Showing results by narrator "Jack Benny"

It was the decade of a World War and a Cold War. It was the decade of the Zoot Suit and FDR. But most of all, it was the decade of Jack Benny! Radio's favorite comedian truly came into his own during the 1940s.

Who's laughing now? It's you! Why? Because you're settling back with a rib-tickling collection of great radio comedy! All of your favorites are here: Jack and Fred, Phil and Alice, Fibber and Molly, Edgar and Charlie, George and Gracie, Lum and Abner, Snooks and Daddy, and many more! Crack a smile as the kings and queens of comedy crack wise. Here are 24 digitally restored and remastered episodes of radio revelry from shows that have kept Americans in stitches for more than 50 years.

Among radio comedy's most enduring features were its running gags - and few gags ran longer, or more hilariously, than the legendary feud between two of its great masters: Jack Benny and Fred Allen. For nearly 20 years the mere mention of Benny on an Allen program was guaranteed to produce an escalating laugh - just as bringing Allen up with Benny had listener in stitches at the mere anticipation of a response. This collection brings together the classic episodes that started it all, to the showdown that was supposed to end it once and for all.

They've been called the most successful husband and wife comedy team in history, and you'll find no dissension in these ranks. George Burns and Gracie Allen had a chemistry and wit about them that had no parallel. In this sampling of programs from the 1940s, George and Gracie face new livelihoods (and livestock) and mad undertakings (and misunderstandings). They budget and blunder alongside Bill Goodwin, Meredith Willson, Mel Blanc, and special guest Jack Benny.

Celebrate Christmas along with radio's greatest performers, characters and programs. These timeless holiday classics include moving and mirthful comedies, wholesome dramas, and adventurous missions of mercy. May these 21 digitally restored and remastered tales of nostalgia and nativity bring you cheer and become a part of your own Christmas traditions.

Cleaning up after her big New Years party, Mary thinks back to the previous night and the events that prevented Jack from joining the festivities.

It's midcentury madness as Jack Benny slides smoothly into the 1950s with great guests, hilarious running gags, and even a song or two! This classic collection features 20 episodes from Jack's final years on radio, accompanied by his constant cohorts Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Bob Crosby, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dennis Day, the Sportsmen Quartet, and Don Wilson.

A woebegone old car, a harried department store clerk, a monosyllabic man in a sombrero, and a train announcer whose line ran somewhere between Orange County and the Twilight Zone are all memorable characters from The Jack Benny Program, and all the products of a single talented throat: Mel Blanc. "The Man of a Thousand Voices" was Carmichael the Polar Bear, who lived improbably in Jack's cellar.

Hear the voices of old-time boxing greats, including Jack Dempsey, Luis Firpo, Al Mayer, Nat Fleisher, Joe Louis, Max Schmeling, Jack Johnson, Jim Jeffries, Tony Galento, Benny Leonard, and Bill Corum.

In Funny People, Steve Allen conveys by anecdote and example the unique genius of four of the great comedians who have delighted our lives: Jack Benny, George Burns, Milton Berle, and Jimmy Durante. Laugh along with Steve Allen in this witty and perceptive exploration into comedy and comedians. Steve Allen, who has written best-selling books on lots of subjects, has now written one in the field for which millions of Americans consider him to be the longest reigning authority.

Here are 12 radio episodes featuring Jack Benny in different series from the golden age of radio. This collection includes episodes from The Jack Benny Program, Suspense, The Burns & Allen Show, The Bing Crosby Show, The Ford Theatre, and many more.

Loved by millions the world over! That's Jack Benny - a man who managed to make friends in every corner of the globe (even though he never picked up the check). Here's a laughter-filled collection of Jack's international exploits, both real and imagined. From Venice to Quebec...from the Queen Mary to the Klondike...Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dennis Day, and Don Wilson are along for the ride! Are you? Passport, please!

An orange glow peeks through the window on a crisp October night. Is it a jack-o'-lantern? Or, is it the radio dial? It's both! This collection of radio's happiest Halloween moments is replete with good old-fashioned haunted houses, costume parties, cemeteries, tricks and treats. Have fun with favorites like Jack Benny, Hal Peary, William Bendix, Ozzie & Harriet, Lucille Ball, Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy, and Boris Karloff.

As a comic instrumentalist, sawing away week after week at his violin, Jack Benny stood as radio's reigning off-key virtuoso, producing more laughs per measure than any other comic before or since. This seven hour set of 14 digitally remastered radio episodes finds Benny and his badly squeaking bow mangling the classics and infuriating the long-suffering Professor Andre LeBlanc (Mel Blanc). He also discovers his "talent" as a songwriter - a skill every bit as highly developed as his ability with the violin.

Lights! Microphone! Action! Hilarious Hollywood spoofs were a beloved feature on many classic Jack Benny radio shows. Regular cast members and guest stars alike were recruited to send up cinema classics like Casablanca, High Noon, and Sunset Boulevard. Celebrities could count on large laughs - and, looking good next to Jack's lovably vainglorious and miserly self - while poking fun at their most famous films.

Any comedian can be funny in the studio, but domestic comedy is usually considered the province of actors who happen to do comedy. Jack Benny straddled the two roles for most of his career - the suave, witty master of ceremonies standing on stage in front of a curtain one moment; the put-upon householder tormented by a bumptious servant, eccentric friends, and troublesome neighbors the next.

When you're the country's favorite radio comedian, you tend to have a lot of friends. And those friends can't wait to have you stop by for a visit, crack a joke or two, play a fiddle solo, or even step out of character for a rare dramatic turn. Such was the case with Jack Benny. Consistently near the top of the rating charts with his own program, Jack was a popular guest artist on dozens of different series.

Bing Crosby hosts The Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers visits with Bergen & McCarthy, and Red Skelton heads to Dead Eye's dude ranch. Come kick up your heels with Bob Hope, "Buck Benny," Fred Allen, Fibber McGee and Molly, and more!

Jack takes a break from practicing "The Bee" on his violin so that he and the gang can go meet Phil's mother and sister who are visiting from Mobile.

Jack Benny was a fearless combat pilot, a brilliant-but-troubled surgeon, the terror of the high seas, and the hero of every conceivable caper. There was nothing Jack Benny couldn't do, or hadn't done. To hear him tell it, anyway. The classic Benny persona fit hilariously into hundreds of ridiculous roles, from rough-and-ready adventurers to athletic heroes to romantic lovers and back again. Here's a collection of some of Jack's most fabulous guises! Includes eight digitally restored and remastered episodes.