Wrapping, unwrapping, and rewrapping a bow on a comedy classic. Guest: Guy Hutchinson. Find show notes at https://adventcalendar.house
⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This podcast discusses a 1960 episode of The Jack Benny Program in which a character shoots himself offscreen.
🎄 Join us as we second-, third-, and fourth-guess ourselves back to 1960 to go Christmas shopping with Jack Benny, the last televised version of a longtime radio favorite.
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Guy Hutchinson (GuyHutchinson.com, Drunk On Disney Podcast, @GuyHutchinson).
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1. The Television Academy Foundation’s page on Jack Benny’s Christmas Shopping show, including a video interview with show writer George Balzer.
2. The earliest Christmas Shopping variant I could find, from 1937.
3. Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, the progression of race relations, and his racehorse.
4. Finally I get to talk about Mel Blanc, the real star of this show.
5. Adjusting the $1.98 and $40 wallets for inflation.
6. A 2002 message board post on JackBenny.org answering whether Jack was a practicing Jew.
7. A tribute to Frank “Yeees?” Nelson.
8. Dennis Day and the dying practice of actors legally changing their names to their most popular characters’.
9. Stupid “the customer is always right” stories.
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Norelco Santa (circa 1961).
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“The Jack Benny Program” and “Jack Goes Christmas Shopping” ©1960 J&M Productions, Inc.
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Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house.