Jayne Mansfield on the Jack Benny Program: Talent Show - Season 7, Episode 8 (1956) Video

DVD: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UVV260/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=doc06-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B000UVV260

http://thefilmarchive.org/

The television version of The Jack Benny Program ran from October 28, 1950 to 1965. Initially scheduled as a series of five "specials" during the 1950--1951 season, the show appeared every six weeks for the 1951--1952 season, every four weeks for the 1952--1953 season and every three weeks in 1953--1954. For the 1953--1954 season, half the episodes were live and half were filmed during the summer, to allow Benny to continue doing his radio show. From the fall of 1954 to 1960, it appeared every other week, and from 1960 to 1965 it was seen weekly.

In September 1954, CBS premiered Chrysler's Shower of Stars co-hosted by Jack Benny and William Lundigan. It enjoyed a successful run from 1954 until 1958. Both television shows often overlapped the radio show. In fact, the radio show alluded frequently to its television counterparts. Often as not, Benny would sign off the radio show in such circumstances with the line "Well, good night, folks. I'll see you on television."

When Benny moved to television, audiences learned that his verbal talent was matched by his controlled repertory of dead-pan facial expressions and gesture. The program was similar to the radio show (several of the radio scripts were recycled for television, as was somewhat common with other radio shows that moved to television), but with the addition of visual gags. Lucky Strike was the sponsor. Benny did his opening and closing monologues before a live audience, which he regarded as essential to timing of the material. As in other TV comedy shows, canned laughter was sometimes added to "sweeten" the soundtrack, as when the studio audience missed some close-up comedy because of cameras or microphones in their way. The television viewers learned to live without Mary Livingstone, who was afflicted by a striking case of stage fright. Livingstone appeared rarely if at all on the television show (for the last few years of the radio show, she pre-recorded her lines and Jack and Mary's daughter, Joan, stood in for the live broadcast as the pre-recordings were played), and finally retired from show business permanently in 1958, as her friend Gracie Allen had done.

Benny's television program relied more on guest stars and less on his regulars than his radio program. In fact, the only radio cast members who appeared regularly on the television program as well were Don Wilson and Eddie Anderson. Day appeared sporadically, and Harris had left the radio program in 1952, although he did make a guest appearance on the television show (Bob Crosby, Phil's "replacement", frequently appeared on television through 1956). A frequent guest was the Canadian born singer-violinist Gisele Mackenzie.

Benny was able to attract guests who rarely, if ever, appeared on television. In 1953, both Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart made their television debuts on Benny's program.

Canadian singer Gisele MacKenzie, who toured with Benny in the early 1950s, guest starred seven times on The Jack Benny Program. Benny was so impressed with MacKenzie's talents that he served as co-executive producer and guest starred on her 1957--1958 NBC variety show, The Gisele MacKenzie Show.

In 1964, Walt Disney was a guest, primarily to promote his production of Mary Poppins. Benny persuaded Disney to give him over 100 free admission tickets to Disneyland for his friends, but later in the show Disney apparently sent his pet tiger after Benny as revenge, at which point Benny opened his umbrella and soared above the stage like Mary Poppins.

In due course the ratings game finally got to Benny, too. CBS dropped the show in 1964, citing Benny's lack of appeal to the younger demographic the network began courting, and he went to NBC, his original network, in the fall, only to be out-rated by CBS's Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. The network dropped Benny at the end of the season. He continued to make occasional specials into the 1970s. His last television appearance was in 1974, on a Dean Martin Roast for Lucille Ball. The videotaped show was telecast just a few weeks after his death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Benny

It's a sin? what ...
It's a sin? what the Communist Jews did to America. READ: "The Iron Curtain Over America", it's online free to read. George Licoln Rockwell was right.

I remember being in ...
I remember being in grammar school and hearing about Jayne Mansfield's fatal car accident;? so sad for her beautiful daughter. It's nice that she can see her mother's work and appreciate her talent and appeal. On another note, big tobacco needs to be shut down now. It saddens me to see young people smoking when it's so deadly (and really nasty, too).

So? were people ...
So? were people always nerdy and perfect

I want to buy a ...
I want to buy a pack of Luckys.?

Wow, Jayne was HOT! ...
Wow, Jayne was HOT!! The Lucky Strikes commercials are hilarious - best tasting cigarettes - like? they were food, hahaha.. nowadays you'll see wives snatching the cigarettes out of their husbands' lips instead of happily inserting them.

and is it wrong? ...
and is it wrong? that I laughed to tears at all the fat jokes?

Mel, you're epic!!! ...
Mel, you're epic!!! ?

So sad that tobacco ...
So sad that tobacco drug pushers were ever allowed to advertise their ILLEGAL weapon of mass destruction which KILLS 5,000,000 addicts and another 650,000 INNOCENT? people (who breathed toxic tobacco smoke) around the world, every year. BAN THE ILLEGAL TOBACCO DRUG, NOW. PROSECUTE THE TOBACCO PUSHERS, TOO!

Lol this? guys funny
Lol this? guys funny

Lucky Strikes has ...
Lucky Strikes has stretched a lot of folks out...if? you know what I mean.

The Great Mel? Blanc
The Great Mel? Blanc

i would let jane ...
i would let jane smoke my white? owl

Most of Don ...
Most of Don WIlson's opening announcement is missing, but it went like this: "From Television City in Hollywood, we bring you 'THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM'! Presented by...".? Andre Baruch, who was the announcer for Luckies' "YOUR HIT PARADE", pitches them in the first ad.

Originally telecast ...
Originally telecast live on December 30, 1956. Jayne did appear as a guest star (along with Vincent Price) on Jack's "SHOWER OF STARS" special [for Chrysler] on January 10, 1957. The "Landrews Sisters", and the closing routine with Leon Lontoc as "Leon Salvadore", originally appeared in Jack's stage shows, beginning in the mid-'30s, the latter initially staged for TV in 1952. When Benny had a surefire comedy sketch or routine, he'd reuse it over the years, in different meduims... ?

thank? you-i love ...
thank? you-i love the ciggie ads :)