What did Jack smell like?

[shimp scrampi]

Believe it or not, this is a semi-serious question... I was visiting a great shop that had some vintage brands of men's cologne and had a sniff of Caswell-Massey's "Tricorn" that was favored by John Barrymore and Cole Porter. It's a really nice warm sandalwood scent right out of the past that doesn't smell at all like the nasty drugstore colognes of today. So, did Jack have a signature fragrance?

Of course, Fred Allen style ripostes to my super-esoteric question are welcome as well...

I think there were a few radio gags about Jack wearing "My Sin" (a then-popular woman's perfume), now that I think of it.

[Yhtapmys]

Believe it or not, this is a semi-serious question... I was visiting a great shop that had some vintage brands of men's cologne and had a sniff of Caswell-Massey's "Tricorn" that was favored by John Barrymore and Cole Porter. It's a really nice warm sandalwood scent right out of the past that doesn't smell at all like the nasty drugstore colognes of today. So, did Jack have a signature fragrance?

Eau de Fort Knox?

Yhtapmys
"Drive Your Blues Away!"

[shimp scrampi]

Eau de Fort Knox?

Heheh good one.

A little googling revealed a corrolary answer and a choice "difficult Mary" story.

Mary wore "Vent Vert"...which translates of course to "Green Wind" - the smell of Jack's money?

Two quarts of the stuff! It's still available if you want to smell like Mary Livingstone.

Good article here: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/197601/cbs-1/9

[mrdj]

Semi-on topic: I listened to a show the other day. Jack is walking home fron the studio and says how nice it is to live in Beverly Hills. Footsteps on cement just a little louder to set up the joke...they disappear and Jack says it's wonderful how Beverly Hills has carpeted the sidewalks. He walks a little farther and comments on a movie stars home(can't remember which one). It smells so nice in the neighborhood he says. Then adds...''he waters his lawn with My Sin".

[Alan]

[quote="shimp scrampi"]Believe it or not, this is a semi-serious question... I was visiting a great shop that had some vintage brands of men's cologne and had a sniff of Caswell-Massey's "Tricorn" that was favored by John Barrymore and Cole Porter. It's a really nice warm sandalwood scent right out of the past that doesn't smell at all like the nasty drugstore colognes of today. So, did Jack have a signature fragrance?

Off-topic-ish: About 10 years ago, i stayed @ a hotel that had sample size Caswell-Massey toothpaste . IMO, it had a great and different vanilla minty "taste", so about 5 years ago, i went to their website to order some;

it no longer existed so i ordered the one they had....my recommendation to any who may go to site and order their toothpaste for a "vintage" flavor sample=Don't! uggh!

btw-iirc, they were obviously an old brand that seemed to be built around what was once a well-known men's cologne.

[shimp scrampi]

they were obviously an old brand that seemed to be built around what was once a well-known men's cologne.

Yeah, they actually date back to the 18th century and still make "Number Six", which was George Washington's preferred cologne! But, given that the "original" George W. had wooden teeth, I wouldn't be in any hurry to try out their toothpaste. Did it taste like varnish, or Pledge?

...back on topic...

[Alan]

Being Canadian, i didn't know that about GW's teeth.

Oh well, i hope to have better luck with the TrickyDickNixonCloseShaveGel.

(Pray with me Henry!)

[LLeff]

Well kids, this one may be lost to the ages. Not a lot of Benny questions leave me scratching my head and shrugging my shoulders, so I asked Joan. She didn't know either.

But that's not to say that it's impossible that someone, someday will come forward at an auction with a bottle of cologne (empty, full, or partial) that has some sort of "To Jack Benny, who nose comedy" engraved on it. Heck, I've seen bottles of wine and sherry come up at auction that had custom labels indicating they were from Jack's collection. At this point, I'm not sure which would taste better (and Phil would probably take any of it).

[Maxwell]

I suggest we hire Lamont Cranston to investigate this. After all, "The Shadow nose..."

[shimp scrampi]

so I asked Joan. She didn't know either.

Very cool of you to ask Joan my question, LL, even if Jack's odeur remains a mystery!

[LLeff]

Very cool of you to ask Joan my question, LL, even if Jack's odeur remains a mystery!

Your fearless leader continues the search, although I don't have many more leads on this one. I asked someone who occasionally helped Jack with his makeup, and she reported, "he used to talk to me about “old Spice” and would joke about it, not sure if he ever wore it………"

Wouldn't it be funny if Jack, with all his money and being right in Beverly Hills with its potpourri of expensive scents, really used Old Spice? Who knows...it does sound like a gag. Sort of like savoring the bouquet of Manischevi-vi-vitz.

[shimp scrampi]

It actually wouldn't surprise me ("old" jokes aside) ... it's a classic scent that's been around for freakin' ever, for a reason -- and it certainly fits the kind of man who got excited about the best glass of water he ever had, or learning how the thermostat works. Not exotic or pretentious, just a regular-guy nice smell.

[Brad from Georgia]

I think Jack smelled like Daisy Buchanan's voice sounded in The Great Gatsby. When Nick Carraway tries to pin down the charm of her voice, he says, "Her voice is full of...of...."

And Gatsby says firmly, "Her voice is full of money."

So I like to imagine Jack Benny niffing of eau de currency.

[LLeff]

I think Jack smelled like Daisy Buchanan's voice sounded in The Great Gatsby. When Nick Carraway tries to pin down the charm of her voice, he says, "Her voice is full of...of...."

And Gatsby says firmly, "Her voice is full of money."

So I like to imagine Jack Benny niffing of eau de currency.

When I was doing "39 Forever", I got pretty focused on documenting the shows and didn't laugh a lot except for the bloopers. But one exchange (again quoting from memory) made me guffaw and pound on whatever was nearby (although not the floor). Mary asks for Jack to get something from her purse, and Jack opens the purse to get it for her.

Jack: *big sniff* Mary!...What's that AMAZING scent?!
Mary: Money.

[Yhtapmys]

Mary asks for Jack to get something from her purse, and Jack opens the purse to get it for her.

Jack: *big sniff* Mary!...What's that AMAZING scent?!
Mary: Money.

It must have been hers'. If it were Jack's, she would have spent it already.

Yhtapmys
"Drive Your Blues Away!"