New Look But Same Old Benny

There was an odd time on television where old stars simultaneously made fun of young people while kissing up to them.

The counter-culture of the 1960s was not the culture of Bing Crosby or Kate Smith or Milton Berle. The status quo always ridicules cultural change. They did it with Elvis, they did it with the Beatles, and they did it with “hippies.” So it was you could tune into a TV special and watch Bob Hope in love beads and saying “far out, man,” basically telling viewers “Isn’t all this stuff the kids are into really stupid?”

But their TV outings needed those kids watching for ratings. And since their culture was stuck somewhere around 1947, the stars did the only thing they could do—they brought on acts that would appeal to a younger audience but not too radical to make viewers stuck in 1947 uncomfortable.

This brings us to Jack Benny.

By 1969, he had been on the air for 37 years. Jokes about being 39 set aside, he wasn’t getting younger and neither was his audience. He had no intention of changing his routine after all that time, so you wouldn’t be getting “messages” about the Vietnam War and racial discrimination from him. Yet he had to try to appeal to a growing audience of people who were amenable to that. So he and his writers came up with the “New Look” idea. Put Jack in a Nehru jacket (which was already passe by 1969) and have him bring on a smattering of guests who were under 30; crossover acts who would also fit in with a middle-of-the-road crowd.

Jack also loved fish-out-of-water stars ever since hiring Ronald Colman to do situation comedy. His choice in the “New Look” special was Gregory Peck.

But there was also a typical Jack Benny twist. Jack was always the butt of the joke on his radio show. And in his special, the opening montage shows off how he doesn’t fit in to the counter-culture, no matter how much Flower Power he tries to exude (in one gag, he gives the Peace sign with the wrong number of fingers). In other words, he’s not making fun of young people, he’s making fun of himself.

Someone in the special who was trying to look young was Frank Nelson, who was wearing a ridiculous rug at the time. He appears in the Kodak spots.

Here are some short columns from the day the special aired, December 3, 1969.

Fine musical cast visits Benny tonight
By JOAN CROSBY
BEST BET—It's titled Jack Benny's New Look, but that's a misnomer since the real new look here belongs to guest star Gregory Peck. The Oscar winner and current President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, puts those images aside to become a song-and-dance man. He does his act to "The Shadow of Your Smile" then joins Jack and added guest star, George Burns, to form the vaudeville team, Two Bushels and a Peck.
The younger generation is represented by Nancy Sinatra and Gary Puckett and the Union Gap. The group's feature is "The Begger" and Gary joins Nancy for a duet to "Spinning Wheel."
The "new look" for Benny comes in the beginning with the comedian garbed hippie style with a Sunset Strip motorcycle gang. Eddie "Rochester" Anderson and Lucille Ball are seen briefly, with Rochester at the wheel of a Rolls-Royce, his own.

Benny Likes His 'New Look'
By BOB THOMAS
Associated Press Writer
HOLLYWOOD (AP) — An advance review on Jack Benny's television special for tonight: "Sensational!" The reviewer: Jack Benny.
The reviewer bears the best of credentials for his evaluation: lengthy service in his field; sagacity in judging performances; articulate judgments. The only thing he might lack is objectivity.
Yet Benny, ageless, though 75, remains as enthralled by show business as the most green of juvenile. The results can be seen tonight on "Jack Benny's New Look" over NBC.
"I think it's just great," he remarked with sincerity in an interview at his office in Beverly Hills. "Every show I've ever done on television I've found some fault with. I mean, I always find something that could have been better, once the show was put together.
"This one, no. I liked every inch of the film, and I even saw it without color. Now if a show looks good to me in black and white, you can imagine how it would took in color!"
Benny was proudest of his coup in snagging Gregory Peck as song-and-dance man on the show. He admitted his reluctance to approach the actor, but his producer, Irving Fein, said, "Ask him—the worst he can do is say no." Benny asked, Peck pondered, later said, "Why not?" provided that his salary go to the Motion Picture Relief Fund, for which Peck is chairman of the fund drive.
"You know something?" said Benny. "I couldn't get Peck to stop rehearsing. I finally had to say to him, 'Greg, I'm tired! We've got to stop for a while!' " "In 35 years in radio and television, I don't think I've ever had a guest star who was more cooperative and offered no problems."
Those 35 years comprise a remarkable record in broadcasting for Benny. Most of that time he starred in his own weekly show; only in the past few years has he cut down to occasional specials and guest appearances. Not that he doesn't feel capable of doing the weekly stint.
"I still get offers to go back to the weekly show," he remarked."I got two just recently. But I told the fellows: 'You couldn't afford me."

Jack mercifully gave up on trying to be groovy and went back to wearing a tuxedo in future specials. Gregory Peck came back to rehearse, too, but the Benny special he was preparing for never aired. It was to be Jack’s “Third Farewell Special” scheduled for 1975. Jack died just after Christmas 1974.