My first exposure to legendary entertainer Jack Benny was in, of all things, a cartoon.
As a favor to radio (and occasional TV) castmate Mel Blanc, Benny made a cartoon short for Warner Bros., "The Mouse That Jack Built", which was rare in that it had live-action footage mixed with the animation. Benny shares the screen with his rodent alter-ego for a few seconds at the end. In the course of the film, if you weren't aware of the legend of Benny, you got a crash course, as Benny brought along most of the regular cast (Mary Livingston, Don Wilson, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson) to join Blanc in the recording studio. Only Dennis Day & Phil Harris weren't available, but then again, they weren't making a full-length feature.
Benny was one of many who transitioned from radio to television. After getting his feet wet on the small screen, shall we say, he began a TV version of the long running Jack Benny Program, which aired on CBS. Revue Studios (Universal) co-produced the series with Benny's own production company. More than a decade into the run, Benny made another deal with CBS, leading to the development of a crime drama, Checkmate, which lasted just a couple of seasons. Most folks of my generation might only remember the series of periodic specials Benny did for NBC, but he did do some guest appearances here and there, like on The Dean Martin Show & The Lucy Show.
JackBennyTV offers this 1955 episode, a crossover with You Bet Your Life, in which Jack schemes to win the jackpot on Groucho Marx's iconic series.
The Sportsmen, the vocal group appearing dressed like Groucho after the first segment, didn't appear in every episode, but they were a welcome distraction here.
In the 70's, WNEW (now WNYW) had rerun rights to both Benny's & Marx's programs, but as memory serves, didn't run them back-to-back. In fact, Benny was buried in late night for some reason.
Rating: A.
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