The Walking Man

[Yhtapmys]

Jack managed to milk 'The Walking Man' contest from Ralph Edwards' show for two of his broadcasts in 1948. Here are some stories about it from the International News Service.

Widow Picks Benny, Wins $23,000 Prize
HOLLYWOOD, March 6. (INS) The walking man contest on NBC’s Truth or Consequences program was won tonight by Mrs. Florence Hubbard of Chicago.
Mrs. Hubbard, a clerk in a Chicago department store, captured $23,000 in prizes by correctly identifying Jack Benny as the “walking man.” Her correct guess ended a contest which attracted more than 2,000,000 entries and which brought in $1,500,000 in donations to the American Heart association.
The contest was in its 10th week. Mrs. Hubbard was the first contestant called on tonight’s program.
End of the competition was foreshadowed earlier in the week when clues pointing strongly toward Benny as the “walking man” were publicized.
Incorrect guesses on earlier programs had included Winston Churchill, Eddie Cantor, President Truman, Walter Huston, Louis B. Mayer, J. Edgar Hoover, Henry J. Kaiser and Bing Crosby.
In naming the radio comedian, Mrs. Hubbard, a widow with no children, won this rich list of prizes:
Home laundry consisting of washer, drier and automatic ironer.
$1000 diamond and ruby watch.
New 4-door sedan.
Gas kitchen range.
Sixteen mm. motion picture sound projector and screen with print of current film and delivery of motion picture of the month for one year.
Two weeks vacation for two from any place in the United States to Sun Valley, Idaho, all expenses paid.
$1000 diamond ring.
Vacuum cleaner with all attachments.
1948 console FM and AM radio-phonograph combination and television set, all in one cabinet.
Gas refrigerator.
All metal Venetian blinds throughout entire home.
Paint job on house, inside and out.
Complete wardrobe of women’s clothes for every season in the year.
Fifteen cubic foot heavy duty home or farm freezer, filled with frozen foods.
All metal plane.
Installation of ceramic tile in kitchen and bathroom.
Furniture to fill dining room and two bedrooms.
De luxe trailer coach with modern kitchen and sleeping quarters for four.
Typewriter.
Thousand dollar Persian lamb coat.
Aluminum boat, complete with outboard motor.
Piano.
Two years supply of sheets and pillow cases for every bed in house.
Choice of $500 worth of electric home appliances.
Electric blankets for every bed in house.
Three suits apiece for every man in immediate family.
Desk console electric sewing machine.

Clerk is “Fluttery” About Winning $23,000
CHICAGO, Mar. 8 (INS)—A gray-haired, 68-year-old shop clerk, winner of the lucrative NBC “Walking Man” radio contest said last night she would bank the $23,000 in cash awards and continue to work in a Chicago Loop department store.
Mrs. Florence Hubbard (of 48 North Waller St.) said she still felt “fluttery” about her good fortune. She declared:
“I can hardly believe it happened to me. I came home Saturday from work, wet from the rain, hungry and tired.
“I took a hot bath and just had an opportunity to get into a bathrobe when the telephone rang.
“It was Conductor Ralph Edwards of the Truth or Consequences program, sponsors of the ‘Walking Man’ program. He asked me who was the ‘walking man’ and I replied: ‘Jack Benny.’ Mr. Edwards congratulated me and told me I was the winner.”
She said she hardly had an opportunity to realize her good fortune when the telephone began jangling and her apartment doorbell began buzzing.
It was newsman, neighbors and friends calling for a story or eager to offer congratulations. Mrs. Hubbard laughed happily as she declared:
“I never did have a chance to get dressed properly or even comb my hair. News photographers simply swarmed into my apartment and littered the floor with flash bulbs.
“It was tremendously exciting.”
The small, pleasant faced widow said that despite the excitement she spent a restful night and slept well.
Yesterday she posed for news reels and continued to meet interviewers.
She ate lunch with a woman friend in a nearby restaurant and planned to retire early so that she would be rested when she reports back to work as a $30-a-week-checker in the casual clothes section of the store. Mrs. Hubbard said:
“I don’t see any reason why I should change my mode of living or quit my job. I enjoy meeting people and I like to work.
“Part of my awards include trips to Hollywood and Palm Springs. I am leaving it up to my company officials when I will take the trips.”
Mrs. Hubbard said she mailed “20 or 30 letters” to contest officials. Each contained a reason why “we should support the American Heart Association.” She declared:
“I cannot recall the exact text of my letter but I remember that I wrote everyone should support the Heart Association because it is seeking a cure for heart disease.
“My husband, Dr. Charles F. Hubbard, an optician, died of heart disease 13 years ago, and I have been interested in it ever since.”

NOW IT’S POKER FACE BENNY
Jack Benny Has Wonderful Time Playing “Walking Man” — Bennys are Slated to Meet Contest Winner, Mrs. Florence Hubbard, of Chicago, Today.
HOLLYWOOD, Mar. 13 (INS) Jack Benny said today the ham in him had a wonderful time playing the “Walking Man”—but the husband in him almost got locked out of the house.
Benny told of the fun of sneaking off every Saturday to give the “Walking Man” clues from a hideaway in the canyon section near Hollywood—and then of the headache of explaining to Mary where he’d been, without telling her the truth.
He had acted on the assumption that a woman can’t keep a secret—but after six turbulent weeks he gave up and gave in, telling Mary all.
And Mary Livingston — Mrs. Jack Benny — kept her counsel for the last three weeks of the radio “Truth or Consequences” show.
The Bennys are slated to meet the contest winner today. She’s Mrs. Florence Hubbard, the Chicago woman who guessed his identity and, hit the $22,500 gift jackpot.
She will appear on their Sunday night program.
They're calling him “Poker Face” Benny around Hollywood now—and Jack says even his best friends haven’t forgiven him for the poker-face he showed when they tried to figure out the identity.
The veteran radio and screen comedian laughed:
“Funny thing is, most of them—at first—didn’t even think I know what the program was all about, for they know I seldom listen to the radio.”

Mrs. Hubbard's three-room apartment (the building was built in 1927 and still stands) couldn't fit most of what she won, so she sold a lot of her prizes. She quit her job about a year later and bought a duplex in Fort Lauderdale and that's the last I've been able to track her. Stories suggest she was born between March and May 1879, but census records reveal she may have shaved a year or two off that.

Yhtapmys

[jbmfc]

I enjoyed reading the list of prizes Mrs Hubbard received. $23,000 went a long way in 1948.