Jack Benny on $1 DVD

[Radioman]

First off, thanks a lot to the members who posted in the other thread about Dollar Tree carrying the Jack Benny dvds. We have one nearby and I checked it out. Sure enough, they had at least two of them. I only had a dollar so I bought volume 1.

This one had the Jack Benny hour and the two half-hour shows mentioned in the other thread. Here are my takes:

The JB Hour is a weird 1960s comedy/variety show. It features Bob Hope and Walt Disney, and others I didn't know, and even two live performances by a very early Beach Boys! I have NEVER seen a 1960s performace by the Beach Boys! It was unreal.
Jack maintained one main facial expression: sort of a befuddled look the entire episode. I enjoyed his interaction with Walt Disney as he tried to convince him to give him free tickets to Disney Lannd for his crew of 110 people. The episode also contained a spoof of a cross between the Addams Family and the Munsters, and an overlong Italian-style parody of Mary Poppins.

The half hour episodes are better, though.


As mentioned in the other thread, one is a stand-up episode mostly featuring Jack, Julie Lonon performs, and Jack plays a duet violin piece with a 12 year old girl. That part is really entertaining.

The other episode has Jack awakened at 4:00 AM by an all night disc jockey. He gets up and takes a walk, and eventually goes to a mens clothing store with Mary to buy him a new suit. He's so tired that he keeps falling asleep and getting carried to the back with other manequinns. The episode features Mary, Rochester and Frank Nelson.

Now, here are my issues with this TV performance.

I heard this SAME EXACT story on his radio shows. The script was practically word for word. However, it was interesting to see how the show would look with actors and sets.

When I (and every other radio listener) listens to the JB Show, I see the characters in my mind. I see them "acting" on a set, or in Jack's house, or on the street, etc. In my mind, I know EXACTLY how they should look. And when I see what they really look like, the whole illusion is blown.

I already know what Jack looks like as I've seen his pictures. When I hear him on the radio, I see his face in my mind. But then there's Rochester, who voice is so unusual, that it is a character of its own. In my mind, I don't "see" Rochester, I "see" his voice, as I can't picture a person who speaks like that. However, when I try to put a face to it, I see Scatman Cruthers when he played Dick Hollaran in The Shining. That's the face I see, which is of an older, taller guy. But I just can't see that voice coming out of Eddie Anderson. Seeing Rochester on TV as he reacts to the situations around him, and to Jack's crazy outbursts just doesn't feel right. It's like Rochester is a character you should never actually see, only hear. It's better to watch Rochester deal with Jack, play dice, sing, complain, iron shirts, inside your own head. Somehow the character is just not the same on TV.

The same goes for Frank Nelson. He's so hilarious to listen to, as he aggravates Jack and says all those outrageous things in this "Ye-e-e-es!" voice. When I picture him in my head, I see the portayal seen in a few episodes of the Simpsons. But the real Frank Nelson seen in the show just wasn't right! It's one thing to hear the actor say his lines in that overly exaggerated voice. You accept it and it's funny. But to watch him actually do it is an entirely different thing. This is another instance where it's better to hear it, than to see it.

Mary looked shockingly older than I pictured her. I mean much older. It was as if Mary's voice were dubbed onto the TV actress's lips. But I suppose that really was her.

But please don't get me wrong. I love the JB radio show, and I really enjoyed watching it on TV finally. But somehow I like it a lot better, as I picture Jack and the other actors simply standing around a mic holding scripts. The JB Show was truly radio magic, making me laugh after having been recorded over fifty years ago. It was only natural that the radio show went onto TV, and I'm glad it was so successful, ran for 15 years on TV! The Simpsons has only just recently caught up!

So, thanks to Dollar Tree for bringing the JB TV Show to us.

radioman

[Gerry O.]

Radioman, you're not alone in your problem with seeing the various Jack Benny Program characters on TV. Part of the problem was that by the time Jack's show made it to TV, the actors were simply much older than they had been on the radio show. Mary WAS much older than the young girl that she portrayed on the radio, and by the time Dennis Day made it to TV, HE was older too....that's why it seems so ridiculous when you see Jack referring to a mature-looking Dennis as a "silly kid" in the TV shows.

I've also noticed that Jack's appearance can vary greatly depending on what TV episode you're watching. There are some episodes where he looks quite youthful and dapper....but frankly, there are other episodes where he looks somewhat old and haggard. I guess a lot of it had to do with who was in charge of makeup and lighting, but these variances in Jack's appearance DO make a difference in the believability of his character...especially when he's seen dating young women.

George Burns and Gracie Allen matured with their characters...as the "real" George and Gracie grew older, so did their characters. They went from being a young "boy and girl" team to a mature, married couple....However, the characters on Jack's show never made this transition. They were the same characters in the 1950's that they had been in the 1930's and 40's...and I think that THAT may be a big reason why many of Jack's TV shows don't hold up as well as the radio programs.

[shimp scrampi]

I think the Burns and Allen contrast is always a fascinating one when it comes to the radio to TV transition. I enjoy the B&A radio programs, but they really hit their stride in the TV format, when George became "omnipotent" and every single plot twist revolved around Gracie's "illogical logic", and they quickly ditched the musical numbers and variety interludes. Tighter writing, better pacing. In the radio program, very often it was just standard situation comedy peppered with occasional Gracie-isms. They just don't hold up as well as the TV shows.

JB, on the other hand, while still making very good programs on TV, varied wildly with formats (film vs. live, half-hour to 45 minutes, to hours, variety vs. sitcom, etc.) and seemed to stumble a bit. The big factor for me is the dissipation of the "gang" with Mary appearing so rarely and Phil Harris out of the picture. It seems the more radio regulars are in a TV show (despite their age), the better it becomes. But mostly it was Jack, Rochester and guest stars. I for one, do love the TV versions of the old radio routines (which were often redone over and over in radio, it should be noted). Each time, there is a "twist" that tweaks the audience exactly because they think they know what is going to happen - witness the many permutations of the railroad station bits, the "tout", etc. More fun than a plain old rerun!

[Gerry O.]

One of my all-time favorite Benny TV shows is the episode where Don Wilson invites the gang over to his house for dinner, and Jack keeps saying, "Don, call your wife....call her up...five people barging in like this is an imposition...Don, PLEASE call your wife!", but Don insists, "Oh no, Jack, Lois is a peach...No problem at all!". However, as soon as the gang pulls up to Don's house and is ready to go in, Don suddenly gets cold feet and makes them hide in the bushes while he lets them in one by one, and Jack (who is the last one in the bushes) eventually gets robbed by a holdup man. This was a CLASSIC radio episode (which was done in the 1940's and again in the 50's), and I love the TV version because it's one of the few Benny TV episodes which features the entire 1950's main RADIO cast in the same episode (Don, Dennis, Mary, Rochester and Bob Crosby). Also, the flavor of the episode, with the entire "gang" appearing together, is as much like the radio series as you can hope to get on TV.

[shimp scrampi]

I'd like to see that episode! Thinking back the age/appearance of the actors was never a big shock to me since I recall seeing the television shows back on the old CBN/Family Channel (whatever it is now) in the '80s, around the same time as I began to get into the radio show. So I never thought of Mary as being younger on radio. Dennis seems the most incongruous.

Now, in defense of the TV show, there are some brilliant sight gags that are every bit as funny as radio, and totally silent. My favorite is Jack seeing a display of "FREE" cake samples at the grocery store. He proceeds to take all of the little slices, piling them into his shopping cart, then the two huge cakes the samples are being cut from, the tablecloth, and finally the sign that reads "Free" and the audience is screaming all the way.

[WaltP]

You young whippersnappers! I got to see them "live".

I never had a problem with the visual characters since that's what I grew up with. Jack's radio programs are a relatively recent find for me (20 years ago) so I already knew what they looked like -- except for their age. And because of this, Dennis was and will always be a "silly kid", even at 60.

[River Phoenix]

Does anyone know if these DVDs are still likely to be at Dollar Trees near me? I would go buy them up instantly.

[Radioman]

I went to our Dollar Tree just last week, and they had at least two of the DVDs. Your local Dollar Tree will probably have them too, but you will have to search through the giant batch of other $1 DVDs. It's worth it, though.

radioman

[shimp scrampi]

The Benny DVD situation is getting kind of out of hand. I keep buying DVDs from various "public domain" outfits and I am finding that I have a lot of repeated content, but each DVD has maybe one show that the others don't! In total it seems there are maybe 30 common shows total that are circulating out there among these distributors.

The nicest value I've seen, if you want the "core" of the commonly available shows is a 5-disc set from Madacy that I picked up at Best Buy for about $20. It has about 24 or 25 half-hour shows (this is not the same as the 5-disc set that has "Medicine Man" on it), so more content than the Diamond 2-disc set. The quality of the shows is pretty good, and the packaging is attractive and compact. Now I need to go through and document exactly what is on each of the discs I've accumulated to figure out which can go bye-bye. Beware, some of the dollar DVDs have different content than what their packaging says!

Another caveat on Dollar DVDs of old TV shows (not just Benny) is that lately some of the releases have replaced the original opening music with cheapo synthesizer, I guess in some attempt to earmark the individual copies as a (laughable) anti-bootleg feature in lieu of the "bug" or watermark. I have a Lucy Show, Burns and Allen and Benny DVD that all have this atrocious feature. But, I can grudgingly live with it for $1.

BTW The Dollar Tree discs seem to come in waves, every few months they ship out a box that has a new Benny disc inside. There is currently a "holiday" disc out with the Xmas shopping, New Years/Rose Bowl and Jack Alone on New Years shows.

[River Phoenix]

Well I stopped by a dollar tree and managed to pick up the volume 3 and the christmas dvds. For the price I also grabbed a number of other DVDs. They had a DVD with four of the old Sherlock Holmes shows starring Basil Rathbone. I've seen a number of the films he did (which are very good), but never the TV show. The quality isn't bad and $1 is ridiculously cheap. Incidentally, I have stopped by two Best Buys in the past couple of weeks and haven't seen the big set, but if I could find it I'd be very happy.
I'd be cool if someone with most of them made up a definitive log of the DVD content.

[shimp scrampi]

Here's the content of the Madacy set I mentioned above. Some of the titles are kind of vague or strange (i.e., there are several new years shows - and the "Honolulu Trip" is actually the Marilyn Monroe episode, you would think it would be called the "Marilyn Monroe Show", I mean, who really remembers Dorothy Shay nowadays?). I can try to provide more info if anyone wants it.

DVD Features:

Region (unknown)
5-DVD Set - Digipak
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
(unspecified) - English

Episodes:
Disc 1:
1. Beverly Hills Police Station
2. Bob Hope Show
3. Christmas Shopping Show
4. Don's 27th Anniversary with Jack
5. Dorothy Shay
Disc 2:
1. Four O'Clock in the Morning Show
2. Fred Allen Show
3. Goldie, Fields, and Glide
4. Honolulu Trip
5. How Jack Met Mary
Disc 3:
1. Humphrey Bogart Show
2. Irene Dunne Show
3. Jack Alone on New Year's Eve
4. Jack Casting for TV Special
5. Jack Dreams He's Married to Mary
Disc 4:
1. Jack Gets Robbed
2. Jack Rents His House
3. Jack's Hong Kong Suit
4. Jam Session at Jack's
5. Johnnie Ray Show
Disc 5:
1. Liberace Show
2. Lunch Counter Murder
3. New Year's Day Show
4. Talent Show, New Years

[Jack Benny]

Here is a little more information about each of the 24 shows that make up the new "Jack Benny Collection" DVD set.

Episodes:
Disc 1:
1. Beverly Hills Police Station - Rochester calls Jack in the middle of his monologue to tell him his Maxwell has been stolen. While he goes to the Beverly Hills Police Station, the Sportsmen cover for him, singing 'Puttin' on my top hat' while they get dressed on stage. Jack is amazed at the sumptuousness of the police station. Eventually the car is found; it has been returned to Jack's house by the thieves.

b: 18-Nov-1956 w: Sam Perrin & George Balzer & Hal Goldman & Al Gordon d: Ralph Levy

2. Bob Hope Show - gs: Bob Hope (Himself) Dean Martin (Himself) Jerry Lewis (Himself)
Bob steals Jack's pants in order to precede him onstage. Jack wears Don's pants, and Bob gives Jack's pants to Don. The sketch is entitled 'On the road to Nairobi.' The Sportsmen Quartet, in African costume, sings the Lucky commercial to the tune of 'Digga digga doo.' Jack and Bob enter and are eventually placed in a pot by natives, who have trouble lighting the fire. Martin and Lewis, in the audience, offer to supply a match.

b: 23-May-1954

3. Christmas Shopping Show - gs: Mel Blanc (Salesman) Frank Nelson (Floor Manager) Barbara Pepper (Saleswoman) Sam Hearn () Charlie Cantor () Benny Rubin (Bandit) Lois Corbet () Gil Frye ()
Jack looks for Christmas gifts in a department store, and encounters Nelson as the floor manager, Blanc and Pepper as salespeople, Rubin as a bandit. The Sportsmen Quartet sing the Lucky commercial in the elevator.

b: 12-Dec-1954 w: Sam Perrin & George Balzer & Hal Goldman & Al Gordon d: Ralph Levy

4. Don's 27th Anniversary with Jack - gs: Howard McNear () Roy Rowan () Bill Baldwin () Nancy Kulp () Leonid Kinskey () John Daly (Himself)
Jack honors Don Wilson on the occasion of his 27th year working with Jack. The sketch relates how Don and Jack met: Jack's radio sponsor, the Universal Corset Co., holds auditions for an announcer for Jack's program, and Don is the only one who laughs at Jack's bad jokes.
John Daly presents Don with a plaque; Jack disagrees with Daly's statement that Don came to his show when it was "down," and ends by breaking the plaque over Don's head.
The Sportsmen sing "Down Yonder".

b: 15-Jan-1961

5. Dorothy Shay - gs: Dorothy Shay (herself) Bob Crosby (himself) Lynette Bryant (?)
The guest star is singer Dorothy Shay, the Park Avenue hillbilly.
Bob Crosby interrupts one of Jack's jokes in the opening monologue to sing 'I'm sending you a big bouquet of roses.'
Mel Blanc plays a taxi driver.
Dorothy Shay sings 'Beverly Hills.'
Jack leads the Beverly Hillbillies in singing 'You are my sunshine.'

b: 04-Nov-1951 w: Sam Perrin & Milt Josefsberg & George Balzer & John Tackaberry d: Ralph Levy

Disc 2:
1. Four O'Clock in the Morning Show - gs: Frank Nelson (Clothing store clerk) Herb Vigran () Bea Benaderet () Robert Spencer () John Merrick () Stephen Downer ()
Jack, awakened by a phone call at 4 a.m., cannot get back to sleep. After he decides to go for an early morning walk, he comes home exhausted, but Mary comes over and reminds him that they were to go shopping for a new suit for Jack.

b: 06-Feb-1955 w: Sam Perrin & Al Gordon & George Balzer & Hal Goldman, Milt Josefsberg & John Tackaberry d: Ralph Levy

2. Fred Allen Show - gs: Fred Allen (Himself) Eddie Cantor (Himself)
While rehearsing for his show, the producers give him a two hour break and Jack decides to visit his sponsor to renew his option. While waiting in the lobby, Fred Allen is inside talking with Mr. Lewis, President and sponsor. Allen is trying to convince Mr. Lewis not to renew Jack's option and hire him instead. Mr. Lewis says he needs some time to think about it and Allen starts to leave. Seeing Jack in the lobby, he races back in to Mr. Lewis' office and Mr. Lewis hides him in the closet. Mr. Lewis asks for Jack to come in and they discuss his option. What is normally a formality affair becomes increasingly evident to Jack that this time, it is not so. He eventually finds his option in the trash can and is shocked. Mr. Lewis convinces him that the wind blew it off his desk but that he does want just a few days to think about it. Jack, seemingly appeased, starts to leave but chooses the wrong door, thereby exposing Allen. Jack hits the roof but quickly forgives Allen and they leave together. Once gone, Eddie Cantor pops out of another closet and continues to throw his pitch to Mr. Lewis that he should be the host of the show. The show concludes with Cantor, Allen, and Jack on stage in front of the curtain trading jabs and cutting up. He invites both men and their wives to dinner that night.

b: 19-Apr-1953

3. Goldie, Fields, and Glide - gs: Bing Crosby (Himself) George Burns (Himself) Bob Hope (Himself) Jay Novello (Fruit Peddler)
Jack tells Don about the time his vaudeville act with Burns and Crosby played Scranton, Pennsylvania; the name of their act was Goldie, Fields and Glide. Benny tries to convince Crosby to appear on his program with Burns to do their old act, but Crosby wants more money than Benny is willing to pay. Cameo by Bob Hope. Crosby sings 'Gypsy In My Soul.'

b: 21-Mar-1954 w: Sam Perrin & George Balzer & Milt Josefsberg & John Tackaberry d: Ralph Levy

4. Honolulu Trip - gs: Marilyn Monroe (Herself) Artie Auerbach () Joe Kearns () Maxine Kates () Frank Nelson () Kaye Stewart () Tyler McVeigh ()
After Jack's monologue he tells about his cruise to Hawaii with Rochester, where they encounter a series of characters on the ship
Jack takes a nap and dreams that Marilyn Monroe is on board with him. Marilyn sings to Jack and tells him she is crazy about him.
This was Marilyn's first appearance on network TV.
The commercial consists of a Lucky Strike hula.
First show of the 1953 season.
Guest stars: Marilyn Monroe, Joe Kearns, Artie Auerbach.

b: 13-Sep-1953 w: Sam Perrin & George Balzer & Milt Josefsberg & John Tackaberry d: Ralph Levy

5. How Jack Met Mary - gs: Joseph Kearns (Mr. Kearns - a reporter) Benny Rubin (man standing behind information desk who tore his pants) Sheldon Leonard (elevator tout at May Company) Roy Glenn (Roy) Frank Wilcox () Barbara Pepper (Sally - Mary's co-worker) Bea Benaderet (Peggy - Mary's co-worker)
Jack tells an interviewer how he met Mary Livingstone years before when she worked at The May Co.
Rochester sings and dances with The Sportsmen Quartet.

b: 31-Oct-1954

Disc 3:
1. Humphrey Bogart Show - gs: Humphrey Bogart (Himself) Sara Berner () Benny Rubin ()
Bob Crosby gets angry at Jack for cutting his song, and Don is upset because his commercial is to be cut. In the sketch, Jack plays a detective trying to get a confession out of 'Baby Face,' the killer, played by Bogart. Bogart is promoting his new picture Beat the Devil.

b: 25-Oct-1953 w: Hugh Wedlock & Howard Snyder d: Ralph Levy

2. Irene Dunne Show - gs: Irene Dunne (Herself) Vincent Price (Himself) Gregory Ratoff (Himself) Max Evans () Rolfe Sedan () Bea Benaderet () Lois Kimball ()
While Benny is getting a haircut, he reads that Gregory Ratoff is planning a new production starring Irene Dunne and Vincent Price. Since he has always wanted to play against Irene Dunne, he goes to first Ratoff and then Dunne to try to get them to give him Price's part. He then invites himself to Dunne's house for the first rehearsal, which he disrupts by cracking walnuts and bungling lines.

b: 06-Dec-1953 w: Sam Perrin & George Balzer & Milt Josefsberg & John Tackaberry d: Ralph Levy

3. Jack Alone on New Year's Eve - Jack asks two members of the audience to read the commercial, while he does sound effects. Benny plays the violin. The audience sings 'Auld lang syne.' Mary calls Jack to congratulate him on doing the whole show by himself without any supporting cast, and to ask him to take out the garbage when he gets home.

b: 31-Dec-1963 w: Sam Perrin & George Balzer & Al Gordon & Hal Goldman d: Norman Abbott

But I think the show is mislabeled and is really the show below.

Reminiscing About Last New Year's gs: Mel Blanc () Benny Rubin () Sam Hearn () Sandra Gould () Tom Duggan () Mike Ross ()
Benny does a monologue on his Christmas gifts, then remembers last New Year's Eve: Mary is giving a party, but Jack is not planning to go because he has a date with Gloria. After the show, the cast gathers in Jack's dressing room. Crosby sings 'Let's start the new year right,' with the Sportsmen Quartet. Jack gets a call from Gloria cancelling their date. He refuses to go to the party, and instead wanders the streets alone, finally stopping for coffee at Nick's Cafe, where the waitress turns out to be Gloria. He goes home, where he and Rochester ring in the new year together.

b: 27-Dec-1953 w: Sam Perrin & George Balzer & Milt Josefsberg & John Tackaberry d: Ralph Levy


4. Jack Casting for TV Special - gs: Mel Blanc (Postman) Joe Besser () Jean Willes () Leigh Snowden () Dick Ryan () Hallene Hill ()
Jack is planning his life story for the next week's telecast, and the show opens with Rochester typing up the script. Mel Blanc plays the postman delivering a telegram. The Sportsmen Quartet sing 'You must have been a beautiful baby.' Benny auditions actors for the show; he casts a beautiful girl as his first love, and his real first love as his mother. Instead of casting the little boy trying out for the part of himself as a boy, he casts the tough, pushy little boy who is acting as his agent.

b: 28-Nov-1954 w: Sam Perrin & George Balzer & Milt Josefsberg & John Tackaberry d: Ralph Levy

5. Jack Dreams He's Married to Mary - gs: Leon Tyler () Barbara Pepper () Ann Wilner () Joan Benny (Herself)
Mary calls and says she is coming over because she has something delicate to discuss; Jack thinks she is going to agree to marry him at last, but she just wants him to stop being so cheap. He daydreams about what their 21st anniversary would be like if she would marry him: in the dream, he is a would-be radio actor who keeps house while his wife works; his daughter Joan plays herself.

b: 07-Feb-1954 w: Sam Perrin & George Balzer & Milt Josefsberg & John Tackaberry d: Ralph Levy

Disc 4:
1. Jack Gets Robbed - gs: Bob Crosby (Himself)
Bob Crosby sings 'Peter Pan.'
Jack signs an autograph for a little girl from Washington named Margaret Truman.
At home, Jack falls asleep and two men try to rob him, encountering many booby traps in his bedroom.

b: 30-Nov-1952 w: Sam Perrin & George Balzer & Milt Josefsberg & John Tackaberry d: Ralph Levy
NOTE: The Margaret Truman in this episode is not Pres. Truman's daughter Margaret who would have been 18 at the time of this episode. This "Margaret"(real name unknown) is a young lady of about 10 years.

2. Jack Rents His House - gs: Jesslyn Fax (Vice-President, Pasadena Fan Club Chapter)
Jack's opening monologue is interrupted by a picture taking family who join him onstage.
In the sketch, Jack and Rochester are leaving on a personal appearance tour, so Jack rents his house while he is gone. The renters are suprised by some of Jack's conditions for rental.

b: 05-Feb-1963

3. Jack's Hong Kong Suit - gs: Gisele MacKenzie (Herself) Richard Deacon () Iris Adrian () Pitt Herbert () Shirley Mitchell () Bobby Johnson () Jon Chevron ()
Jack gets a haircut between the dress rehearsal and the show; none of the barbers want to do it because his tips are so small. Don and Oscar the seal do the State Farm commercial. Gisele sings 'Smile'. Jack asks her for a date, but she is busy giving a party to which she has not invited Jack. They do their violin duet, during which Jack's ten dollar suit from Hong Kong comes to pieces.

b: 06-Nov-1960

4. Jam Session at Jack's - gs: Dan Dailey (Himself) Kirk Douglas (Himself) Fred MacMurray (Himself) Tony Martin (Himself) Dick Powell (Himself)
Jack delivers a monologue on critics. He is anxious to get home because at 8 p.m. some friends are coming over for their weekly jam session. At home, the guests arrive: Tony Martin with his clarinet, Fred MacMurray with his saxophone, Dick Powell with his trumpet, Dan Dailey with his drums, and Kirk Douglas with his banjo. Guests must purchase food, drink or smokes from vending machines in Jack's closet. They play 'Basin Street.' Jack holds a contest for the most popular guest.

b: 17-Oct-1954 w: Sam Perrin & George Balzer & Milt Josefsberg & John Tackaberry d: Ralph Levy

5. Johnnie Ray Show – gs: Johnnie Ray (Himself) Danny Thomas (Himself)
It is Rochester's day off, and Jack has to make his own lunch. Don arrives, and Rochester sings the commercial to him; they do a soft-shoe routine together. A messenger arrives with Johnnie Ray's contract for a guest appearance, and Jack is horrified to see that Ray wants $10,000. Jack goes to Ray's home to tell him off, and have him sing to see if he is worth the money. Ray sings 'Please don't talk about me when I'm gone,' and 'Cry.' Jack is devastated and agrees to Ray's price. At the end of the show, Danny Thomas makes a guest appearance to plug Make Room for Daddy.

b: 15-Nov-1953 w: Sam Perrin & George Balzer & Milt Josefsberg & John Tackaberry d: Ralph Levy


Disc 5:
1. Liberace Show - gs: Liberace (Himself) Bea Benaderet (Gertrude Gearshift) Shirley Mitchell (Mabel Flapsaddle) Rex Evans () Lois Corbet () Rolfe Sedan ()
Jack tries to call Liberace. Two operators, Gertrude and Mabel, talk about Jack. Jack finally decides to go to Liberace's home. The house is filled with candelabra. Liberace asks Jack to appear with him in concert. After Liberace performs solo, the two play 'September song' together, Jack on his violin.

b: 17-Jan-1954 w: Sam Perrin & George Balzer & Milt Josefsberg & John Tackaberry d: Ralph Levy

2. Lunch Counter Murder - gs: Dan Duryea (Himself) Verna Felton (Mrs. Day [Dennis' mother]) Frank Nelson (Interior Decorator) Benny Rubin () Colin Campbell () Dick Kallman ()
Jack's monologue concerns the previous night's bachelor party. Dennis does not want to sing because Duryea got the star dressing room. His mother has thrown Duryea out of the room. The sketch is entitled 'Death across the lunch counter, or He died sunnyside up.' Jack plays Charleston T. Gundlefinger, a counterman in a diner. Don plays the police chief. It is midnight, and Jack is nervous because a man was murdered across the street the week before. Three toughs (Duryea, Day and Nelson) come in and intimidate Jack. The police chief is no help. Benny shoots Duryea and Day, but Nelson turns out to be the interior decorator.

b: 04-Dec-1960

3. New Year's Day Show - b: 01-Jan-1956


4. Talent Show, New Years - gs: Jayne Mansfield (Herself) Mel Blanc (Animal Impersonator) Iris Adrian () Muriel Landers () June Earl () Leon Lanza ()
During Jack's monologue about his Christmas gifts, Don comes out to announce a purse has been found. It turns out to belong to Jayne Mansfield, who was sitting in the audience when the usher grabbed her purse—she considers this to be a pretty sneaky way to get a guest star. Jack mentions The Girl Can't Help It, her latest picture. The Sportsmen Quartet and Rochester perform New Year's in Trinidad for the Lucky Strike ad. In the sketch, Jack hosts a talent contest. Mel Blanc plays an animal impersonator. The Landrew Sisters trio sings Did you ever see a dream walking. Leon Salvadore, a judo champ, is beaten by the six big men he asserts he will beat.

b: 30-Dec-1956 w: Sam Perrin & George Balzer & Hal Goldman & Al Gordon d: Ralph Levy

[Shemp]

Note:

The episode "Jack Casting for TV Special" on the 24-episode Madacy DVD collection is the 1/1/61 filmed remake (not the 11/28/54 live & kinescoped original).

All of the Benny collections on the market, with this episode, make this same labeling error... they are all the 1961 version.

In fact, I have never seen the 1954 version, and I would love to have a copy.