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The Jack Benny Program, which starred no less than Jack Benny himself, was a comedy series than went on-air for more than 30 years in both radio and television. It premiered on NBC Blue on May 2, 1932, and had its last episode on CBS radio on May 22, 1955, producing a total of 931 episodes. The TV adaptation, which was just a continuation of the radio program, was aired from 1950 to 1965.

Apart from lead character Jack Benny, other radio stars included in the show were Eddie Anderson, Don Wilson, Dennis Day, Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Mel Blanc, and many more.

The show made use of a show-within-format, where each character's role was no other than themselves. It would start with a performance from the orchestra, or sometimes a joke between Benny and Wilson. This was followed by gags between Benny and the rest of the cast, usually about the day's news, or about the characters themselves, most especially something about Benny's life. Click here to read more about Jack Benny Program

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Please enjoy these 764 old time radio episodes:

Air Date	Title	Synopsis
11.12.1950	a cup of coffee a sandwich and a murder	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. November 12, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. Don...
11.05.1950	coming home on the train and playing twenty questions	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. March 14, 1954. Jack and the gang play "Twenty Que...
10.29.1950	how jack met the colemans
10.22.1950	don tries to borrow fifty thousand dollars for a new candy business
10.15.1950	jack dreams he is married to mary
10.08.1950	jack listens to the world series and the dempsey tunney fight
10.01.1950	the maxwell is stolen	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. October 1, 1950. CBS net origination, AFRS rebroadca...
09.24.1950	the goldrush of 49	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. September 24, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. The...
09.17.1950	jack remembers his trip to venice	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. June 7, 1953. Program #351. CBS net origination, AFR...
09.10.1950	back from london	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. September 10, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. The...
05.28.1950	last show of the season
05.21.1950	jack gets a haircut to look his best for the sponsor
05.14.1950	mothers day gags	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. May 14, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. Jack is p...
05.07.1950	jack buys a new suit for his publicity tour	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. May 7, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. Jack discu...
04.30.1950	look magazine story
04.23.1950	beavers kids club spoof the benny show	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. April 23, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. The ent...
04.16.1950	jack gets the house painted	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. April 16, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. In the ...
04.09.1950	fifty cents to a bum	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. April 9, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. Jack and...
04.02.1950	from palm springs guest al jolson	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. April 2, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. The prog...
03.26.1950	from palm springs guest bob hope	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. March 26, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. The pro...
03.19.1950	the champion	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. March 19, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. The cas...
03.12.1950	sagebrush soap contest	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. March 12, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. Rochest...
03.05.1950	buck benny rides again	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. March 5, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. Guest Sa...
02.26.1950	the fiddler	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. February 26, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. Roch...
02.19.1950	jack returns on the train to los angeles and	+ The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. February 19, 1950. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. Jack...

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I love it!

Alison

Originally sold via TV commercials (as was other Longines Symphonette collections).

Steve

Sadly, both Jack Benny and Fred Allen are now obscure, especially the latter.

John

Pretty sure every actor is now obscure. Jack Benny had a recurring fake cowboy actor named "Rodney Dangerfield". I wonder if he provided the name for the comedian.

Jerry

Well? Well

Michael

I've got that, I love it

Joel

Sweet!!!!

Phil

Wow !

Mike

I have albums. It's chock-full of good stuff!

Joyce

I was so curious, I had to look it up.

Michael

Jack and Mary Benny my fav

David

Great fun.

Tom

Jack Benny was rad !

Christina

A good starting point for the fledgling OTR enthusiast.

Hal

I had the two volume LP edition when I was in elementary school back in the early 1970s.

Philip

What a find!!! Wow!

Jessica

it's definitely a name to live up to

George

A lot of talent

Jeremiah

ve this shot. Taking a guess, I might say it was at the Emmy awards where Groucho and Lucy were co-presenters. Lucy came along way since she co-starred with the Marx Brothers in "Room Service."

Gregory

all gone, but will never be forgotten

John

Absolutely. And her biggest contribution to showbiz, her tireless, generous and hurculean efforts to save Hollywood memorabilia.

Michael

Jack Benny and I are fraternity brothers! Hahaha

Zakery

"When you say I Beg Your Pardon, then I'll come back to you..."

Hal

That's a LOT of talent right there.

Cathey

always fun to see a 'new' shot of my comic hero-groucho

Watson

Jack knew how to get laughs and had the best comic timing of any comedian of his day. He didn't mind giving up and comers the laughs.

Lee

Without question! The best and he carried them over to TV.

Lee

And he made one of the best radio to television transitions. He was a master of both the aural and visual.

James

The saddest day of my life was the day Jack died. When I was small, I wanted to be like him.

Lee

I distinctly remember listening to a radio news report about Jack hitting his head on the roof of the auto as he was getting into a car somewhere in Texas during his days in decline. This was a very sad moment

James

He left a rich, lasting legacy that will endure as long as good comedy is welcomed and appreciated.

Lee

Such a brilliant shows. One of the all time greatest ever and puts comedians now to absolute shame!

Andrews

Many comedians today that the talent gets lost. Radio in those days was limited to three or four networks, and each of the networks worked to get the very best entertainment available. With cable, television stations, Netflix and what have you, everyone is just scrambling for whatever is there that will bring in the bucks. Competition is a good thing, but too much competition waters down the product

James

Audrey Hepburn won the lead actress Oscar for "Roman Holiday"

Mike

The radio shows are pure comic gold.

Paul

That shopping bit never got tired! Some of the most painfully funny material on radio!

Mark

An all-time great. . .I have nearly all of his OTR shows plus many TV shows and movies from his decades-long career.

Erbzine

He was just wonderful...one of my favorites, by far

Sandra

He was just wonderful...one of my favorites, by far

Greg

I liked his shows on xm radio.

David

All of them are funny and it is difficult to choose just one. I would say it my favorite would be the first episode I listened to. That episode was Jack Benny, and Phil Harris filming a movie together. Jack got upset that Phil got the bigger dressing room, and top billing.

Fred

Over the years I found myself enjoying The Jack Benny Radio Program and having heard probably every episode known to exist, turned to the television series. Musical performances by celebrity guests, for the most part, are filmed separately. Bobby Darin, Peter Paul and Mary, and others. But the biggest surprise was "The Final LeBlanc Sketch" from 1964. Mel Blanc returns as the tormented music teacher who provides music lessons for Jack Benny. The comedian is called to a psychiatrist's office to discover the patient, Professor LeBlanc, is suffering a mental breakdown. For a good while they cracked the same jokes with Benny's awful playing and the LeBlanc crying in torment. At the conclusion, Benny performs the violin beautifully and the professor is healed within seconds, pleased he accomplished what he set out to do and leaves a better man. Alone in the office, Benny tells the psychiatrist that on his television show he plays poorly just to generate laughs and asks the psychiatrist to keep his secret. A kind favor for a man he tormented for 20 years. A great way to end the closing chapter in the Professor LeBlanc saga.

Buford

The man that gave many laughs to vets including myself.

Danny

Such a great comedian!

Helen

Love those leggings.

Neil

Thank you for your service. Wish we had comedians like him now.

Jim

imagine being stationed with this wild cat? the laughing would've been non-stop!

Terry

He was GREAT Love his Shows !!

Mike

He looked like a good Squid... Always liked Jack... Salute...

Richard

Isn't it great that almost every great entertainer in the 20th and early 21st centuries served our country?

Garry

Benny was better on radio because he could use his cast better. Burns and Allen, on the other hand, were better on TV because TV George was allowed to be funnier and less angry.

Bernhard

I agree with Jack Benny being a better radio personality

Eric

I think Jack Benny was equally good on both media it was just that the presentation was different.

Arthur

I love Jack Benny.

Dona

Love In Bloom was a song that Jack routinely butchered.

John

Jack Benny could play rather well and was a wonderful gentleman............was lucky enough to have met him.

Judy

I've always enjoyed him on the Jack Benny show.

Jean

What a great entertainer. They just don't make them like that anymore. So glad Radio Spirits is out there to remind us how simple life was back then and that funny did not have to off color.

Carol

Love that Jack! His radio show makes me laugh, he was quite the man!

Jane

Jack No. 1 in my book!

Lori

Jack was truly one of the funniest men who ever lived. And yes, in those days humor had to be clever instead of vulgar. It's a matter of quality, and they had it back then--a much healthier mentality with wholesome laughter.

Shelley

He was truly one of the greatest. His show makes me laugh harder than anything we have today. How sad that being gross and spewing filth are considered the perfect comedy now.

Amanda

Love Mr. Benny!

Dwight

Some things are irreplaceable! And the Jack Benny Program is definitely high on the list.

Juergen

Love your Benny compilations! Does anyone know if there might be a definitive Jack Benny biography in the works? I've read the four earlier books and enjoyed them immensely but wondered if maybe Simon Louvish or Stefean Kanfer might be persuaded to work on one.

Chuck

I love Jack Benny, he was the best!!!

Nora

Jack was a brilliant comedian. Some of his material would never have been as funny with anyone else: his timing and character (and even his voice) all added to the effect. Interesting how he was probably most popular on radio and television, but not really as much in movies.

Pop

Love listening to his old shows.

Richard

I love Jack Benny, if only we had him in today's world. We all need a really good laugh especially with everything going on in the world today. I actually use my imagination when I listen to the Jack Benny Show. smile emoticon

Ronnie

Always loved Don Wilson voice.

Gail

Best show on radio!

Rick

I enjoyed Jack Benny.

Bob

Jack Benny is my absolute favorite

Allen

Jack Benny is my absolute favorite

Allen

The Jack Benny Program, in my educated opinion, is the epitome of the perfect comedy show both in flow and the construction of characters and tropes. The body of work that Jack and the Gang created is vast and constantly rewarding.

William

the Benny show is as close to flawless as you can get

Jean

The Jack Benny Show were my favorite

Jean

Love radio classics!!

Suzanne

Jack Benny is one of my favorite radio characters.

Sam

I Love the Jack Benny Christmas Shopping episodes with poor store clerk Mel Blanc suffering multi meltdowns over the years!!!!! Hysterically funny!!!!!!

Johnny

Love All Jack Benny Christmas shopping shows, Recommend to hear especially on Christmas.

Jim

Probably said before, but... Jack Benny. It's just not Christmas, without a little Jack. That goes for his television show as well. Got to love a loveable penny pincher forced to buy gifts. Hehe Pure gold

Brenon

I liked the episode of the TV show where they showed his vault.

Joseph

That long pause was another trademark of Jack Benny. Such excellent timing and comebacks.

Jeanette

Jack Benny are good for the folks who like it light and silly

Damian

Jack Benny is classic

George

i love Jack Benny

Tracy

Jack Benny is my favorite.

Linda

Dennis is so funny. And he could REALLY sing. the Jack Benny Show is my favorite non-detective / non-cop program on your channel (but nothing tops Richard Diamond and Johnny Dollar)

Mike

Has all of the Benny Christmas programs.

JACK BENNY CHRISTMAS COLLECTION

Benny was a popular radio comedian from 1932 until 1955. During his forty odd years on radio, many of the performers he hired went on to be stars themselves, such as Mel Blanc, Phil Harris, Dennis Day, Rochester, and Don Wilson. (check out our COMPLETE TV SERIES catalog for the TV version of this series)

JACK BENNY PROGRAM, THE

There is also a special 12th part to the series, which features a special production of Arch Obler's Cat Wife.

JACK BENNY'S GOLDEN RADIO MEMORIES

Today I run across the very first Jack Benny TV episode. It was very interesting because his radio program still had 5 years to go. Kind of primitive compared to later program. But all TV was primitive in 1950. Jack Benny Almost NEVER stepped out of character on the radio. But this TV program, his first, reminded me more of Carol Burnett in it's relaxed Style. And of course, they got in plenty of "cheap" jokes.

Don

they are delightful but not all his TV work ranked with the radio shows which were priceless.

Paul

Love these old time radio comedies - brings back some fond memories of me listening with my dad.

Marga

the comedian who never got no respect got his name. Jack Benny once visited him and complimented him on what a wonderful character he'd built around the name.

John