The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, is a radio and television comedy series.
The show ran for over three decades, from 1932 to 1955 on radio, and from 1950 to 1965 on television. It won numerous awards, including the 1959 Emmy for Best Comedy Show, and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century American comedy.
Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, and Eddie Anderson (Rochester) in a group portrait
Jack Benny as Robinson Crusoe with Dennis Day as his man Friday, 1963
Benny was part of a USO show entertaining US troops in Korea. Here, he relaxes between shows.
Jack Benny rehearses with members of the California Junior Symphony Orchestra, 1959
Jack Benny was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing the violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with a highly popular comedic career in radio, television, and film. He was known for his comic timing and the ability to cause laughter with a long pause or a single expression, such as his signature exasperated summation "Well! "
Benny in 1964
Benny in the Waukegan High School band, 1909
Benny and daughter Joan in 1940
Benny in 1933, newly arrived at NBC and the host of The Chevrolet Program