Jack Benny



Jack Benny (1894-1974) was a popular radio comedian, as star of The Jack Benny Program, from 1932 until 1955, and later transferred the program to television, where it ran on CBS from 1950 until 1965, and in sporadic specials thereafter. In both radio and television, Benny playrs a distinct comic characterization of himself as a vain yet insecure miser. He also appeared in many films, starring in To Be or Not to Be (later remade by Mel Brooks) and the infamous The Horn Blows at Midnight and with cameos in It's a Mad Mad Mad World and others. Benny was also a popular guest star on the talk show circuit, and appeared in the January 23, 1974 broadcast of Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show. Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog were fellow guests, and at the end of the frog's spot, Benny quipped, "This little louse is stealing the whole show!"