Gisele's Benny Boost

Is it possible to count the number of people Jack Benny helped over his lifetime?

His violin concerts raised money for pension funds for musicians and saved theatres for people to continue enjoying.

Others thanked Jack for their careers. Dennis Day was one. Wayne Newton was another. And so was Gisele MacKenzie.

Gisele and her family were singers/musicians in Winnipeg and appeared on the CBC; her brother Georges was later in charge of the network’s French-language operations in Vancouver. Like quite a number of Canadian performers, she moved to the U.S. to further her career and landed a spot on Bob Crosby’s “Club Fifteen.” It was through Crosby, who later fronted the band on the Benny radio show, that she met Jack Benny.

Here’s a brief column from June 1, 1957/

Gisele Gets Own Show Thanks to Jack Benny
By ALINE MOSBY
HOLLYWOOD (UP) – After four years of singing 300-plus songs on "Your Hit Parade," Gisele MacKenzie finally gets her own show, thanks to a fellow violin player named Jack Benny.
When the pretty French-Canadian brunette adds up her life she gives credit for her success to the veteran comedian. Performers seldom take the time or trouble to sponsor another entertainer, but Jack has been largely responsible for Gisele's expanding career.
Next fall he unveils his protegee in her own live half-hour TV program on NBC, "The Gisele MacKenzie Show," produced here by the 39-year-old violinist himself.
"I met Jack five years ago when he saw me sing with Bob Crosby in Las Vegas," Gisele explained between rehearsals here for her last guest appearance of the season, on Sunday's "Chevy Show" on NBC.
Went On Tour
"He asked me to go on tour with him. Then I guested several times on his TV show. He's been such a great help."
Gisele's appearances with Benny showed she had other talents than singing upside down, sideways, in those zippy production numbers on "Your Hit Parade." With Benny she displayed a flair for comedy and a talent for the violin.
As a result she wound up guesting on other shows and playing dramatic roles. This spring she quit "Your Hit Parade" and was signed by Benny for the new fall series.
Many fans wonder why Gisele didn't have her own show long ago, but she insists, "I'm glad this didn't happen before. I wasn't ready for it."
"But this spring I decided I'd been on the 'Hit Parade' long enough," she continued. "I felt it was time to do something else. I didn't want to wait until the audience tired of me.
Lot Of Fun
"The show was a lot of fun and an easy schedule. But there just comes a time when you want to do something else. It was invaluable experience as the show is like a stock company—you learn to do everything. Of course, I still think the real stars of the show are the producer, director, cameramen and writers who dream up the ideas."
Whether her move sparked a general cast change she doesn't know, but Dorothy Collins and the other singers on the popular program will not appear on it next fall, either.
Gisele is "very excited and scared about her series" "because the responsibility is all mine." Benny set the format for her Saturday night show—"a loose one. One week I'll sing, another week I'll do skits with regular characters or have guest stars."
"Jack phones once a week with plans," she smiled. "He says he thinks he knows what to advise for a few people and I'm one of them. He knows what's right for me."

Jack seemed to find his way into stories about MacKenzie’s career. Here’s another one from the McClure Newspaper Syndicate (which distributed the “TV Key” column) that appeared in papers around Dec. 15, 1957. Lucky Strike had been Jack’s sponsor on radio and then television, so it’s no coincidence that American Tobacco would listen to his recommendations.

Gisele’s Show is Work; Fun
By STEVEN H. SCHEUER
“I’m having my ninth baby,” said Gisele MacKenzie in Hollywood, referring to her ninth Saturday night soiree. This is Gisele’s way of explaining the ordeal she goes through starring in her own show. She isn't as relaxed and easy-going as she appears to be on TV. She's been on since September and that seems years ago to her.
On the Hit Parade, Gisele looked carefree and relaxed, too, but it was a lot different. The pressure was off, she wasn't the star, just part of the company. "I learned a lot," said Gisele, "but the Hit Parade was a breeze compared to carrying your own show."
Gisele looks fit. She's even gained a few pounds, but on Mondays a rash breaks out on her white Canadian skin from nerves, not smog, and she has to cover it up with make-up.
"Listen, you have to be nervous to be any good. I'm nervous singing before two people and I always will be," she explained. "It's part of the business. I know I wouldn't be in any other. I couldn't go into advertising, for instance."
Having her own weekly show, something she's looked forward to for a long time, is half fun and half chore and that's all Gisele wants. She's had good times on some programs, but the most fun was a recent one with Jack Benny when the two dropped the script and began ad-libbing.
"I stepped on one of Jack's lines," Gisele said, "by accident. And he fired back, "Now that you have your own show you can't stop talkin.’ We carried on from there. The critics thought it was part of the show."
Jack Benny has been a big factor in Gisele's success. He originally saw Gisele working with Bob Crosby in Las Vegas. Jack needed a girl vocalist for his touring vaudeville show and could get Gisele cheaply. After the show ran for while, Jack heard that the Hit Parade was searching for a new female vocalist. So Jack had Gisele guest on his TV show and made sure the Hit Parade sponsors were watching.
Gisele got the job and spent the next four years polishing her talents, singing the "big seven" hits and those extras Jack has a big interest in Gisele's Saturday nighter and was instrumental in setting up the format of light, casual humor.
With the format set, the big problem is guests—those available and in the right price range, and who would fit working with Gisele. "I would like to sing to Gregory Peck," said Gisele, pretending to look wistful, "Ty Power, Clark Gable, Aly Khan—but they're not available. So I'll settle for the Curfew Kids—Greg, Ty, Mike and Butch. They're a little young but awful cute."

The patronage of Jack Benny couldn’t bring one thing—viewers. Gisele’s show on NBC began on Sept. 28, 1957 and was replaced with reruns from Schlitz Playhouse and General Electric Theater on March 29, 1958. It didn’t stop her career. She was a regular with Sid Caesar on ABC-TV in 1963. My first exposure to her was on the original version of The Match Game in June 1966 (the other celebrity panellist was fellow Canadian Paul Anka). And, of course, she continued to appear with Jack Benny.