Jack Benny Books? Opinions?

[Jack Benny]

Here is a link to the book on Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/WELL-Reflections-Life-Career-Benny/dp/1593931018/ref=pd_cp_b_2

Amazon's comments:

The ultimate book on Jack Benny's varied career. Includes these chapters: I Remember Jack by Frank Bresee The Sweetest Music This Side of Waukegan by Clair Schulz In the Movies with Jack Benny by Kay Linaker with Janine Marr Finding Himself in the Footlights: Jack Benny in Vaudeville by Pam Munter The Women in Benny's Life: An Examination of Jack's Luck With the Fairer Sex in Radio, TV, and the Movies by Mark Higgins Benny's War by B. J. Borsody Cheapskate Benny or Generous Jack? by Charles A. Beckett Balzer on Benny by Jordan R. Young To Be or Not to Be: Jack Benny in Hollywood 1940-1945 by Philip G. Harwood Jack Benny and Fred Allen: The Fierce Fighting of Good Friends by Noell Wolfgram Evans My Adventures in Hollywood by Jack Benny Benny's Floopers and Blubs (Uh, Bloopers and Flubs) by Michael Leannah Better Play, Don by Jack Benny Jack and Johnny: To Each a Fan, To Each a Friend by Steve Newvine From the Cradle to the Grave: The Births and Deaths of the Principal Characters of "The Jack Benny Program" by Ron Sayles and Michael Leannah What're You Laughing At, Mary? The Comic Voice of Mary Livingstone by Kathryn Fuller-Seeley Mel Blanc: Man of a Thousand Voices by Marc Reed Jack Benny: Cartoon Star by Derek Tague and Michael J. Hayde Jack Benny: Guardian Angel by Steve Thompson Timing Is Everything by Jordan R. Young Finding Jack Benny in Today's Waukegan by Michael Mildredson

My thoughts from my Amazon review:
I wish it were less expensive, but this is a great idea for a book. I enjoyed all of the various articles in the book, especially the one on Mary Livingstone. She hasn't had a lot written about her, other than her relationship with Jack. The article on his film history was also interesting. The article by his co-star in Buck Benny Rides Again had lots of inside insight into what it was like working with Jack. The most intriguing section was about the cadence of the dialog on the show and how similar it was to a musical form. I would love to see a follow up book with articles on Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Phil Harris, Kenny Baker, Dennis Day, and Don Wilson.

[mackdaddyg]

I gotta admit, I voted for Milt's book because I like the overall feel of it the best. However, all the other books have something to offer and are worth reading. I haven't had the pleasure of reading Michael Leannah's book yet, but it looks excellent.

Looks like I now have an idea for a birthday present!!!

[Chasitykins]

I can't wait to get my hands on all of these. The only one I have right now is Sunday Nights at 7 by Joan Benny, and I'm enjoying it thoroughly, both her stories and Jack's own written word.

On a related note, this book is supposedly signed by Joan Benny too! What a find! (my significant other sure knows what I like) Does someone have a verified copy of Mrs. Joan's signature online that I can use for comparison? I would be more than happy to take pictures of the signature I have if anyone would find it easier to compare off that.

[Jack Benny]

Here is a link to the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Benny-show-Milt-Josefsberg/dp/087000347X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264107951&sr=8-1

My thoughts from my Amazon review:
I could not put this book down! It has 44 chapters and a great table of contents to help you navigate to the information that you want to read about. The chapters are as short as a couple of pages or as long as 20 pages. There are whole chapters on Phil Harris, Dennis Day, Mary Livingstone, Rochester, and Don Wilson! The chapter titled "Stooges" has well labeled and easy to find multi page subsections on Mel Blanc, Frank Nelson, Sheldon Leanard (the Racetrack tout), Artie Auerbach (Mr. Kitzel), Sam Hearn (Schlepperman and The Rube), as well as the phone operators. There is an informative chapter on Jack's relationship with Jack Paar, that no other book covers in as much depth. If you like to read short articles about specific facets of Jack's life and his show, then this is the book for you. Of all the books on Jack, this is the one that I come back to the most. You can tell Milt is a comedy writer because much of the book is laugh out loud funny. There are many poignant moments presented as well, like the fact that the book includes the text, in it's entirety, of Bob Hopes eulogy to Jack Benny. Some of the other books on Jack are better as an overview of his life, but none outshine this book as a look at the inner workings of Jack's show and the cast and crew involved in it. The other refreshing thing about this book, is that many of the stories about Jack I hadn't read before. Many of the other books repeat the same stories told by Jack in interviews over the years, and it is wonderful to read some "new" stories instead of just rehashing. Great, great read for fans of The Jack Benny Show, and well titled! Lastly, there are 137 photographs in this volume, many very rare that I haven't seen before, they are worth the price of admission alone, IMHO. "Well, were running a little late... so goodnight folks."

[Mister Kitzel]

I cannot vote without having thoroughly read all the books listed above. I have four of them, but I still have not plowed through the Irving Fein book. My copy was signed by Mr. Fein, too! Add to my collection Sunday Nights At Seven by Jack Benny with additional parts by Joan Benny.

What I find interesting is the discrepancies between the books. Little details vary like whether or not Mary's family was related to the Marx Brothers. Each person has a different perspective. Joan Benny give some great personal insight. Milt Josefsberg did a great book as an insider who worked with Jack. What is consistent to all the books I have read or skimmed is that everyone loved Jack and no one was trying to come up with dirt.

[shimp scrampi]

I'd go with SUNDAY NIGHTS AT SEVEN for an understanding of the personal side of Jack Benny (plus the somewhat filtered, but entertaining original Jack manuscript) and Milt Josefsberg's book for more info about the show and what it was like to work with Jack. I'd say these are easily the best-written/ most entertaining of the bunch, though each has a little something to recommend to it. I'm afraid I found WELL! mostly on the disappointing side.

[Jack Benny]

I'd go with SUNDAY NIGHTS AT SEVEN for an understanding of the personal side of Jack Benny (plus the somewhat filtered, but entertaining original Jack manuscript) and Milt Josefsberg's book for more info about the show and what it was like to work with Jack. I'd say these are easily the best-written/ most entertaining of the bunch, though each has a little something to recommend to it. I'm afraid I found WELL! mostly on the disappointing side.

Hey Shimp!

Gotta respectfully disagree on Well! I like it! I think it is the closest thing to Milt's book, which in itself reads like a bunch of collected short articles, but in this case, by only one author. On all the other counts, I totally agree with you! The reason I didn't include Jack's autobiography in the poll, is that I new it would cream all the others, and that really wouldn't give me very good data. I wanted to see which of the biographies was the most popular.

[shimp scrampi]

I think WELL! has some nice things to recommend to it, the reprint piece by Jack himself, the Balzer and Kay Linaker interviews come to mind, but it's also pretty scattershot. For every worthwhile piece there's also an amateur-hour thing that is "guess what, Jack wasn't stingy in real life!" or that article on Jack being drawn in some comic book from the '90s.

It's a bit all over the place, and my main complaint is that it could've used a stronger editorial hand. It's more for the Benny completist, AFTER you've read all the other books, Laura's 39 FOREVER books and JACK BENNY TIMES back issues and perused the info on this forum. I certainly wouldn't recommend it to someone as an intro to Jack's work or biography.

But hey, the more Benny info out there the better, no?

[Moose Hatrack]

Within two chapters of finishing Mr. Josefsburg's book, I'm going to make an observation that might sound ugly, but it it isn't meant to be! When he tells stories about things that happened on the show, he gets details wrong. I assume that's because he had only his memory as guide. Most probably the "as broadcast" scripts were unavailable, and its also easy to imagine that digging up the recordings (that we take for granted) would have been a massive undertaking. He's a comedy writer, not a researcher, after all!
Mr. Josefsburg's recollections were quite adequate, and I'm sure that he never guessed that the recordings would be as available for general scrutiny as they have become.
Could ANY of the participants have forseen that a tiny electronic device would hold their entire canon of radio work?

[Jack Benny]

Within two chapters of finishing Mr. Josefsburg's book, I'm going to make an observation that might sound ugly, but it it isn't meant to be! When he tells stories about things that happened on the show, he gets details wrong. I assume that's because he had only his memory as guide. Most probably the "as broadcast" scripts were unavailable, and its also easy to imagine that digging up the recordings (that we take for granted) would have been a massive undertaking. He's a comedy writer, not a researcher, after all!
Mr. Josefsburg's recollections were quite adequate, and I'm sure that he never guessed that the recordings would be as available for general scrutiny as they have become.
Could ANY of the participants have forseen that a tiny electronic device would hold their entire canon of radio work?

These books are so old that you have to take them as very rough guideposts to the truth. As you say no one could have predicted in the seventies, just how easy it would be to hear these shows and read the scripts in the next century.

[Moose Hatrack]

Indeed the books are old, and "rough guideposts" description fits like a glove. I finished the book last night and it contained one more surprise- this time it was purely a subjective surprise... Remember the Thanksgiving episode where Jack dreamed he was a turkey? I thought that was a side splitting fantasy. Mr. J. considered it a big fat turkey bomb!
Closing the book, it was apparent that while this book was peek into the Jack Benny program, as a bonus, it was also an insight into the perceptions of a crack comedy writer. And familiarity with those perceptions increases the likelihood that I will catch something new next time I play an episode covered in the book.

[Jack Benny]

Indeed the books are old, and "rough guideposts" description fits like a glove. I finished the book last night and it contained one more surprise- this time it was purely a subjective surprise... Remember the Thanksgiving episode where Jack dreamed he was a turkey? I thought that was a side splitting fantasy. Mr. J. considered it a big fat turkey bomb!
Closing the book, it was apparent that while this book was peek into the Jack Benny program, as a bonus, it was also an insight into the perceptions of a crack comedy writer. And familiarity with those perceptions increases the likelihood that I will catch something new next time I play an episode covered in the book.

I wonder sometimes, with the easy ability to hold all the episodes of any given radio show in the palm of your hand, has it made for more children and grandchildren of the great radio stars listening to the wonderful work of their ancestors?

[Mister Kitzel]

Indeed the books are old, and "rough guideposts" description fits like a glove. I finished the book last night and it contained one more surprise- this time it was purely a subjective surprise... Remember the Thanksgiving episode where Jack dreamed he was a turkey? I thought that was a side splitting fantasy. Mr. J. considered it a big fat turkey bomb!

Listen again to the turkey episode. The audience really wasn't laughing during the dream sequence in the second half. I'll bet those writers were concerned any time one of their jokes did not make the audience laugh. During the turkey show the whole team of writers had to be sweating. Milt Josefsberg would definitely remember being there!

[Moose Hatrack]

THIS is interesting. I find myself walking in Mr. J's shoes. My ipod is out in the car, and it has been months since the turkey episode last played. I could wait until I get to my car and listen to it on the way home, but in honor of Mr. Josefsburg's book I'd rather try this from memory!
I was sure that turkey was a winner. I thought it may have even been repeated in a later year. What I recall is a tour de force of tightly woven words, music and effects. I remember Frank Nelson kicking it up to the top notch. I suppose I didn't note the lack of audience reaction because I was overwhelmed by the wall of sound. Seemed like kind of a "hang on tight" caution overtook me. Didn't want to miss a single bump on the roller coaster.
There it is. Next time I complain about Mr. J's memory I'll think back to my own feeble attempt to recall the turkey trial debacle.

[Yhtapmys]

Remember the Thanksgiving episode where Jack dreamed he was a turkey? I thought that was a side splitting fantasy. Mr. J. considered it a big fat turkey bomb!

Listen again to the turkey episode. The audience really wasn't laughing during the dream sequence in the second half. I'll bet those writers were concerned any time one of their jokes did not make the audience laugh. During the turkey show the whole team of writers had to be sweating. Milt Josefsberg would definitely remember being there!

Stupid audience. Maybe it was too strange for them to follow. It's one of my favourites. How can you not love The Turkey From 29 Palms?

Yhtapmys