Lolly, Jack and Rochester

You never really know what’s going on in the world of Hollywood gossip but, on the surface, Louella Parsons and Jack Benny got along fine.

Yes, she had a reputation of being able to make or break careers through the Hearst press, but it would have been extremely difficult for someone of her stature to badmouth one of the most popular stars of radio, both with the public and within the entertainment industry.

Parsons appeared on the Benny radio show twice, where she got to plug her latest efforts (and got covered with potatoes to shut down the conversation). Parsons, in turn, wrote about Jack a number of times, at times giving him her blessing on his latest film.

Here she is in a column published April 15, 1940. In her own inimitable style, she doesn’t report; she inserts herself into the story. Lolly enjoyed talking about herself.

She was one of several columnists who mentioned Jack and Mary were going to adopt a boy. It never happened. Parsons’ column of April 14 claims the boy had the measles so they hadn’t brought him home. I don’t want to go off the top of my head but my recollection in my research is the two decided they didn’t have the time to devote to a second child.

The only thing that strikes me as odd in this story is Jack being quoted as calling his writers "William" and "Edmond." They were never credited on the air that way and any time I’ve heard Jack talk about them, he calls them "Bill" and "Ed."

Jack Benny Is Becoming Almost As Great A Movie Star As He Is on Radio Program
By LOUELLA O. PARSONS
Motion Picture Editor, International News Service
Hollywood, April 20. — What has happened to Jack Benny almost overnight? All of a sudden he has become as great a movie star as he is a radio favorite. I'll tell you what I think happened to him. The whole world knows Jack Benny, his gags and his faculty for making fun of himself and letting others ridicule him. When he plays a fictional character he is just too well established as himself to make a dent as anyone else.
In "Buck Benny Rides Again" Jack is surrounded by all of his familiar characters: Rochester, the delightful Negro comic, Phil Harris, Carmichael, the polar bear, Don Wilson, and although Mary Livingston [sic] isn't actually seen we hear her voice coming over the ether as part of the Benny setup.
I spoke to Jack after I had seen "Buck Benny Rides Again" to tell him how thoroughly I enjoyed this comedy.
"You know, Jack," I said, "You almost got me believing that you are the stingiest man in town." He laughed and said: "You know, this tightwad nonsense has me embarrassed and self-conscious. The other day," he continued, "I went into a drive-in place for a sandwich and after I got the bill I forgot to tip the boy. I was practically home when I remembered it and, believe it or not, I drove back the ten miles to give him a tip. I could just hear him say, 'Benny is just as tight as everyone says he is in the movies and on the radio.’”
Benny is pictured in his skit as always driving a defunct Maxwell car just about to fall to pieces. One of the funniest incidents in "Buck Benny Rides Again" is the old Maxwell car, just three jumps ahead of the junk-heap; to make it even funnier, Rochester, who plays Jack's valet, his cook, his chauffeur and maid to Carmichael, drives a sporty expensive roadster.
You might think that Benny would have a few pangs of jealousy over Rochester's enormous popularity and the big part he plays in his picture. But not Benny—he is too glad to have an actor of Eddie Anderson's ability (Rochester's real name.)
"Why," said Jack, "that boy is so popular that they are planning big doings for him in Harlem. I don't believe any Negro who has ever visited Harlem caused more excitement with the exception of Joe Louis, of course."
I know Jack speaks the truth, for my own servants are crazy about Rochester and never miss him. I took my chauffeur with me to see "Buck Benny Rides Again" and he not only thought Rochester was the best actor he had ever seen, but he fell for Theresa Harris who plays Rochester's girl friend and who can dance and sing with that rhythm and ease peculiar to this talented race.
My talk with Jack took place just before he and his troupe left for the East.
"I will be in New York," he told me, "for a personal appearance for 'Buck Benny Rides Again' and of course, Mary is excited. Like all women, she plans to buy clothes, have herself some fun and we will enjoy seeing all the new shows. I am planning now," he continued, "to see if I cannot do my last two broadcasts on this season's program in Honolulu in order to give us a longer vacation there. You see, I go to work at Paramount in June with Fred Allen."
"Got some good gags with Fred?" I asked him.
"Well, with William Morrow and Edmond Beloin turned loose, I think we ought to fare pretty well. You see, when the boys made ‘Buck Benny Rides Again,’ they were working on the radio at the same time. But I won't be on the air when we do the Fred Allen picture so they should have some time to dream up pretty funny gags. I give them most of the credit for 'Buck Benny.’
The story of Jack Benny and Mary Livingston is one of the most interesting in Hollywood. Successful in vaudeville for years, he never dreamed of making any such money as he earns now. He has been able to build a beautiful home where he and his wife and little Joan live. Soon there will be a little brother for Joan.
"We have been looking," he told me, "for a little boy for a long time for a playmate for Joan and we think now we have one who is just what we want. He is three and a half and alone in the world and needs a home and, of course, we feel we need him too."
All I can say is that, the little boy is lucky for no child in the world has ever had more love showered on her than little Joan who is the apple of her adopted parents' eyes.

Jack mentions to Louella that there was a big party planned for Eddie Anderson in Harlem when Buck Benny Rides Again. Rochester was incredibly popular; listen to the cheers he gets on any of Benny’s broadcasts from military camps. Articles in the black press (newspapers and magazines) laud him and respect him. Here’s an indication from one of them, an April 20, 1940 story in the New York Amsterdam News about the coming celebration for Anderson.

Harlem’s Reception for ‘Rochester’ At Film Premiere Tues., Will Top All Previous Ones
By Dan Burley
Not since Jesse Owens came back from conquering the Nazis at the Berlin Olympics has an event intrigued Harlem as has the coming world premiere of Paramount’s “Buck Benny Rides Again,” the film that stars Jack Benny and his radio pal, Eddie (Rochester) Anderson, and the fact that Rochester is coming here for a personal appearance with the film, next Tuesday at 9 p.m., makes the event of prime importance in the theatrical firmament.
Also expected, previous commitments allowing, are Jack Benny, himself, Andy Devine and Phil Harris of the cast of “Buck Benny Rides Again.” They have signified their intention of coming here if possible.
The “Hollywood” premiere will be the first ever staged in Harlem of a major production and is scheduled for Loew’s Victoria Theatre where a first night audience of celebrities representing the social, political, industrial, theatrical[,] sports and literary life of Harlem headed by Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, Lieut. Gov. Charles Poletti and Judge Myles Paige, is expected to outdo the famous film openings at Hollywood’s Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
Burley, Others on Committee
Details for a “Welcome Rochester” day to honor the film and radio comedian on the date of the premiere are being worked out by a newspaper delegation headed by Dan Burley, Bill Chase, Isadora Smith, William Clarke, Major Robinson, Ludlow Werner, Joe Christian and Ted Yates.
“Rochester,” enroute from Hollywood, will arrive in New York on Thursday morning, April 18, at 10 o’clock and will be met by the welcoming committee at the East 125th street New York Central Harlem station.
Cissy Bowe, the glamorous “Miss Harlem—1940,” will present the Keys to Harlem to the star during the ceremonies at the depot where police officials are prepared to handle the biggest crowd ever to assemble there to greet a celebrity. Trade and civic associations are cooperating fully to make the day a memorable one in Harlem history.
Street Parade Carded
A colorful street parade will be held Tuesday night, with many famous bands and uniformed marchers taking part in the torch-light spectacle, headed by “Carmichael,” the famous bear of the Benny-Rochester radio program. The parade will start at the Savoy Ballroom on Lenox avenue at 8 p.m. sharp, proceed south to 135th street, west to Seventh avenue to 125th street, ending in front of Loew’s Victoria theatre, where a reviewing stand is to be erected.
A coast-to-coast radio hookup will carry a description of the proceedings. Hollywood klieg lamps and all the pomp and ceremony associated with such a major spectacle will be witnessed by thousands of Harlemites.
Guest At Savoy
“Rochester,” after his personal appearance at the Victoria theatre, will also be the guest of honor at a testimonial reception at the Savoy Ballroom that night.
At the Savoy fete to the star, over 135 radio and stage stars are scheduled to appear on the NBC and Mutual network microphones which will carry the coast-to-coast tribute to the beloved comedian.
Jack Benny, Andy Devine, Phil Harris and others who appear in “Buck Benny Rides Again,” are expected at the testimonial at the Savoy.
Following the Harlem showing, the film, with “Rochester” making a personal appearance, will open an unlimited engagement at the Paramount theatre in Times Square.

While Buck Benny Rides Again got good reviews at the time, I suspect 80-plus-years after its release, it would only be appreciated by Benny fans.

The entertainment world changed in the 1950s. Radio, as it had been for two decades, died. The Hollywood studio system died, too, thanks to television and independent productions. Lolly still had her column but she seemed to be more of a part of the past than the present. Her life story was dramatized on the CBS series Climax! on March 8, 1956. Among the “special guests” appearing was Jack Benny. He—and Eddie Anderson—simply shifted from radio to television and remained fan favourites until they passed away in the 1970s.