A 1937 listener's opinion of Jack Benny: anemic.

[Radioman]

I picked up a March 20, 1937 edition of Radio Guide the other day (the 1930s version of TV Guide), and in it was a letter from a listener regarding the current state of radio. I found it interesting that this listener criticizes Jack Benny's program when it was only about five years old, long before the show really started getting good:

"Fred Allen claims Jack Benny is anemic. I'll go him one better. Radio as a whole is anemic. Do they expect us to listen to the same old stars forever? The same old stars doing the same old things in the same old way? Well, we won't!

Most of us have tired of Amos and Andy. . . . And Al Jolson. He's flopping. Even his sponsors admit it, by hiring an expert program fixer-upper to bolster his show. Eddie Cantor's Ida, Ed Wynn's aunt, Gracie Allen's brother--they've all grown gray in the service of radio. They deserve pensions. And we listeners deserve a flock of new stars. We'll get them soon--or else."


Putting this letter into perspective of its time, radio was still a relatively new medium of entertainment. I think this letter was being hyper-critical of who was on the air at the time, especially given that in just a few years they would hear more of a variety of programs and new entertainers. Just like today when we complain of too many reality shows, well, in a few years we'll be seeing something different, we hope. On the flip side of this, the stars in the letter-writer's list would continue entertaining for many more years. Just like today's Simpsons, whether or not the programs or the medium itself has become "anemic," the shows continue to be made and the fans still enjoy them.

Flipping to the program listings in Radio Guide shows Jack Benny's Jell-O Program appearing first on the list for 7:00 Sunday night: "Kenny Baker, tenor, Abe Lyman's Orchestra, Don Wilson, m.c."

And on the back cover of the magazine is giant ad for Lucky Strike cigarettes proclaiming that "You need this throat protection too! The stars of radio have to protect their throats--naturally. . . . So follow the stars to a clear throat. Choose Luckies."

Gotta start smoking!

[Yhtapmys]

Hi, RM. I disagree 1937 was "long before the show really started getting good." I'll ignore contemporary ratings which say otherwise, and instead just tell you my ears find the Jell-O shows funny. I've always liked the movie spoofs in the second half, and the cast has a more what-the-hell attitude than they would in the Lucky Strike years. And there was always at least one musical number from the orchestra. The music's good and it breaks up the monotony.

I don't see where the listener is criticising Jack's show per se. He's criticising nighttime network radio and his assessment is pretty accurate. Wynn was basically finished, Gracie's brother vanished as a running gag (even George realised something was amiss and restructured the show) and Amos and Andy peaked in the early '30s. Jolson's career had seen better days and wasn't kick-started again until The Jolson Story came out.

The listener is accurate again about new stars and new shows. But that's a no-brainer, as you have stated, since popular culture is constantly dealing with the rise and fall of careers and formats (look at what's been popular in the music business over the last 20 years).

As you intimate, Jack freshened up his show structure by the mid-40s in adding far more of a behind-the-scene-sitcom element. It's certainly arguable that made the show better. The tweaking resulted in a show that was very funny and marvellously creative. But so were many of the shows of the '30s.

And you are right again that Jack has stood the test of time. People still enjoy his shows. Comedians can learn from his structure. References continue to be made to him and his characteristics in daily newspapers, and he's been dead for several decades. Do a newspaper search on the web and see for yourself.

Incidentally, I was peering through a 1936 copyright catalogue (I was actually looking for a Sara Berner reference at the time) and found the makers of Camels copyrighted a bunch of ads with slogans telling us how smoking that particular product aided in digestion. Cigarettes! Is there anything they can't do?

Yhtapmys

[helloagain]

It is amazing how they used to promote the benefits of tobacco before it was proven how harmful it is. Even the Lucky Strike commercials on the Benny show say 'they pick you up when you're low, calm you down when you're tense'. In other words, you should smoke constantly. I remember the seductive cigarette commercials on TV in the 50s and 60s. But even then, I knew the truth because my father used to put tobacco juice in a Flit gun and used it to kill Japanese beetles in the garden.

[Jack Benny]

I found it interesting that this listener criticizes Jack Benny's program when it was only about five years old, long before the show really started getting good

I too have a problem with this statement, in my opinion by 1937 Jack's show was outstanding! Phil was added t the cast in 1936, and by 1937 he and the writers were starting to really find his character. Andy Devine, Eddie Anderson, Buck Benny, and the Maxwell were all introduced that year. It was a golden year for Jack and his show. To me Jack's show has two "golden" periods where everything just works - the first is 1937-1941 and the second is 1946-1949. Out of the two I find myself enjoying the '37-'41 period the most, these days!

[Roman]

Ditto on the 1937-41 shows. The addition of Phil Harris made a huge difference. He gave Jack his first great comic foil, soon to be followed by Eddie Anderson and Dennis Day. And this, combined with the earlier arrival of Ed Beloin and Bill Morrow, brought a freshness and burst of creativity to the show that separated it from its "old vaudeville" gag-a-second beginnings. Almost all of the aspects of Jack's character - his cheapness, vanity, delusions of being a talented violinist - were created during this period. And, of course, this was also the time of the Benny-Allen feud. I love the post-war shows but the ones from 1937-41 are, to my mind, Jack's greatest.

[Yhtapmys]

Ditto on the 1937-41 shows. The addition of Phil Harris made a huge difference.

It sure did. It took almost a season. It seems like the writers tried to fashion Phil as an antagonist but it just wasn't comic enough. So they tried again, starting with the old "debauched musician" cliché and building a character around that. And it worked. Even after Phil married Alice, which really should have spelled the end for a boozing womaniser. And the show wasn't the same when he left. Others put down Jack and you could miss them for a week. But Phil was unique and brought that breezy self-congratulation and deliberate corn that no one else did. His sole purpose on the show was to have fun.

Eddie Anderson really flowered, though, after the writers decided he was more than a funny voice, or someone to put into far-fetched situations (like minding a polar bear). I think he was a much better character in the Lucky Strike shows; he had more to do, got better lines and was equal with the rest of the cast in making fun of Jack. In fact, if you think about it, Rochester started as a "segment" character, like Kitzel or the Tout, who made a deliberate entrance and exit, but later was a seemless part of the plot.

Dennis' character was almost set from the beginning, though more of his talents were utilised (discovered?) later. I guess the writers either felt Verna Felton was superfluous after awhile, they ran out of fresh material, or couldn't work her into the plot, because she was great a addition as Dennis' mother.

Andy Devine was another "silly voice" guy, but he provided just enough comic relief without being too taxing.

Yhtapmys