🎄 Wrapping, unwrapping, and rewrapping a bow on a comedy classic.
🎙 Guy Hutchinson joins 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.
🚨 Warning: In one scene, a character shoots himself offscreen.
****
đź’¬ Topics & Tangents:
The Television Academy Foundation on Jack Benny’s Christmas Shopping show, including a video interview with show writer George Balzer.
The earliest “Christmas Shopping” recording I could find, from 1937.
Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, the progression of race relations, and his racehorse.
Finally I get to talk about Mel Blanc, the real star of this show.
Adjusting the $1.98 and $40 wallets for inflation.
A 2002 message board post on JackBenny.org answering whether Jack was a practicing Jew.
A tribute to Frank “Yeees?” Nelson.
Dennis Day and the dying practice of actors legally changing their names to their most popular characters’.
Stupid “the customer is always right” stories.
****
đź“Ľ Commercials:
Norelco Santa (circa 1961).
Weird Christmas.
****
“The Jack Benny Program” and “Jack Goes Christmas Shopping” ©1960 J&M Productions, Inc.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.
🎙 Guy Hutchinson joins 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.
🚨 Warning: In one scene, a character shoots himself offscreen.
****
đź’¬ Topics & Tangents:
The Television Academy Foundation on Jack Benny’s Christmas Shopping show, including a video interview with show writer George Balzer.
The earliest “Christmas Shopping” recording I could find, from 1937.
Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, the progression of race relations, and his racehorse.
Finally I get to talk about Mel Blanc, the real star of this show.
Adjusting the $1.98 and $40 wallets for inflation.
A 2002 message board post on JackBenny.org answering whether Jack was a practicing Jew.
A tribute to Frank “Yeees?” Nelson.
Dennis Day and the dying practice of actors legally changing their names to their most popular characters’.
Stupid “the customer is always right” stories.
****
đź“Ľ Commercials:
Norelco Santa (circa 1961).
Weird Christmas.
****
“The Jack Benny Program” and “Jack Goes Christmas Shopping” ©1960 J&M Productions, Inc.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.