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Jack Benny
Age: 80 (passed away Dec. 26th, 1974)
Height: 5' 8"
Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Born: Dec. 31st, 1969
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Jack Benny's Main TV Roles
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at
IMDB
BIOGRAPHY: The son of a saloonkeeper, Jack Benny (born Benny Kubelsky) began to study the violin at the age six, and his "ineptness" at it later become his trademark (in reality, he was a very accomplished player). When given the opportunity to play in live theatre professionally, Benny quit school and joined vaudeville. In the same theatre that Benny was working with were the very young Marx Brothers. Their mother, Minnie, wanted Benny to go on the road with them. However, this plan was foiled by his parents who would not let their 17-year-old son on the road.
Having a successful vaudeville career, Benny also had a greater career on radio for "The Jack Benny Program". The show was one of the few successful radio programs that also became a successful television show.
Benny also starred in several movies including The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929), Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935), The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945) and George Washington Slept Here (1942), although he had much greater success on radio and on TV than he did on the big screen.
He was good friends with Fred Allen (I), with whom he had a long-standing comic "feud".
TRIVIA:
- Was good friends with actress Giselle Mckenzie (I)--who also played the violin--and often referred to her as "Doll".
- 1933-34: Star of NBC Radio's "The Chevrolet Show".
- Hosted the Academy Awards in 1944 and 1947
- 1934: He and his wife adopted a daughter, Joan Naomi.
- His most famous gag was on his radio show when, in his usual character as a comical miser, he's confronted by a robber who says, "Your money or your life." That's followed by two to three minutes of dead silence, except for the audience which laughed with increasing volume as the silence continued. Finally the robber prodded Jack by saying, "Well?" to which Benny responded, "I'm thinking it over!"
- Took his father to see _To Be or Not to Be (1942)_ (qv), but he left the theatre disgusted when he saw Jack in a Nazi uniform. It wasn't until years later that Jack finally managed to convince him that he was making fun of Nazis not supporting them. His father saw the movie again and loved it.
- 1934-42: Star of NBC Radio's "The Jell-O Program".
- A lifelong lover of classical music, he counted the great violinist 'Isaac Stern (I)' (qv) among his closest friends and legendary composer/pianist 'Sergei Rachmaninoff' (qv) among his greatest fans.
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