What about Babe?

[haverpopper]

I was just looking at the FAQ and noticed that Mary has a real sister named Babe!!! I had always assumed that the mere existence of Babe was part of the Mary Livingstone legend, along with her being from Plainfield, New Jersey. So what did the real Babe think of being made fun of so often?

While I'm on Mary, I realized something the other day. People have long commented on Mary's lack of a specific function in the show (Don't the announcer, Dennis is the singer, but what does Mary do?). I realized recently that Mary doesn't have a specific "trait" either, the way the other's do. Don's fat, Phil's a drunk, Dennis is naive, Jack is stingy, Mary is...what? This is not to detract from her character -- I love Mary, but could you pinpoint her "character"?

[Jack Benny]

I guess I would say that some of her "traits" were being annoyed easily with Jack and Kenny Baker - she was much more tolerant of Dennis. Her character was a flirt and she thought Phil was pretty nifty. Her most common activities were sharing letters from her Mother, and sharing poems her character had supposedly written. I think her main "trait" was to be the sole "normal" person surrounded by larger than life characters. When any of the characters would stray too far out, her lines would often zing them back to reality. When Jack was too stingy, Dennis was too dumb, or Phil too full of himself, Mary was always there to set everything into balance again. If Jack was the soul of the show, Dennis the gentle heart of the show, Phil the Passion, then Mary would be the conscience of the show.

[LLeff]

I was just looking at the FAQ and noticed that Mary has a real sister named Babe!!! I had always assumed that the mere existence of Babe was part of the Mary Livingstone legend, along with her being from Plainfield, New Jersey. So what did the real Babe think of being made fun of so often?

An interesting note is that Babe actually looked almost like a twin sister of Mary. So all those stories about her being a large or mannish woman were completely untrue. Someone once told me that in the family, most people thought that Babe was prettier than Mary!

I love Mary, but could you pinpoint her "character"?

It evolved over time. She started off in the "dumb" role, with her being ultimately hired as Jack's secretary and an on-air romance between them in 1932. Then by the late 30s, she was a flirt. By the 1940s, she was an acid counterpart. There were always lines here and there about her being Jack's "girlfriend", although he went out with other women, like Gladys Zybysko. And Jack does things like hang mistletoe over the door so that he can kiss her when she comes in (usually ending up kissing Dennis or someone else instead).

George Burns said that he retooled his show with Gracie into a show about married life because people knew they were married and not just chasing each other. Jack and Mary never had that problem, but I think that people accepted the characters as a sort of implied "couple" since they were married in real life. And Mary's sarcastic comments even smack a bit of the Bickersons.

[haverpopper]

Interesting analyses on Mary. But now that we've established that Babe was not only real but in fact good looking, any word on how she reacted to the teasing? I imagine she must have been a good sport.

[shimp scrampi]

According to Joan Benny's book, Babe was a bawdy, "tough broad" with a good sense of humor, with whom both Joan and Jack were close confidantes. This was in contrast to the real-life Mary's insecurity and sometimes difficult personality. Babe and Jack supposedly dated before Jack wound up with Mary as well. I would love to see a picture of Babe.

[Radioman]

I agree with the other posters about Mary's various traits, but after listening to a large number of them in a row, I believe that Mary's main traits are sarcasm, the laugh, and Jack's foil. Seems like throughout the whole run of the Jack Benny Program Mary was sarcastic to Jack most of the time. Sure, she was also nice to him, but her biting remarks really stand out. Also, her laugh is unique (and kind of annoying!), and she was always the perfect foil to Jack.

My two cents. Love the show!

radioman

[haverpopper]

I have a love-hate relationship with that famous laugh of Mary's. On the surface it's repellant enough, but somehow it sucks me in nonetheless. Was that her real laugh?? And while I'm on the subject, was that Dennis Day's real speaking voice? Dennis was a great impressionist, which is what makes me suspect that perhaps his "pipsqueak" voice is just an act. Actually, it would be rather funny if they ever somehow had the "real" Dennis Day on the show and he spoke more like Barry Manilow.