Sunday Night at Seven and other biographies

[Southard0]

Greetings...

I'm new to the board but I have been a fan of old Jack Benny radio shows for many years.

Recently, I have found a copy of Sunday Night at Seven at my local library. I'm sure the book has been discussed before in this board, but I wanted to state my opinion of the work and ask some questions relating to Benny Biographies...

First off, I thought when the book showcased sections of Benny's own biographies it was first class. I enjoyed the personal nature of his writing, the ease of his delivery and the way he made his experiences feel personal for the reader... these sections were so good they made me really dislike the moments when Joan took the story away from her father.

Which brings me to my major complaint of the work. Whenever Joan interrupted her father's narrative, the book turned to being about her. The first half of the book was fine, however it was from the halfmark to the ened that it really bothered me, since it became more the Joan Benny Story than the Jack Benny Story. I even counted at one point that there were over 10 pages where Jack was not even mentioned once!

As much as it sounds like I'm blaming Joan, I'm not. I blame her editor. It is the job an editior (Especially one dealing with non-fiction and a first time writer) to keep a firm grip on the work being produced. And like I stated at the halfway mark, the editor clearly gave up.

Another example of the editor giving up is the lack of discussion surrounding important moments and people in Jack's life. How about more details on the other people that made his radio show (the writers for example), some of the life story of the other actors (I would love to have known more about the life of Dennis Day, for example), and the major changes in his performances (There is not one references to Kenny Baker! And no mention of Phil Harris leaving the show in 52).

There are many great biographies of legendary hollywood figures (The recent Bing Crosby biography being a fine example), Jack Benny definitely deserves one...

So first off, I wanted to ask if there are any exceptional biographies out there that any fellow fan would recommend?

Second, does anyone have Benny's complete unedited autobiography (Without Joan's editing)?

Thanks for reading. Great website!

[Roman]

As far as I know, the "complete unedited autobiography" does not exist. Jack worked on his autobiography in fits and starts in his later years but was unable to finish it during his lifetime. Moe Howard of The Three Stooges had the same experience and left a partly written autobiography at the time of his death. In Moe's case, the family and publishers decided to complete the book by including hundreds of pictures and a long appendix about The Three Stooges movies and shorts. In Jack's case, the family and publishers elected to have Joan write a narrative to expand the book. While Joan could have (and perhaps should have) written more about Phil and Kenny Baker, she chose to write about what she was familiar - her home life with Jack and Mary.

[Alan]

Very ball-park/general commentary;

-i would guess that we enter and proceed into the JB legacy in different ways.

-Joan's book was my 1st non-broadcast show backgrounder--i got alot out of it (enjoyment and info wise) even tho i felt that some parts, particularly as it reached her indy adult years, more primarily about her and relegated JB to usual parental concerns...yet, there was much that i am grateful to have read, even parts that are the most indirect JB references in the most everyday family experiences.

-I next read the biz mgr and then show writer bio's... i enjoyed them more and feel i got more info out of them, but even with the overlap of specific anecdotes and "filler" of Joan's book, i still greatly appreciate her "sunday nights @7"...

In a vague roundabout to initial post, yeah, imo as well, Joan's entry felt somewhat less than it could ideally be, but i now appreciate it alot...both in terms of its unique perspective and content.

[LLeff]

As far as I know, the "complete unedited autobiography" does not exist. Jack worked on his autobiography in fits and starts in his later years but was unable to finish it during his lifetime.

Actually, I think that isn't quite true. I do have a copy of a portion of the original Benny autobiography manuscript, but I haven't done a side-by-side comparison of it to Sunday Nights at Seven. What I have seen by skimming is that it's pretty much the same. In fact, I posed the question to Joan on Larry King's show about whether there was any unused material that might be published at a later date, and she indicated that it had all been used.

Jack and Maurice Zolotow did, to the best of my knowledge, complete a manuscript (which you see in SNAS). And Mary put the kaibosh on it, supposedly saying that she didn't like stories of Jack's premarital dalliances with Nora Bayes and others. (Insert your favorite comments here about Mary's insecurity.) So it was thrown in a closet where it remained until Joan discovered it while cleaning out the house after Mary's passing.

[epeterd]

I read the book earlier this year and I felt the same way. It almost seemed like it was a Joan autobiography at times. That was a bit annoying but it was a pretty good book overall. I also read the book by Mary. It's interesting to find out in the SNAS book that Mary wasn't the most pleasant person. But he loved her. BTW, I call my new girlfriend Doll, just like Jack and Mary did.

[ZEjackbennykid]

It does seem that the Autoiography leaves a lot of loose ends. The book by Mary and Hilliard (Marks) gives an interesting view on Jacks relation ship with his father, there are stories that are told that I didn't know even happened. The book by Milt Josefberg is a very interesting look at how someone would go about writing a Jack Benny Show. Irving Fein's gives a very business aspect of Benny's career as well as intersting stories. All together the story of Benny is told through the views of 4 people he knew plus himself