna start moving again. Thanks, Fred.

[mackdaddyg]

Well, all three are classics in their own right. You can probably jump in anywhere with Amos & Andy and enjoy the show, and the same can be said with Burns & Allen.

Being a huge Fred Allen fan, I would suggest that maybe you should start with the last few seasons of shows. They're only 30 minutes, and in my opinion they are the most accessible to the average listener. The "Allen's Alley" thing happens every week, but it's a welcome place to constantly revisit. The writing is top notch, the characters are very likable, and Fred as always uses his quick wit to make it even more entertaining.

Once you get those under your belt and obtain more of an appreciation and familiarity with Fred's style of humor, check out the older 30 minute shows and/or the hour shows. There is a lot of comedy gold there. The guy was brilliant. A lot of it may not hold up as well nowadays due to the topical humor, but it's still very funny in my opinion.

Enjoy!

[Maxwell]

Since Jack's last show was taped in February (iirc) they probably hadn't gotten word by that time that there would be no new radio shows produced.

As for what to listen to next, I'd suggest Fibber McGee and Molly.

As for myself, I've fallen madly in love with Vic and Sade.

[Yhtapmys]

This is a really tough thing to answer because everyone has their own preference for radio shows. I'm not a big fan of radio sitcoms, most sound contrived or inane. Maybe they just haven't dated well.

Someone mentioned Fibber McGee and Molly, and it's probably the best. Most sitcoms were more plot than situation. Fibber McGee and Molly is different; the characters react to a situation and then a plot twist comes in at the end. Through the mid to late 40s, the characters were never over-the-top, they were all very believable. Don Quinn worked in some great plays on words.

I guess you could call Burns and Allen a sitcom, and I think everyone's pretty familiar with Gracie's odd way of looking at things. This show improved after the war, though it kind of stops dead toward the end for the Toby Reed-Meredith Willson dialogue commercial. I think they're creative and interesting to listen to, but they're very stand-alone.

My father thought Fred Allen was the greatest comedian who ever lived. He still has some extremely clever social observations, but it's buried in a lot of cases in situations of their own time. Plus Fred strikes me as bitter at times.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Charlie McCarthy because he was amongst the top comedy shows for a number of years.

Someone, I'll bet, will mention the Phil Harris show.

Personally, I like variety shows with music, sketches and comedy dialogue tossed in. I love Jimmy Durante. He gave you the impression he was just going to dive in and give it that ol' show-biz try, no matter how he looked. You never got that impression from some comedians, who leave you feeling they wanted you to know the show was about them. I really like Bing's various shows, too.

Yhtapmys

[Maxwell]

I also agree on the Phil Harris-Alice Faye show. It's worth it if only for Elliot Lewis as Frankie Remley (and later as just plain Elliot) and Walter Tetley as Julius. Speaking of Tetley, another good show is "The Great Gildersleeve," on which Tetley played Hal Peary's nephew, though imho not nearly as good as "Fibber McGee and Molly" from which it was spun off.

[shimp scrampi]

a question – is the last show really the last show? This is the one from 1955 May 22nd. Trouble with Wimbly. It sure doesn't sound like the end.

Weeeelll... there is one more original radio show, the Christmas special from 1956. There are a couple of threads on the board about it, and it was the topic of a chat one month.

o.k. Even i'm getting an itchy clicking finger, so, one last point/question. Where do i go from here?

I'll second Phil and Alice if you want to continue your regular Benny dosage. The show's top-notch. Dennis' and Mel's shows are more skippable. For additional walking pleasure, I find you can't go wrong with chucking a YOU BET YOUR LIFE in the mp3 player. Different format of course, but Groucho's the master of that domain as much as Jack was his. I also like the Fibber & Molly I've heard, but I've never quite managed to get on a McGee "kick", one of these days...

I have a weak spot for OUR MISS BROOKS too -- it has some "sitcommy" weaknesses (implausible plots/coincidences ... maybe a bit of mugging), but Eve Arden is just outstanding, I love hearing her and Gale Gordon interact. I love Burns and Allen too, but I hear you on the "samey". If you want to see George and Gracie at the top of their game, you need to get on over to their TV series.

Outside comedy, there's a lot of radio drama I like too, mostly the mystery/horror stuff.

[Maxwell]

Speaking of the mystery and horror stuff, my favorites are Light's Out, Quiet Please, Inner Sanctum Mysteries, and The Shadow. Of the last of those, I get a kick out of hearing a young (ca. 1938) Orson Welles as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow. An interesting tidbit from Greg Bell of Sirius/XM's OTR channel: Orson Welles couldn't do the laugh that followed the line, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows," so they had to use a recording of the previous actor's introduction to the show while he was on it. During most of Welles' run on the show, the lovely Margo Lane was played by Agnes Morehead.

In the detective/police genre, I really enjoy Dragnet, Philip Marlow, Sam Spade (with Howard Duff), and Pat Novak for Hire (with Jack Webb and Raymond Burr). Dragnet was extremely realistic in those days. By the revival in the '60s it was almost a parody of itself. There are a lot of pretty good gags in Sam Spade that will get past you if you're not paying attention. As for Pat Novak, well, all I can say is the dialogue is absolutely hilarious at times, a take-off on all of the cliches that ever graced a private eye show.

Oh, and let's not forget The Whistler! It usually has a nice twist at the end of every episode to make the crime not pay.

[fred]

Well, first I would like to thank everyone who replied. I know there is a wealth of other stuff out there and it's good to have some help. I have, over the past few days started with fred allen and I am a little disappointed. Sorry. On the written page I find him very witty, but on his radio show it just doesn't seem to work for me. I find the humour rather stale and, what I find most perplexing, predictable. I mean this is Fred Allen, a great humourist, but his characters and their jokes just seem so dated and unfunny. I find Amos and Andy can be very funny (I even have their movie) and I like what I hear, although maybe I am not supposed to. (the racial concern rears its ugly head). As for George and Gracie, very funny, but I think limited, I wonder how far they can go (went) with her silliness. As for the others mentioned, I have had only a fleeting acquaintance with them, but I will pursue.
This does, however lead me to a conclusion. I feel, quite simply, that Jack Benny was and to a great degree, still is, one of the best comedians that I have ever heard. All things considered, he just had it. Those last shows were as strong as any of his that I have heard, and I have now heard them all. His cast of (real-life) characters, both secondary and tertiary, were fleshed out and integral to the overall show, and, thus Jack himself. I have read biographies and autobiographies, histories and show-biz tales and I'd like to think that Jack was the man that he was generally portrayed as - generous. And, in these performances, it shows. But, by allowing others' space, he created his own legacy. And it is a mighty fine one.
thanks for listening,
fred

[Jack Benny]

Welcome not dead Fred! It's great to have you join us!

[Moose Hatrack]

Consider going back to the beginning and listen to Jack all over again! It's cheaper.

[Jack Benny]

Consider going back to the beginning and listen to Jack all over again! It's cheaper.

I was thinking the same thing, but I wouldn't start at the beginning, start at The first "Buck Benny" episode, or the beginning of 1937!

[fred]

Hello all,
I appreciate the comments and suggestion that I have read here and on other threads within this group. The past few weeks have been spent listening to Jack's competition, as it were, and I have concluded, he has no competition. So, I am starting from the beginning again and heading back on the road with the entire radio catalogue of Jack and the gang. Thanks again to everyone. fred.