Favorite Tenor

[JELLOoo]

Who is your favorite Tenor? Dennis or Kenny? And Why? Which of them had a longer career after the show(radio) was over?

I think Dennis sang better and played into the show better. IMHO

Chris

[Roman]

I thought that Kenny Baker was a marginally better singer than Dennis. Both had wonderful voices but Kenny Baker had a greater range and a more powerful lower register than Dennis. Dennis's choice of songs, however, was more varied and he was often more fun to listen to, especially when he sang those great Irish songs. But as a comic actor there's no comparison. Dennis was simply leagues ahead of Kenny. Dennis had MUCH better comic timing, he could do all those accents and imitations, and he was simply a much more assured performer. As far as I'm concerned, Dennis was one of the greatest co-stars that any comedy show, TV or radio, ever had.

[JELLOoo]

I agree. I liked it when Dennis sung the Irish songs also. I have a copy of his Christmas Album with the intro from Jack that I play every year.

Did Dennis or Kenny have much of a movie/TV career?
chris

[TheSportsmenQuartet]

I think Dennis was a better performer. Kenny may have had a better voice but Dennis knew what to do with the character of the "Silly Kid".

[krledu]

I liked Dennis better. I think he had a better and stronger voice. His character was funnier than Kenny. Though who knows what would have happened with Kenny if he had stayed on the JB show.

[Yhtapmys]

Who is your favorite Tenor? Dennis or Kenny? And Why? Which of them had a longer career after the show(radio) was over?

I think Dennis sang better and played into the show better. IMHO

Chris

I've listened to a number of Kenny's shows lately and there's one where he's just overpowering as a singer, far more than Dennis. I was quite surprised.

I'm not going to word this very well, but I get the feeling that Dennis was more inspiring for the writers than Kenny was. It seems to me that Dennis' read help them find ways to expand the character, and then once someone discovered Dennis could do dialects and impressions, tossed that in as well, adding a new dimension to his character.

Kenny, on the one hand, seems one-dimensional and not as sincere in his role as Dennis.

Yhtapmys

[Maxwell]

I'd also say this about Kenny. If you've seen him in the movies, he really is pretty bland (see the Marx Bros. "At the Circus"). Dennis wasn't great in the movies (I'm thinking mainly of "Golden Girl" here), but he certainly conveyed more personality than Kenny.

[Mister Kitzel]

Kenny Baker represents the 1930's era of Jack Benny shows. The humor was different as well as the characters. Kenny's character was already set by the time he left. Because both tenors were presented as nutty and innocent, Dennis' character may have been created as a correction to Kenny's character. Dennis Day's acting and comedic talents certainly were above those of Kenny Baker.