New Comedians and Jack Benny

The vaudeville way was the better way, in the minds of many people who trod the boards at places like the Regent in Muskegon, Michigan (photo to the right). Entertainers could judge their acts in small towns and, if they weren’t fired by the theatre manager, try different things to make improvements and, hopefully, get bookings in bigger cities and better venues.

Then vaudeville vanished. So how were acts supposed to get better? That’s the question old vaudevillians were asking.

But get better they did. It wasn’t like a complete unknown was shoved on the Ed Sullivan show to sink or swim. They found a way.

Jack Benny talked about how vaudeville worked for him. In this syndicated newspaper story dated November 13, 1961, he also talks about giving new comedians a spot on his show—and then explains why he’d rather go with someone else.

Evidently the reporter was only fed salt and pepper during the interview.

Jack Benny Offers Glass Of Water To Newsman
By Jim Doyle
North American Newspaper Alliance
New York, Nov. 13—Jack Benny, the highest paid violinist since Paganini, came to town for a few days recently. He was in New York, as he has been once a year or so lately, to accept, as gracelessly as possible, the adulation of the public and a laurel wreath or two from his fellow longhairs.
He also received a hungry newspaperman for a 9 a.m. breakfast.
The offstage Benny is quite different from the performer Benny. He is a much better violinist, for one thing. For another, he's Mr. Generosity himself, having raised $1,000,000—tax free—in the last year or so for the symphony orchestras he plays with.
The Sunday night TV Benny saves toothpicks from the hors d'oeuvres for next time; the Monday morning Benny is an openhanded host, from time to time saying, "are you sure you won't have some more salt and pepper?' or "another glass of water perhaps?" and appearing to mean every word of it.
The bumbling, irascible, miserly Benney [sic], as we see him on television, is a deliberate creation, a continuing work of art that was started nearly half a century ago and is still far from finished.
How He Did It
Jack Benny made his professional debut in 1912 as a vaudeville fiddler, became a funny violinist, then a master of ceremonies and graduated to Broadway (musical) and the movies in 1929. He started in radio in 1932 and has been in television practically sine the day it started, proving, incidentally, to be one of the few comedians who successfully made the transition and one of even fewer who lasted in the monster medium that regularly eats its young.
The years have taught Benny a thing or two. One is that you can’t please everyone and perhaps that is why he has worn so well. “I wish I had $5 for everybody who thinks I’m terrible,” he says. Another is that show business gets tougher every day.
“I’m glad I’m not trying to break in today,” he said.
“George Burns puts it this way: ‘There’s no place for an actor to be lousy any more.’
"I spent years developing and polishing ‘Jack Benny the miser.’ I started by being a bum violinist; then, as an emcee, I got the idea of being the sort of guy who does everything wrong—I would announce one act and another one would come out—and blame everyone else for it. Gradually, the old meanie of today emerged.
Tough For New Comics
“Today, you've got to be good, you almost have to be perfect the first time. A new comedian gets a guest spot on television; everybody in the country sees him, and so does every critic.
“There are nightclubs, of course. But there are the big ‘showcase’ places and almost nothing else. There's no chance to experiment or try out new ideas." The new comedians are always welcome on the Jack Benny Show, but not as welcome as some others.
"I like to see the new people come up," he said. "A few years ago, if somebody new got a lot of attention, I might have been nervous about the competition, but what do I care about that now? I'll give them every break I can.
"But I've found, over the years, that straight actors make better guests than comics. Put a good dramatic actor in a funny situation and give him funny lines, and he'll turn out funny. Ronald Colrnan was always a great guest. So is Jimmy Stewart. I guess it just means that to be a good comedian you have to be a good actor first."
The breakfast interview over, the still-hungry reporter went to the nearest counter place and ordered a coffee.