Name	Jack Benny
Birth name	Benjamin Kubelsky
Birth date	February 14, 1894
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Death date	December 26, 1974
Death place	Beverly Hills, CaliforniaUnited States
Show	The Jack Benny Program
Network	NBC, CBS
Style	Comedian
Country	United States
Website	}}

Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film. Widely recognized as one of the leading American entertainers of the 20th century, Benny played the role of the comic penny-pinching miser, insisting on remaining 39 years old on stage despite his actual age, and often playing the violin badly.

Benny was known for his comic timing and his ability to get laughs with either a pregnant pause or a single expression, such as his signature exasperated "''Well!''" His radio and television programs, tremendously popular from the 1930s to the 1960s, were a foundational influence on the situation comedy genre. Dean Martin, on the celebrity roast for Johnny Carson in November 1973, introduced Benny as "the Satchel Paige of the world of comedy."

Biography

Early life

Benny was born Benjamin Kubelsky on February 14, 1894, in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in neighboring Waukegan, Illinois. He was the son of Meyer Kubelsky and Emma Sachs Kubelsky. Meyer was a Jewish saloon owner, later to become a haberdasher, who had emigrated to America from Poland. Emma had emigrated from Lithuania. Benny began studying the violin, an instrument that would become his trademark, when he was just six, with his parents' hopes that he would be a great classical violinist. He loved the violin, but hated practice. By age 14, he was playing in local dance bands as well as in his high school orchestra. Benny was a dreamer and a poor student and he was expelled from high school. He did equally badly in business school and at his father's trade. At age 17, he began playing the instrument in local vaudeville theaters for $7.50 a week. He was joined by Ned Miller, a young composer and singer, on the vaudeville circuit. They became life-long friends and Miller eventually joined the cast of ''The Jack Benny Program'' in the 1960s.

In 1911, Benny was playing in the same theater as the young Marx Brothers, whose mother Minnie was so enchanted with Benny's musicianship that she invited him to be their permanent accompanist. The plan was foiled by Benny's parents, who refused to let their son, then 17, go on the road, but it was the beginning of his long friendship with Zeppo Marx. Benny's future wife Mary Livingstone was a distant cousin of the Marx Brothers.

The following year, Benny formed a vaudeville musical duo with pianist Cora Salisbury, a buxom 45-year-old widow who needed a partner for her act. This provoked famous violinist Jan Kubelik, who thought that the young vaudeville entertainer with a similar name (Kubelsky) would damage his reputation. Under pressure from Kubelik's lawyer, Benjamin Kubelsky agreed to change his name to Ben K. Benny (sometimes spelled Bennie). When Salisbury left the act, Benny found a new pianist, Lyman Woods, and re-named the act "From Grand Opera to Ragtime". They worked together for five years and slowly added comedy elements to the show. They even reached the Palace Theater, the "Mecca of Vaudeville", but bombed. Benny left show business briefly in 1917 to join the U.S. Navy during World War I, and he often entertained the troops with his violin playing. One evening, his violin performance was booed by the troops, so with prompting from fellow sailor and actor Pat O'Brien, he ad-libbed his way out of the jam and left them laughing. He got more comedy spots in the revues and was a big hit, and earned himself a reputation as a comedian as well as a musician.

Shortly after the war, Benny started a one-man act, "Ben K. Benny: Fiddle Funology". But then he heard from another lawyer, this time that of Ben Bernie, another patter-and-fiddle performer who also threatened to sue. So Benny adopted the common sailor's nickname Jack. By 1921, the fiddle became more of a prop and the low-key comedy took over.

Benny had several romantic encounters, including one with a dancer, Mary Kelly, whose devoutly Catholic family forced her to turn down Benny's proposal because he was Jewish. Benny was introduced to Mary Kelly by Gracie Allen. Some years after their split, Kelly resurfaced as a dowdy fat girl and Jack gave her a part in an act of three girls: one homely, one fat and one who couldn't sing. This lasted until, at Mary Livingstone's request, Mary Kelly was let go.

In 1922, Jack accompanied Zeppo Marx to a Passover seder where he met Sadye (Sadie) Marks, whom he married in 1927 after meeting again on a double-date. She was working in the hosiery section of the Hollywood Boulevard branch of the May Company and Benny would court her there. Called on to fill in for the "dumb girl" part in one of Benny's routines, Sadie proved a natural comedienne and a big hit. Adopting Mary Livingstone as her stage name, Sadie became Benny's collaborator throughout most of his career. They later adopted a daughter, Joan.

In 1929, Benny's agent Sam Lyons convinced MGM's Irving Thalberg to catch Benny's act at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. Benny was signed to a five-year contract and his first film role was in ''The Hollywood Revue of 1929''. His next movie, ''Chasing Rainbows'', was a flop and after several months, Benny was released from his contract and returned to Broadway in Earl Carroll's ''Vanities''. At first dubious about the viability of radio, Benny was eager to break into the new medium. In 1932, after a four-week nightclub run, he was invited onto Ed Sullivan's radio program, uttering his first radio spiel "This is Jack Benny talking. There will be a slight pause while you say, 'Who cares?'..."

Radio

History

Benny had been only a minor vaudeville performer, but he became a national figure with ''The Jack Benny Program'', a weekly radio show which ran from 1932 to 1948 on NBC and from 1949 to 1955 on CBS. It was consistently among the most highly rated programs during most of that run.

On April 6, 1932, the NBC Commercial Program Department arranged for an audition of Jack Benny for Ayer and its client Canada Dry, after which its head, Bertha Brainard made an assessment of this new comic: “We think Mr. Benny is excellent for radio, and while the audition was unassisted as far as orchestra was concerned, we believe he would make a great bet for an air program.” With Canada Dry Ginger Ale as a sponsor, Benny came to radio on ''The Canada Dry Program'', beginning May 2, 1932, on the NBC Blue Network and continuing there for six months until October 26, moving the show to CBS on October 30. With Ted Weems leading the band, Benny stayed on CBS until January 26, 1933. The commercial ran twice a week from 9:30 to 10:00, it ran for almost a year.

Arriving at NBC on March 17, Benny did ''The Chevrolet Program'' until April 1, 1934. He continued with sponsor General Tire through the end of the season. In October, 1934, General Foods, the makers of ''Jell-O'' and ''Grape-Nuts'', became the sponsor most identified with Jack, for the next ten years. American Tobacco's ''Lucky Strike'' was his longest-lasting radio sponsor, from October, 1944, through the end of his original radio series.

The show switched networks to CBS on January 2, 1949, as part of CBS president William S. Paley's notorious "raid" of NBC talent in 1948–49. There it stayed for the remainder of its radio run, which ended on May 22, 1955. CBS aired repeats of old radio episodes from 1956 to 1958 as ''The Best of Benny''.

Characters

Benny's stage character was just about everything the actual Jack Benny was not: cheap, petty, vain, and self-congratulatory. His comic rendering of these traits became the linchpin to the Benny show's success. Benny set himself up as the comedic foil, allowing his supporting characters to draw laughs at the expense of his character's flaws. By allowing such a character to be seen as human and vulnerable, in an era where few male characters were allowed such obvious vulnerability, Benny made what might have been a despicable character into a lovable Everyman character. Benny himself said on several occasions: "I don't care ''who'' gets the laughs on my show, as long as the ''show'' is funny." In her book, Benny's daughter Joan said her father always said it doesn't matter who gets laughs, because come the next day they will say, "Remember the Jack Benny Show, last night, it was good, or it was bad." Jack felt he got the credit or blame either way, not the actor saying the lines, so it had better be funny.

The supporting characters who amplified that vulnerability only too gladly included wife Mary Livingstone as his wisecracking and not especially deferential female friend (not quite his girlfriend, since Benny would often try to date movie stars like Barbara Stanwyck, and occasionally had stage girlfriends such as "Gladys Zybisco"); rotund announcer Don Wilson (who also served as announcer for Fanny Brice's hit, ''Baby Snooks''); bandleader Phil Harris as a jive-talking, wine-and-women type whose repartee was rather risqué for its time; boy tenor Dennis Day, who was cast as a sheltered, naïve youth who still got the better of his boss as often as not (this character was originated by Kenny Baker, but perfected by Day); and, especially, Eddie Anderson as valet-chauffeur Rochester van Jones who was as popular as Benny himself.

And that was itself a radical proposition for the era: unlike the protagonists of ''Amos 'n' Andy'', Rochester was a black man allowed to one-up his vain, skinflint boss. In more ways than one, with his mock-befuddled one-liners and his sharp retorts, he broke a comedic racial barrier. Unlike many black supporting characters of the time, Rochester was depicted and treated as a regular member of Benny's fictional household. Benny, in character, tended if anything to treat Rochester more like an equal partner than as a hired domestic, even though gags about Rochester's flimsy salary were a regular part of the show.

Rochester seemed to see right through his boss's vanities and knew how to prick them without overdoing it, often with his famous line "Oh, Boss, come now!" Benny deserves credit for allowing this character and the actor who played him (it is difficult, if not impossible, to picture any other performer giving Rochester what Anderson gave him) to transcend the era's racial stereotype and for not discouraging his near-equal popularity. A New Year's Eve episode, in particular, shows the love each performer had for the other, quietly toasting each other with champagne. That this attention to Rochester's race was no accident became clearer during World War II, when Benny would frequently pay tribute to the diversity of Americans who had been drafted into service.

After the war, once the depths of Nazi race hatred had been revealed, Benny made a conscious effort to remove the most stereotypical aspects of Rochester's character. In 1948, it became apparent to Benny how much the times had changed when a 1941 script for "The Jack Benny Program" was re-used for one week's show. The script included mention of several African-American stereotypes (i.e. a reference to Rochester carrying a razor), and prompted a number of listeners, who didn't know the script was an old one, to send in angry letters protesting the stereotypes. Thereafter, Benny insisted that his writers should make sure that no racial jokes or references should be heard on his show. Benny also often gave key guest-star appearances to African-American performers such as Louis Armstrong and The Ink Spots.

The rest of Benny's cast included character actors and comedians:

Sheldon Leonard (later a hugely successful television producer and creator) as a tight-lipped racetrack tout

Joseph Kearns (best remembered as cantankerous Mr. Wilson on the television version of ''Dennis the Menace'') as Ed, the superannuated guard to Jack's money vault

Verna Felton as Dennis Day's mother

Frank Nelson, usually as an oily desk clerk or floorwalker, always greeting Benny with an eager ''Yeeeeeeesss?'';

singer/bandleader Bob Crosby (who succeeded Phil Harris in the early 1950s);

Artie Auerbach as the Yiddish-accented Mr. Kitzel ("hoo, hoo, ''hoo!''");

Bea Benaderet, as Gertrude the switchboard operator;

Mel Blanc, who provided several characters' voices, including the railroad station announcer who said, "Train leaving on track five for Anaheim, Azusa and Cucamonga!". This running gag became so well known that it eventually led to a statue of Benny in Cucamonga. Blanc also was featured with Benny in the classic ''Si-Sy'' routine and on radio as the sound of Benny's Maxwell automobile. Blanc is perhaps best remembered as Benny's perpetually frustrated violin teacher, Professor LeBlanc, who was as likely to throw his own and Benny's instrument into the fireplace as he was to have a nervous breakdown before he was out the door.

Other musical contributions came starting in 1946 from the singing quartet the Sportsmen (members: Bill Days, Max Smith, Marty Sperzel and Gurney Bell) singing the middle Lucky Strike commercial. In the early days of the program, the supporting characters were often vaudevillian ethnic stereotypes whose humor was grounded in dialects. As the years went by, the humor of these figures became more character-based.

Benny's method of bringing a character into a skit, by announcing his name, also became a well-known Benny shtick: "Oh, Dennis..." or "Oh, Rochester..." typically answered by, "Yes, Mr. Benny (Boss)?"

Situations

''The Jack Benny Program'' evolved from a variety show blending sketch comedy and musical interludes into the situation comedy form we know even now, crafting particular situations and scenarios from the fictionalization of Benny the radio star. Any situation from hosting a party to income tax time to a night on the town was good for a Benny show, and somehow the writers and star would find the right ways and places to insert musical interludes from Phil Harris and Dennis Day. With Day, invariably, it would be a brief sketch that ended with Benny ordering Day to sing the song he planned to do on that week's show.

One extremely popular scenario that became an annual tradition on ''The Jack Benny Program'' was the "Christmas Shopping" episode, in which Benny would head to a local department store. Each year, Benny would buy a ridiculously cheap Christmas gift for Don Wilson from a store clerk played by Mel Blanc. Benny would then have second (then third, and even fourth) thoughts about his gift choice, driving Blanc (or, in two other cases, his wife and his psychiatrist, as well) to hilarious insanity by exchanging the gift, pestering about the Christmas card or wrapping paper countless times throughout the episode: in many cases, the clerk would commit suicide, or attempt and fail to commit suicide ("Look what you done! You made me so nervous, I missed!") as a result.

In the 1946 Christmas episode, for example, Benny buys shoelaces for Don, and then is unable to make up his mind whether to give Wilson shoelaces with plastic tips or shoelaces with metal tips. After Benny exchanges the shoelaces repeatedly, Mel Blanc is heard screaming insanely, "Plastic tips! Metal tips! I can't stand it anymore!" A variation in 1948 concerned Benny buying an expensive wallet for Don, but repeatedly changing the greeting card inserted—prompting Blanc to shout: "I haven't run into anyone like you in 20 years! Oh, why did the governor have to give me that pardon!?" – until Benny realizes that he should have gotten Don a wallet for $1.98, whereupon the put-upon clerk immediately responds by committing suicide. Over the years, in these Christmas episodes, Benny bought and repeatedly exchanged cuff links, golf tees, a box of dates, a paint set, and even a gopher trap.

In 1936, after a few years broadcasting from New York, Benny moved the show to Los Angeles, allowing him to bring in guests from among his show business friends — such as Frank Sinatra, James Stewart, Judy Garland, Barbara Stanwyck, Bing Crosby, Burns and Allen (George Burns was Benny's closest friend), and many others. Burns and Allen and Orson Welles guest hosted several episodes in March and April 1943 when Benny was seriously ill with pneumonia, while Ronald Colman and his wife Benita Hume appeared frequently in the 1940s as Benny's long-suffering neighbors.

Sponsors

In the early days of radio (and in the early television era, often as not), the airtime was owned by the sponsor, and Benny made a point of incorporating the commercials into the body of the show. Sometimes the sponsors were the butt of jokes, though Benny did not deploy this device as frequently as his friend and "rival" Fred Allen did at the time, or as his cast member Phil Harris later did on his own successful radio sitcom. Nevertheless, for many years Benny insisted in contract negotiations that his writers pen the sponsor's commercial in the middle of the program (leaving the sponsor to provide the opening and closing spots) and the resulting ads were cleverly and wittily worked into the storyline of the show. For example, on one program, Don Wilson accidentally misread Lucky Strike's slogan ("Be happy, go Lucky") as "Be Lucky, go happy", prompting a story arc over several weeks that had Wilson unable to attend the show due to being severely traumatized by the error.

In fact, the radio show was generally not announced as ''The Jack Benny Program''. Instead, the primary name of the show tied to the sponsor. Benny's first sponsor was Canada Dry Ginger Ale from 1932 to 1933. Benny's sponsors included Chevrolet from 1933 to 1934, General Tire in 1934, and Jell-O from 1934 to 1942. ''The Jell-O Program Starring Jack Benny'' was so successful in selling Jell-O, in fact, that General Foods could not manufacture it fast enough when sugar shortages arose in the early years of World War II, and the company had to stop advertising the popular dessert mix. General Foods switched the Benny program from Jell-O to Grape-Nuts from 1942 to 1944, and it became, naturally, ''The Grape Nuts Program Starring Jack Benny''. Benny's longest-running sponsor, however, was the American Tobacco Company's Lucky Strike cigarettes, from 1944 to 1955, when the show was usually announced as ''The Lucky Strike Program starring Jack Benny''.

Writers

Benny was notable for employing a small group of writers, most of whom stayed with him for many years. This was very much in contrast to other successful radio or television comedians, such as Bob Hope, who would change writers frequently. Historical accounts (like those by longtime Benny writer Milt Josefsberg) indicate that Benny's role was essentially that of both head writer and director of his radio programs, though he was not credited in either capacity. In contrast to Fred Allen, who initially personally wrote all of his own radio scripts (and continued to extensively rewrite scripts produced in later years by a writing staff), Jack Benny was often described by his writers as a consummate comedy editor rather than a writer per se. He would often debate the precise wording of jokes, and always sought to ensure the preservation of the integrity of the show's characters above easy gags.

Theme music

During his early radio shows, there was no recurring theme, the program instead opening each week with a different then-current popular song. Throughout the Jello and Grapenuts years, announcer Don Wilson would announce the name of the show, some of the cast, and then state "The orchestra opens the program with [name of song]". The orchestra number would continue softly as background for Don Wilson's opening commercial.

Starting in the Lucky Strike era, Benny adopted a medley of "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "Love in Bloom" as his theme music, opening every show. "Love in Bloom" later became the theme of his television show as well. His radio shows often ended with the orchestra playing "Hooray for Hollywood". The TV show ended with one of two bouncy instrumentals written for the show by his musical arranger and conductor, Mahlon Merrick.

Benny would sometimes joke about the propriety of "Love in Bloom" as his theme song. On a segment often played in ''Tonight Show'' retrospectives, Benny talks with Johnny Carson about this. Benny says he has no objections to the song in and of itself, only as ''his theme.'' Proving his point, he begins reciting the lyrics slowly and deliberately: "Can it be the ''trees.'' That fill the breeze. With rare and magic perfume. Now what the hell has that got to do with ''me?''"

"Your money or your life"

In an episode broadcast March 28, 1948, Benny borrowed neighbor Ronald Colman's Oscar, and was returning home when accosted by a mugger (voiced by comedian Eddie Marr). After asking for a match to light a cigarette, the mugger demanded, "Don't make a move, this is a stickup. Now, come on. Your money or your life." Benny paused, and the studio audience—knowing his skinflint character—laughed. The robber then repeated his demand: "Look, bud! I said your money or your life!" And that's when Benny snapped back, without a break, "I'm thinking it over!" This time, the audience laughed louder and longer than they had during the pause.

The punchline came to Benny staff writers John Tackaberry and Milt Josefsberg almost by accident. Writer George Balzer described the scene to author Jordan R. Young, for ''The Laugh Crafters'', a 1999 book of interviews with veteran radio and television comedy writers: :... they had come to a point where they had the line, "Your money or your life." And that stopped them... Milt is pacing up and down, trying to get a follow... And he gets a little peeved at Tack, and he says, "For God's sakes, Tack, say something." Tack, maybe he was half asleep—in defense of himself, says, "I'm thinking it over." And Milt says, "Wait a minute. That's it." And that's the line that went in the script... By the way, that was ''not'' the biggest laugh that Jack ever got. It has the reputation of getting the biggest laugh. But that's not true.

The actual length of the laugh the joke got was five seconds when originally delivered and seven seconds when the gag was reprised on a follow-up show. In fact, the joke is probably not so memorable for the length of the laugh it provoked, but because it became the definitive "Jack Benny joke"—the joke that best illustrated Benny's "stingy man" persona. The punchline—"I'm thinking it over!"—simply would not have worked with any other comedian but Benny.

The actual longest laugh known to collectors of ''The Jack Benny Program'' lasted in excess of 32 seconds. The International Jack Benny Fan Club reports that, at the close of the program broadcast on December 13, 1936, sponsored by Jell-O, guest Andy Devine says that it is the "last number of the eleventh program in the new Jelly series." The audience, who loved any sort of accidental flub in the live program, is still laughing after 32 seconds, at which point the network cut off the program to prevent it from running overtime.

According to Jack himself, Mary Livingstone got the biggest laugh he ever heard on the show, on the April 25, 1948 broadcast. The punchline was the result of the following exchange between Don Wilson and noted opera singer Dorothy Kirsten:

:Don Wilson: Oh, Miss Kirsten, I wanted to tell you that I saw you in "Madame Butterfly" Wednesday afternoon, and I thought your performance was simply magnificent. :Dorothy Kirsten: Well, thanks, awfully. It's awfully nice and kind of you, Mr. Wilson. But, uh, who could help singing Puccini? It's so expressive. And particularly in the last act, starting with the ''allegro vivacissimo''. :Don Wilson: Well, now, that's being very modest, Miss Kirsten. But not every singer has the necessary ''bel canto'' and flexibility or range to cope with the high ''tessitura'' of the first act. :Dorothy Kirsten: Thank you, Mr. Wilson. And don't you think that in the aria, "''Un bel dì vedremo''", that the strings played the ''con molto passione'' exceptionally fine and with great ''sostenuto''? :Jack Benny: Well, I thought-- :Mary Livingstone (to Jack): Oh, shut up!

According to Jack, the huge laugh resulted from the long buildup, and the audience's knowledge that Jack, with his pompous persona, would have to break into the conversation at some point.

A nearly identical exchange occurred over a year earlier, among renowned violinist Isaac Stern, actor Ronald Colman, Jack Benny, and Mary Livingstone. The quartet's back-and-forth, which centered on Stern's recent public performance of a Mendelssohn piece, was heard on an episode first broadcast on February 16, 1947. The resulting laughter lasted some 18 seconds, after which Jack retorted, "Mary, that's no way to talk to Mr. Stern."

Later in life, when performing as a stand-up comedian in Las Vegas, Jack had just begun to tell an old joke about the salesman, the farmer and the farmer's daughter: "So the salesman and the farmer's daughter come to the front door, and the farmer opens the door." At this point, Sammy Davis, Jr. walks onstage behind Jack, the audience screams, and Sammy proceeds to speak and sing and dance about 25 minutes or so, while Jack continues to stand at center stage, quietly watching the spectacle. When Davis finally walks offstage and the audience's applause dies down, Jack continues to watch Davis offstage for a few moments, then as the audience is finally quiet continues: "... So the farmer said--" And that's about as far as that joke got, because the audience laughed for minutes afterward.

The Benny-Allen "feud"

In 1937 Benny began his famous radio "feud" with rival Fred Allen. Allen kicked the "feud" off on his own show, after child violinist Stewart Canin gave a performance credible enough that Allen wisecracked about "a certain alleged violinist" who should by comparison be ashamed of himself. Benny, who either listened to the Allen show or was told about the crack, answered in kind on his own show. And the two comedians were off and running.

For a decade, the two went at it back and forth, so convincingly that fans of either show could have been forgiven for believing they had become blood enemies. In fact, the two men were good friends and each other's greatest admirers. Benny and Allen often appeared on each other's show during the thick of the "feud"; numerous surviving episodes of both comedians' radio shows feature each other, in both acknowledged guest spots and occasional cameos. Benny in his eventual memoir (''Sunday Nights at Seven'') and Allen in his ''Treadmill to Oblivion'' later revealed that each comedian's writing staff often met together to plot future takes on the mock feud. If Allen zapped Benny with a satirisation of Benny's show ("The Pinch Penny Program"), Benny shot back with a parody of Allen's early favourite, ''Town Hall Tonight''. Benny's parody? "Clown Hall Tonight." And their playful sniping ("Benny was born ignorant, and he's been losing ground ever since") was also advanced in the films ''Love Thy Neighbor'' and ''It's in the Bag!''.

Perhaps the climax of the "feud" came during Fred Allen's parody of popular quiz-and-prize show ''Queen for a Day'', which was barely a year old when Allen decided to have a crack at it on ''The Fred Allen Show''---an episode that has survived for today's listeners to appreciate. Calling the sketch "King for a Day", Allen played the host and Benny a contestant who sneaked onto the show using the alias Myron Proudfoot. Benny answered the prize-winning question correctly and Allen crowned him "king" and showered him with a passel of almost meaningless prizes. Allen proudly announced, "Tomorrow night, in your ermine robe, you will be whisked by bicycle to Orange, New Jersey, where you will be the judge in a chicken-cleaning contest." To which Benny joyously declared, "I'm ''king'' for a day!" At this point a professional pressing-iron was wheeled on stage, to press Benny's suit properly. It didn't matter that Benny was still ''in'' the suit. Allen instructed his aides to remove Benny's suit, one item at a time, ending with his trousers, each garment's removal provoking louder laughter from the studio audience. As his trousers began to come off, Benny howled, "Allen, you haven't seen the ''end'' of me!" At once Allen shot back, "It won't be long ''now!''"

The laughter was so loud and chaotic at the chain of events that the Allen show announcer, Kenny Delmar, was cut off the air while trying to read a final commercial and the show's credits. (Allen was notorious for running overtime often enough, largely thanks to his ad-libbing talent, and he overran the clock again this time.)

Benny was profoundly shaken by Allen's sudden death of a heart attack in 1956. In a statement released on the day after Allen's death, Benny said, "People have often asked me if Fred Allen and I were really friends in real life. My answer is always the same. You couldn't have such a long-running and successful feud as we did, without having a deep and sincere friendship at the heart of it."

The CBS talent raid

On the advice of MCA's Lew Wasserman, Jack Benny formed a holding company, "Amusement Enterprises" (a tax break major entertainers usually enjoyed in those years), which allowed him to bundle his entire program and personnel into a single commodity. The company also gave Benny the opportunity to produce and package other radio programs (including his 1947 summer replacement series starring Jack Paar), and invest in other entertainment ventures, including the production of a 1949 feature film, ''The Lucky Stiff'', starring Dorothy Lamour, and as a key financial backer of the 1948 Broadway version of Mister Roberts, starring Henry Fonda. While Benny was top of the proverbial heap on NBC, CBS czar William S. Paley cast a hungry eye upon the comedian. Paley apparently had good reason to believe Benny could be had. In the summer of 1948, he successfully negotiated a deal with Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, buying ''their'' holding company, which owned the Amos 'n' Andy radio show (and the rights to those characters), moving the entire "package" from NBC to CBS that fall: he then learned that NBC balked at buying a "Jack Benny" package deal when "Jack Benny" was not the star's real name. Paley reached out to Benny and offered him a deal that would allow that package-buy.

But Paley, according to CBS historian Robert Metz, also learned that Benny chafed under NBC's almost indifferent attitude toward the talent that attracted the listeners. NBC, under the leadership of David Sarnoff, seemed at the time to think that listeners were listening to NBC because of NBC itself. To Paley, according to Metz, that was foolish thinking at best: Paley believed listeners were listening because of the talent, not because of which platform hosted them. When Paley said as much to Benny, the comedian agreed. Because Paley took a personal interest in the Benny negotiations, as opposed to Sarnoff who had never met his top-rated star, Benny was convinced to make the jump. He convinced a number of his fellow NBC performers (notably Burns and Allen, Edgar Bergen, Red Skelton and Kate Smith) to join him.

To sweeten the deal for a very nervous sponsor, Paley also agreed to make up the difference to American Tobacco if Benny's Hooper rating (the radio version of today's Nielsen ratings) on CBS fell to a certain level below his best NBC Hooper rating. Benny's CBS debut on January 2, 1949 bested his top NBC rating by several points while also pumping up the ratings of the show that followed, ''Amos 'n' Andy''. NBC, with its smash Sunday night lineup now broken up, offered lucrative new deals to two of those Sunday night hits, ''The Fred Allen Show'' and ''The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show''. Benny's bandleader and his singing actress wife now starred in their own hit sitcom, meaning Harris was featured on shows for two different networks.

Benny and Sarnoff eventually met several years later and became good friends. Benny said that if he had had this kind of relationship with Sarnoff earlier, when he was Sarnoff's number-one radio star, he never would have left NBC.

Television

Benny first appeared on television in a brief appearance on the inaugural broadcast of Los Angeles station KTTV (Channel 11) on January 1, 1949. KTTV was the Los Angeles CBS Television outlet at the time.

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 Celebrity Roast for Lucille Ball. The videotaped show was telecast just a few weeks after his death.

In his unpublished autobiography, ''I Always Had Shoes'' (portions of which were later incorporated by Jack's daughter, Joan, into her memoir of her parents, ''Sunday Nights at Seven''), Benny said that he, not NBC, made the decision to end his TV series in 1965. He said that while the ratings were still very good (he cited a figure of some 18 million viewers per week, although he qualified that figure by saying he never believed the ratings services were doing anything more than guessing, no matter what they promised), advertisers were complaining that commercial time on his show was costing nearly twice as much as what they paid for most other shows, and he had grown tired of what was called the "rate race." Thus, after some three decades on radio and television in a weekly program, Jack Benny went out on top. In fairness, Benny himself shared Fred Allen's ambivalence about television, though not quite to Allen's extent. "By my second year in television, I saw that the camera was a man-eating monster...It gave a performer close-up exposure that, week after week, threatened his existence as an interesting entertainer."

In a joint appearance with Phil Silvers on Dick Cavett's show, Benny recalled that he had advised Silvers not to appear on television. However, Silvers ignored Benny's advice and proceeded to win several Emmy awards as Sergeant Bilko on the popular series ''The Phil Silvers Show'', while Benny claimed he never won any of the television honors.

Movies

Benny also acted in movies, including the Academy Award-winning ''The Hollywood Revue of 1929'', ''Broadway Melody of 1936'' (as a benign nemesis for Eleanor Powell and Robert Taylor), ''George Washington Slept Here'' (1942), and notably, ''Charley's Aunt'' and ''To Be or Not to Be''. He and Livingstone also appeared in Ed Sullivan's ''Mr. Broadway'' (1933) as themselves. Benny often parodied contemporary movies and movie genres on the radio program, and the 1940 film ''Buck Benny Rides Again'' features all the main radio characters in a funny Western parody adapted from program skits. The failure of one Benny vehicle, ''The Horn Blows at Midnight'', became a running gag on his radio program, although contemporary viewers may not find the film as disappointing as the jokes suggest.

Benny may have had an unbilled cameo role in ''Casablanca'' (claimed by a contemporary newspaper advertisement and reportedly in the ''Casablanca'' press book). When asked in his column "Movie Answer Man", critic Roger Ebert first replied, "It looks something like him. That's all I can say." In response to a follow-up question in his next column, he stated, "I think you're right."

Benny also was caricatured in several Warner Brothers cartoons including ''Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur'' (1939, as Casper the Caveman), ''I Love to Singa'', ''Slap Happy Pappy'', and ''Goofy Groceries'' (1936, 1940, and 1941 respectively, as Jack Bunny), ''Malibu Beach Party'' (1940, as himself), and ''The Mouse that Jack Built'' (1959). The last of these is probably the most memorable: Robert McKimson engaged Benny and his actual cast (Mary Livingstone, Eddie Anderson, and Don Wilson) to do the voices for the mouse versions of their characters, with Mel Blanc—the usual Warner Brothers cartoon voicemeister—reprising his old vocal turn as the always-aging Maxwell, always a ''phat''-phat-''bang!'' away from collapse. In the cartoon, Benny and Livingstone agree to spend their anniversary at the Kit-Kat Club, which they discover the hard way is inside the mouth of a live cat. Before the cat can devour the mice, Benny himself awakens from his dream, then shakes his head, smiles wryly, and mutters, "Imagine, me and Mary as little mice." Then, he glances toward the cat lying on a throw rug in a corner and sees his and Livingstone's cartoon alter egos scampering out of the cat's mouth. The cartoon ends with a classic Benny look of befuddlement. It was rumored that Benny requested that, in lieu of monetary compensation, he receive a copy of the finished film.

Running gags

Benny teamed with Fred Allen for the best-remembered running gag in classic radio history, in terms of character dialogue. But Benny alone sustained a classic repertoire of running gags in his own right, including his skinflint radio and television persona, his perpetual stage age of 39, and his atonal violin playing.

A skit heard numerous times on radio, and seen many times on television, had Mel Blanc as a Mexican in a sombrero and sarape sitting on a bench. Jack Benny sits down and begins a conversation. To each question asked by Benny, Blanc replies Si, Benny asks his name, Blanc replies Sy and when Benny asks where Blanc is going, Blanc replies, "to see his sister", Sue.

A running gag in Benny's private life concerned George Burns. To Benny's eternal frustration, he could never get Burns to laugh. Burns, on the other hand, could crack Benny up with the least effort. An example of this occurred at a party when Benny pulled out a match to light a cigar. Burns announced to all, "Jack Benny will now perform the famous match trick!" Benny had no idea what Burns was talking about, so he proceeded to light up. Burns observed, "Oh, a new ending!" and Benny collapsed in helpless laughter.

Benny even had a sound-based running gag of his own: his famous basement vault alarm, allegedly installed by Spike Jones, ringing off with a shattering cacophony of whistles, sirens, bells, and blasts, before ending invariably with the sound of a foghorn. The alarm rang off even when Benny opened his safe with the correct combination. The vault also featured a guard named Ed (voiced by Joseph Kearns) who had been on post down below before, apparently, the end of the Civil War, the end of the Revolutionary War, the founding of Los Angeles, on Jack's 38th birthday, and even the beginning of humanity. In one appearance, Ed asked Benny, "By the way, Mr. Benny...what's it like on the outside?" Benny responded, "...winter is nearly here, and the leaves are falling." Ed responded, "Hey, that must be exciting." To which Benny replied (in a stunningly risqué joke for the period), "Oh, no—people are wearing clothes now." In one episode of the Benny radio show, Ed the Guard actually agreed when Jack invited him to take a break and come back to the surface world, only to discover that modern conveniences and transportation, which hadn't been around the last time he'd been to the surface, terrorized and confused him. (Poor Ed thought a crosstown bus was "a red and yellow dragon.") Finally, Ed decides to return to his post fathoms below and stay there. The basement vault gag was also used in the cartoon ''The Mouse that Jack Built'' and an episode of ''The Lucy Show''.

A separate sound gag involved a song Benny had written, "When You Say I Beg Your Pardon, Then I'll Come Back to You." Its inane lyrics and insipid melody guaranteed that it would never be published or recorded, but Benny continued to try to con, extort, or otherwise inveigle some of his musical guests (including The Smothers Brothers and Peter, Paul and Mary) to perform it. None ever made it all the way through.

In keeping with his "stingy" schtick, on one of his television specials he remarked that, to his way of looking at things, a "special" is when the price of coffee is marked down.

The explanation usually given for the "stuck on 39" running joke is that he had celebrated his birthday on-air when he turned 39, and decided to do the same the following year, because "there's nothing funny about 40." Upon his death, having celebrated his 39th birthday 41 times, some newspapers continued the joke with headlines such as "Jack Benny Dies – At 39?"

Another popular running gag concerned the social habits of Benny's on-air orchestra, who were consistently portrayed as a bunch of drunken ne'er-do-wells. Led first by Phil Harris and later by Bob Crosby, the orchestra, and in particular band member Frank Remley, were jokingly portrayed as often being too drunk to play properly, using an overturned bass drum to play cards on just minutes before a show, and so enamored by liquor that the sight of a glass of milk would make them sick. Remley was portrayed in various unflattering situations, such as being thrown into a garbage can by a road sweeper who had found him passed out in the street at 4 am, and on a wanted poster at the Beverly Hills police station. Crosby also got consistent laughs by frequently joking about his more famous brother Bing's vast wealth.

The Maxwell

Starting on the radio show, a running joke was that Benny drove a Maxwell automobile, a brand that went out of business in 1925. Benny's old car was so worn out that it would barely run, but the miserly Benny insisted he could get a few more miles out of it. When a sound effects man missed a cue for the automobile engine, Mel Blanc quickly improvised a vocal imitation of a sputtering car engine that was so funny it became a regular feature of the show. By 1943, Jack Benny's Maxwell had become such a well known aspect of popular culture that it was referenced in the Spike Jones record "The Sound Effects Man".

When the Jack Benny Program began appearing on television in 1950, a 1916 Maxwell Model 25 Tourer became one of the production's standard props. Benny's Maxwell later became a 1923 Tourer. In addition to on the program, Benny would often make public appearances in Maxwells. He appeared behind the wheel of one in the film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and drove a Maxwell onto the stage in one of his last television specials. Benny and his archaic auto were featured in a series of television and print ads for Texaco from the 1950s through the 1970s. A series of gags were built around the premise that Benny appreciated the value of "Sky Chief" brand gasoline in keeping his car running smoothly, but was too cheap to buy more than one gallon at a time.

Final years

After his broadcasting career ended, Benny performed live as a stand up comedian and returned to films in 1963 with a cameo appearance in ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World''. Benny was preparing to star in the film version of Neil Simon's ''The Sunshine Boys'' when his health failed. In fact, he prevailed upon his longtime best friend, George Burns, to take his place on a nightclub tour while preparing for the film. (Burns ultimately had to replace Benny in the film as well and went on to win an Academy Award for his performance).

Benny made one of his final television appearances in the fall of 1972 on ''The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson'' when Carson celebrated his 10th anniversary. (An audio recording featuring highlights of Benny's appearance is featured on the album ''Here's Johnny: Magic Moments From The Tonight Show'' released in 1973.) During this appearance, he stated that he loved the violin so much, "if God came to me and said 'Jack, starting tomorrow I will make you one of the world's great violinists, but no more will you ever be able to tell a joke', I really believe that I would accept that." He also related something Isaac Stern once told him: "You know, Jack, when you walk out in front of a symphony orchestra in white tie and tails and your violin, you actually ''look'' like one of the world's great violinists. It's a damned shame you have to ''play''!" Jokes aside, Benny was a serious, dedicated violinist who could play aside Stern and not embarrass himself.

Death

In October 1974, Benny canceled a performance in Dallas after suffering a dizzy spell, coupled with numbness in his arms. Despite a battery of tests, Benny's ailment could not be determined. When he complained of stomach pains in early December, a first test showed nothing, but a subsequent one showed he had inoperable pancreatic cancer. Choosing to spend his final days at home, he was visited by close friends including George Burns, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Carson and New Zealand crooner John Rowles. He died on December 26, 1974. Bob Hope delivered the eulogy at his funeral. Two days after his death, he was interred in a crypt at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. Benny's will arranged for flowers, specifically a single long-stemmed red rose, to be delivered to his widow, Mary Livingstone, every day for the rest of her life. Livingstone died nine years later on June 30, 1983.

In trying to explain his successful life, Benny summed it up by stating "Everything good that happened to me happened by accident. I was not filled with ambition nor fired by a drive toward a clear-cut goal. I never knew exactly where I was going."

Upon his death, his family donated to UCLA his personal, professional, and business papers, as well as a collection of his television shows. The university established the Jack Benny Award in his honor in 1977 to recognize outstanding people in the field of comedy. Johnny Carson was the first award recipient. Benny also donated a Stradivarius violin purchased in 1957 to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Benny had commented, "If it isn't a $30,000 Strad, I'm out $120."

Honors

Jack Benny has one star each on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for TV, film, and radio.

Posthumous tributes

When the price of a standard first-class US postal stamp was increased to 39 cents in 2006, fans petitioned for a Jack Benny stamp to honor his stage persona’s perpetual age. The U.S. Postal Service had issued a stamp depicting Jack Benny in 1991, as part of a booklet of stamps honoring comedians; however, the stamp was issued at the then-current rate of 29 cents.

Jack Benny Middle School in Waukegan, Illinois, is named after the famous comedian. Its motto matches his famous statement as "Home of the '39ers".

See also

List of most-listened-to radio programs

References

Further reading

New York Times, April 16, 1953, p43,"Jack Benny plans more work on tv."

New York Times, March 16, 1960, p75, "Canned laughter: Comedians are crying on the inside about CBS rule that public know of its use."

''Jack Benny'', Mary Livingstone Benny, Hilliard Marks with Marcia Borie, Doubleday & Company, 1978, 322 p.

''Sunday Nights at Seven: The Jack Benny Story'', Jack Benny and Joan Benny, Warner Books, 1990, 302 p.

''CBS: Reflections in a Bloodshot Eye'', by Robert Metz, New American Library, 1978.

''The Laugh Crafters: Comedy Writing in Radio and TV's Golden Age'', by Jordan R. Young; Past Times Publishing, 1999.

''Well! Reflections on the Life and Career of Jack Benny'', edited by Michael Leannah, BearManor Media, 2007.

''Jack Benny v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue'', 25 T.C. 197 (1955).

Hilmes, M. (1997). Radio voices American broadcasting, 1922-1952. Minnesota Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Further reading

Benny, Jack; Benny, Joan. (1990) ''Sunday Nights at Seven: The Jack Benny Story''. Warner Books.

Josefsberg, Milt. (1977) ''The Jack Benny Show.'' New Rochelle: Arlington House. ISBN 0-87000-347-X

Leannah, Michael, editor. (2007) ''Well! Reflections on the Life and Career of Jack Benny.'' BearManor Media. Contributing authors: Frank Bresee, Clair Schulz, Kay Linaker, Janine Marr, Pam Munter, Mark Higgins, B. J. Borsody, Charles A. Beckett, Jordan R. Young, Philip G. Harwood, Noell Wolfgram Evans, Jack Benny, Michael Leannah, Steve Newvine, Ron Sayles, Kathryn Fuller-Seeley, Marc Reed, Derek Tague, Michael J. Hayde, Steve Thompson, Michael Mildredson.

External links

Audio

*Jack Benny Show – OTR Podcast – Daily episodes of The Jack Benny Program in MP3 format with new introductions and Benny Trivia

*Over 350 episodes of The Jack Benny Program in MP3 format

*Two broadcasts (East/West) of ''The Jello Program'': "Christmas Shopping for Perfume and a Necktie" (12/17/39)

Video

Jack Benny at TVGuide.com

Jack Benny Fred Allen Feud

Jack Benny Audio History

International Jack Benny Fan Club

Online audio and video of Jack Benny

Copies of Jack Benny's Radio and TV scripts, with handwritten edits

Free 2 minute download of Humphrey Bogart on the Jack Benny Show

Jack Benny Middle School

Jack Benny Center for the Cultural Arts

"The Friars Club"

Jack Benny papers at the University of Wyoming - American Heritage Center

FBI file on Jack Benny

Category:1950s American television series Category:1960s American television series Category:1950 television series debuts Category:1965 television series endings Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American Jews Category:American military personnel of World War I Category:American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent Category:American radio personalities Category:American radio actors Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American violinists Category:Cancer deaths in California Category:CBS network shows Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish comedians Category:Peabody Award winners Category:National Radio Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:People from Waukegan, Illinois Category:United States Navy officers Category:Vaudeville performers Category:1894 births Category:1974 deaths

de:Jack Benny es:Jack Benny eo:Jack Benny fr:Jack Benny gl:Jack Benny ko:잭 베니 it:Jack Benny hu:Jack Benny ja:ジャック・ベニー pl:Jack Benny pt:Jack Benny simple:Jack Benny sh:Jack Benny fi:Jack Benny sv:Jack Benny tl:Jack Benny

name	Mel Blanc
birth name	Melvin Jerome Blank
birth date	May 30, 1908
birth place	San Francisco, California, U.S.
death date	July 10, 1989
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
death cause	Heart Disease
nationality	American
alma mater	Lincoln High School
occupation	Voice actor/Comedian
other names	"The Man of 1000 Voices"
years active	1927–89| spouse Estelle Rosenbaum(1933–89; his death) }}

Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc (May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros. during the "Golden Age of American animation" (and later for Hanna-Barbera television productions) as the voice of such well-known characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Wile E. Coyote, Woody Woodpecker, Barney Rubble, Mr. Spacely, Speed Buggy, Captain Caveman, Heathcliff, Speedy Gonzales, Tom Cat, and hundreds of others. Having earned the nickname “The Man of a Thousand Voices,” Blanc is regarded as one of the most influential people in the voice-acting industry.

At the time of his death, it was estimated that 20 million people heard his voice every day.

Early life

Blanc was born Melvin Jerome Blank in San Francisco, California, to Frederick and Eva Blank. He grew up in Portland, Oregon, attending Lincoln High School. He claimed that when he was 16, he changed the spelling from "Blank" to "Blanc" because a teacher told him that he would amount to nothing and be, like his name, a "blank". Blanc joined The Order of DeMolay as a young man, and was eventually inducted into its Hall of Fame.

Career

Radio work

Blanc began his radio career in 1927 as a voice actor on the KGW program ''The Hoot Owls'', where his ability to provide voices for multiple characters first attracted attention. He moved to KEX in 1933 to produce and host his ''Cobweb And Nuts'' show, which debuted on June 15. The program played Monday through Saturday from 11:00 pm to midnight, and by the time the show ended two years later, it appeared from 10:30 pm to 11:00 pm.

Blanc moved to Warner Bros.-owned KFWB in Hollywood, California, in 1935. He joined ''The Johnny Murray Show'', but the following year switched to CBS Radio and ''The Joe Penner Show''. Blanc was a regular on the NBC Red Network show ''The Jack Benny Program'' in various roles, including voicing Benny's Maxwell automobile (in desperate need of a tune-up), violin teacher Professor LeBlanc, Polly the Parrot, Benny's pet polar bear Carmichael, the tormented department store clerk, and the train announcer (see below).

400px|right|thumb|Blanc performed multiple roles on the Jack Benny Show. Blanc at far right.One of Blanc's most memorable characters from Benny's radio (and later TV) programs was "Sy, the Little Mexican", who spoke one word at a time. The famous "Sí...Sy...sew...Sue" routine was so effective that no matter how many times it was performed, the laughter was always there, thanks to the comedic timing of Blanc and Benny.

At times, sharp-eyed audience members (and later, TV viewers) could see Benny struggling to keep a straight face; Blanc's absolute dead-pan delivery was a formidable challenge for him. Benny's daughter, Joan, recalls that Mel Blanc was one of her father's closest friends in real life, because "nobody else on the show could make him laugh the way Mel could."

Another famous Blanc ''shtick'' on Jack's show was the train depot announcer who inevitably intoned, sidelong, "Train leaving on Track Five for Anaheim, Azusa, and Cucamonga". Part of the joke was the Angeleno studio audience's awareness that no such train existed connecting those then-small towns (years before Disneyland opened). To the wider audience, the primary joke was the pregnant pause that evolved over time between "Cuc.." and "...amonga"; eventually, minutes would pass while the skit went on as the audience awaited the inevitable conclusion of the word. (At least once, a completely different skit followed before the inevitable “...amonga” finally appeared.)

Benny's writers would regularly try to "stump" Blanc by asking him to perform supposedly impossible vocal effects and characterizations, such as an "English horse whinny" and a goldfish. For the latter, Mel walked up to the microphone and pursed his lips several times, making no noise.

Blanc's success on ''The Jack Benny Program'' led to his own radio show on the CBS Radio Network, ''The Mel Blanc Show'', which ran from September 3, 1946, to June 24, 1947. Blanc played himself as the hapless owner of a fix-it shop, as well as his young cousin Zookie (who sounded quite a bit like Porky Pig). Many episodes required Mel to impersonate an exotic foreigner or other stranger in town, ostensibly for carrying out a minor deception on his girlfriend's father, but of course simply as a vehicle for him to show off his talents. Other regular characters were played by Mary Jane Croft, Joseph Kearns, Hans Conried, Alan Reed, Earle Ross, Jim Backus, Bea Benaderet and The Sportsmen Quartet, who would supply a song and sing the Colgate Tooth Powder commercials. (Blanc would later work with Reed and Benaderet on ''The Flintstones''.) Shows usually adhered to a predictable formula, involving a date with his girl Betty Colby (Mary Jane Croft) and trying to either impress her father or at least avoid angering him. However, Mr. Colby (Earle Ross) usually had occasion to deliver his trademark line, "Mel Blanc, I'm going to break every bone in your body!"

Blanc appeared frequently on ''The Great Gildersleeve'', uncredited, often voicing two or more supporting characters in a single episode: deliverymen in "Planting a Tree" and "Father's Day Chair" also "Gus", a petty crook in the latter; a radio station manager and a policeman in "Mystery Singer", and many others.

Blanc also appeared on such other national radio programs as ''The Abbott and Costello Show'', the Happy Postman on ''Burns and Allen'', and as August Moon on ''Point Sublime''. During World War II, he appeared as Private Sad Sack on various radio shows, most notably ''G.I. Journal''. The character of Sad Sack was a bumbling Army private with an even worse stutter than Porky Pig. ("I'm Lieutena-eh-Lieutena-eh-Capta-eh-Majo-eh-Colone-eh-p-p-Private Sad Sack.")

For his contribution to radio, Mel Blanc has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6385 Hollywood Boulevard.

Animation voice work during the Golden Age of Hollywood

In 1936, Mel Blanc joined Leon Schlesinger Productions, which made animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Blanc liked to tell the story about how he got turned down at the Schlesinger studio by music director Norman Spencer, who was in charge of cartoon voices, saying that they had all the voices they needed. Then Spencer died, and sound man Treg Brown took charge of cartoon voices, while Carl Stalling took over as music director. Brown introduced Blanc to animation directors Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, and Frank Tashlin, who loved his voices. The first cartoon Blanc worked on was ''Picador Porky'' as the voice of a drunken bull. He took over as Porky Pig's voice in ''Porky's Duck Hunt'', which marked the debut of Daffy Duck, also voiced by Blanc.

Blanc soon became noted for voicing a wide variety of cartoon characters, adding Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird, Pepé Le Pew and many others. His natural voice was that of Sylvester the Cat, but without the lispy spray. (Blanc's voice can be heard in an episode of ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' that also featured frequent Blanc vocal foil Bea Benaderet; in his small appearance, Blanc plays a vexed cab-driver.)

In his later years, Blanc claimed that a handful of late 1930s and early 1940s Warner cartoons that each featured a rabbit clearly a precursor of Bugs Bunny all actually dealt with a single character named Happy Rabbit. No use of this name by other Termite Terrace personnel, then or later, has ever been documented, however. Happy Rabbit was noted for his laugh which became more famous as the laugh of Woody Woodpecker (of which Blanc was the original voice) until he won an exclusive contract with Warner Bros. which meant he couldn't do Woody's voice anymore as the Woody Woodpecker cartoons were produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. Blanc later recorded "The Woody Woodpecker Song" for Capitol Records.

Though his best-known character was a carrot-chomping rabbit, munching on the carrots interrupted the dialogue. Various substitutes, such as celery, were tried, but none of them ''sounded'' like a carrot. So for the sake of expedience, he would munch and then spit the carrot bits into a spittoon rather than swallowing them, and continue with the dialogue. One oft-repeated story is that he was allergic to carrots and ''had'' to spit them out to minimize any allergic reaction; but his autobiography makes no such claim; in fact, in a 1984 interview with Tim Lawson, co-author of ''The Magic Behind The Voices: A Who's Who of Cartoon Voice Actors'' (University Press of Mississippi, 2004), Blanc emphatically denied being allergic to carrots. In a Straight Dope column, a Blanc confidante confirmed that Blanc only spit out the carrots because of time constraints, and not because of allergies or general dislike.

Blanc said his most challenging job was voicing Yosemite Sam; it was rough on the throat because of Sam’s sheer volume and raspiness. (Foghorn Leghorn's voice was similarly raucous, but to a lesser degree.) Late in life, he reprised several of his classic voices for ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', but deferred to Joe Alaskey to do Yosemite Sam's and Foghorn Leghorn's voices.

Throughout his career, Blanc was well aware of his talents and protected the rights to them contractually and legally. He, and later his estate, did not hesitate to take civil action when those rights were violated. Voice actors usually got no screen credits at all, but Blanc was a notable exception; by 1944, his contract stipulated a credit reading "Voice characterization by Mel Blanc." Blanc asked for and received this screen credit from studio boss Leon Schlesinger when Leon objected to giving Blanc a raise in pay. Other frequent Warner voice artists, such as Arthur Q. Bryan (Elmer Fudd), Stan Freberg (Pete Puma among many other characters), June Foray (Granny) and Bea Benaderet (many female voices), remained uncredited on-screen. However, Freberg did receive screen credit for ''Three Little Bops'', a musical spoof of ''The Three Little Pigs'', directed by Friz Freleng. Freberg is a frequent contributor to the various ''Golden Collection'' projects that showcase the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. Blanc, himself, is often spoken of with reverence by younger voice specialists in those DVD collections.

Blanc's screen credit was noticed by radio show producers, who gave him more radio work as a result. It wouldn't be until the early '60s that the other voice actors and actresses became credited on Warner Brothers theatrical cartoons.

Benny/Bugs crossover

The Warner cartoons were filled with references to the popular media of film and radio, including references to ''The Jack Benny Program'', whose various gags frequently found their way into Warner scripts voiced by Blanc. For example:

Bugs was known for repeating Benny's catchphrase, "Now cut that out!"

The "Anaheim, Azusa and Cuc...amonga" joke was once used by Daffy Duck in the cartoon ''Daffy Duck Slept Here''.

Frank Nelson's "Yeeeeees?" would be invoked by minor characters from time to time.

Blanc's imitations of sputtering cars, squawking parrots, whinnying horses, etc., would be invoked frequently in both series.

On the March 28, 1954 episode of Benny's radio program, Benny encounters Bugs Bunny in a dream.

The ultimate clash of the mythos occurred with the 1959 release of the Warner Bros. cartoon ''The Mouse that Jack Built''. Directed by Robert McKimson, the cartoon features the cast of the Benny radio and TV program drawn as mice. Blanc was credited as the voice of the Maxwell, and besides Benny, co-stars Mary Livingstone, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, and Don Wilson all reprised their Benny show roles.

Voice work for Hanna-Barbera and others

In the early 1960s, after the expiration of his exclusive contract with Warner Brothers, Blanc went to Hanna-Barbera and continued to voice various characters, his most famous being Barney Rubble from ''The Flintstones'' (whose dopey laugh is similar to Foghorn Leghorn's booming chuckle) and Mr. Spacely from ''The Jetsons'' (similar to Yosemite Sam, but not as raucous). Daws Butler and Don Messick were Hanna-Barbera's top voice men when Blanc began providing voices for the company.

Blanc did those voices plus others for such ensemble cartoons as ''Wacky Races'' and ''The Perils of Penelope Pitstop'' for Hanna-Barbera in the late '60s. Blanc shared the spotlight with his two professional rivals and personal friends, Butler and Messick: In a short called ''Lippy the Lion'', Butler was Lippy, while Blanc was his hyena sidekick, Hardy Har-Har, and Don Messick was usually the guest villain or other supporting characters. In the short ''Ricochet Rabbit'', Messick was the voice of the gun slinging rabbit, while Blanc was his sidekick, Deputy Droop-a-Long Coyote.

Blanc also worked with Chuck Jones, who by this time was directing shorts with his own company Sib Tower 12 (later MGM Animation), doing vocal effects in the ''Tom and Jerry'' series from 1962 to 1967.

In addition, Blanc was the first person to play Toucan Sam in Froot Loops commercials, using a slightly cartoonish version of his natural voice. (The ad agency later decided to give Sam an upper-crust English accent and replaced Blanc with Paul Frees.)

Blanc reprised some of his Warner Brothers characters when the studio contracted to make new theatrical cartoons in the mid-to-late 1960s. For these, Blanc voiced Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales, the characters who received the most frequent use in these shorts (later, newly introduced characters such as Cool Cat and Merlin the Magic Mouse were voiced by Larry Storch). Blanc also continued to voice the Looney Tunes characters on the bridging sequences for ''The Bugs Bunny Show'' and in numerous animated advertisements.

Car accident and aftermath

On January 24, 1961, Blanc was involved in a near-fatal car accident on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Hit head-on, Blanc suffered a triple skull fracture that left him in a coma for three weeks, along with fractures of both legs and the pelvis.

The accident prompted over 15,000 get-well cards from anxious fans, including some addressed only to "Bugs Bunny, Hollywood, USA", according to Blanc's autobiography. One newspaper falsely reported that he had died. After his recovery, Blanc reported in TV interviews, and later in his autobiography, that a clever doctor had helped him to come out of his coma by talking as-if to Bugs Bunny, after futile efforts to talk directly to Blanc. Although he had no actual recollection of this, Blanc's wife and son swore to him that when the doctor was inspired to ask him, "How are you today, ''Bugs Bunny?''", Blanc answered in Bugs' voice. Blanc thus credited Bugs with saving his life.

Blanc returned home from the UCLA Medical Center on March 17 to the cheers of more than 150 friends and neighbors. On March 22, he filed a US$500,000 lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles. His accident, one of 26 in the preceding two years at the intersection, resulted in the city funding restructuring curves at the location.

Years later, Blanc revealed that during his recovery, his son Noel "ghosted" several Warner Brothers cartoons' voice tracks for him. At the time of the accident, Blanc was also serving as the voice of Barney Rubble in ''The Flintstones''. His absence from the show would be relatively brief; Daws Butler provided the voice of Rubble for a few episodes, after which the show's producers set up recording equipment in Blanc's hospital room and later, at his house to allow him to work from his residence. Some of the recordings were made while he was in full-body cast while he lay flat on his back, with the other ''Flintstones'' co-stars gathered around him. He also returned to ''The Jack Benny Program'' to film the program's 1961 Christmas show, moving around via crutches and/or a wheelchair.

Later career

Contrary to popular belief, Blanc was not one of hundreds of individuals that George Lucas auditioned to provide the voice for the character of C-3PO for his 1977 film ''Star Wars''. That distinction instead fell to fellow voice actor Stan Freberg, and it was Freberg who ultimately suggested that the producers use mime actor Anthony Daniels' own voice in the role.

After spending most of two seasons voicing the robot Twiki in ''Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'', Blanc's last original character, in the early 1980s, was Heathcliff, who spoke a little like Bugs Bunny. Blanc continued to voice his famous characters in commercials and TV specials for most of the decade, although he increasingly left the "yelling" characters like Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn and The Tasmanian Devil to other voice actors, as performing these were too hard on his throat. One of his last recording sessions was for a new animated theatrical version of ''The Jetsons''.

Death

Blanc died on July 10, 1989 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California of heart disease and emphysema. He was interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. Blanc's will stated his desire to have the inscription on his gravestone read, "THAT'S ALL FOLKS."

Blanc's death was considered a significant loss to the cartoon industry because of his skill, expressive range, and sheer volume of continuing characters he portrayed, which are currently taken up by several other voice talents. Indeed, as movie critic Leonard Maltin once pointed out, "It is astounding to realize that Tweety Bird and Yosemite Sam are the same man!"

That range was partially aided by recording technology; for instance, Blanc's standard Daffy Duck voice is essentially his Sylvester voice played a few percent faster than it was recorded to give it a higher pitch, as well as pronouncing "s" with a "th" sound. Blanc would later develop the skill to reproduce such "sped-up" voices himself live as necessary. Other Blanc character voices that were given this special treatment included Porky Pig, Henery Hawk, and Speedy Gonzales.

After his death, Blanc's voice continued to be heard in newly released properties. In particular, a recording of his Dino the Dinosaur from the 1960s ''Flintstones'' series was used without a screen credit in the 1994 live-action theatrical film based upon the series. This resulted in legal action against the film studio by the Blanc estate, which claimed his recordings were used without permission or proper credit. The credit was later added to the home release of the movie. Less problematic was the retention of older recordings of Blanc as Uncle Orville and a pet bird in the 1994 update of the Carousel of Progress attraction at Walt Disney World, despite cast changes in other roles. Blanc's distinctive voice can still be heard in the Audio-Animatronic presentation. In addition, Blanc's archive recordings of the Maxwell are used for the AMC Gremlin in the 2003 film ''Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' and his recordings of ''Daffy Duck's Rhapsody'', ''I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat'' and an untitled Road Runner cartoon will be used in three new ''Looney Tunes'' cartoons, including ''Daffy's Rhapsody'', which will be released with ''Happy Feet 2'' on November 18, 2011.

Legacy

Blanc is regarded as one of, if not the, most prolific voice actor(s) in the history of the industry. He was the first voice actor to get credit in the ending credits and ushered in a new era for voice actors, where they were regarded as a significant part of the creative process, rather than easy-to-replace finishing touches.

Children

Blanc trained his son, Noel, in the field of voice characterization. Although the younger Blanc has performed his father's characters (particularly Porky Pig) on some programs, he has chosen not to become a full-time voice artist. Noel appeared in the booth as a celebrity guest for the 2002 and 2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 NASCAR Races featuring the Looney Tunes characters in themed paint schemes for Chevrolet drivers and did the voices of the characters. Noel is a regular featured guest on radio shows throughout the United States and Canada. Noel's wife, Katherine Blanc, is an artist and book author.

Animation records

Mel Blanc holds a few very important records in the field of animation (none of which are currently recognized by the ''Guinness Book of World Records''), the most famous being, of course, the "1000 Voices" he was said to have performed. Not as notable are two records of longevity: his original characterization of Daffy Duck (for over 52 years) is the longest time any animated character has been performed by his or her original voice contributor. He also voiced Porky Pig for exactly the same amount of time as Daffy — since the same cartoon (''Porky's Duck Hunt'') — through to his death, though Porky was not originally voiced by Blanc. Blanc was also the original voice of almost every character he voiced, leaving him as the clear runaway for the record of "Most Characters Originally Voiced By One Actor," and he almost certainly provided voices in more cartoons than any other voice actor. And to top that off, he is runner-up to his own 52-year record of his original characterization of Daffy, by voicing Bugs Bunny for almost 49 years from the date of his debut (July 27, 1940). In third place is Clarence Nash, who voiced Donald Duck for 48 and a half years.

Selected list of cartoon characters

Porky Pig (1936–1989, assumed from Joe Dougherty)

The Maxwell (Jack Benny's car in "The Mouse that Jack Built")

Daffy Duck (1937–1989)

Bugs Bunny's prototype/Happy Rabbit (1938–1940)

Papa Panda from the Andy Panda series

Bugs Bunny (1940–1989)

Woody Woodpecker (1940–1941)

Slapsie Maxie Rosenbull (1940)

Hiawatha (1941)

Cecil Turtle (1941–1947)

Tweety Bird (1942–1989)

Private Snafu, numerous World War II related cartoons (1943)

Yosemite Sam (1945–1987)

Pepé Le Pew (1945–1989)

Penelope Pussycat Though typically a non-speaker, her "meows" and "purrs" were most often provided by Mel Blanc using a feminine voice.

Sylvester (1945–1989) ''aka Thomas (1947) in some films.''

Foghorn Leghorn (1946–1987)

The Barnyard Dawg (1946–1989)

Henery Hawk (1946–1989)

Charlie Dog (1947)

Grover Groundhog (1947, singing voice only in "One Meat Brawl")

Mac (of Mac & Tosh) (1947)

K-9 (1948) ''(sidekick to Marvin the Martian)''

Marvin the Martian (1948–1989)

Sylvester J. Pussycat, Jr. Mel also plays Sylvester's son ''Sylvester Junior'' when the young cat was introduced (1949)

Beaky Buzzard (1950)

Curt Martin (1950-1 episode Hillbilly Hare)

The Fox and Crow (voiced both characters only for the 1941 debut short "Fox and Grapes" until Frank Grahmn took the roles of the fox and crow then Paul Frees became the crow while Grahmn was still the fox till the last short in 1950)

Elmer Fudd 1940 and 1989.

Wile E. Coyote (silent until 1952, first spoke in the short "Operation: Rabbit")

Speedy Gonzales (1953–1989)

Rocky and Mugsy (Bugs and Thugs 1954)

The Tasmanian Devil (1954–1960) ''aka Taz''

Ed (Jack Benny's underground valet guard in "The Mouse that Jack Built", since Joseph Kearns was unavailable to reprise his role as Ed the Vault Guard in that cartoon)

Blacque Jacque Shellacque (1959–1962)

Barney Rubble (1960–1989)

Dino (1960–1989) ''(Fred Flintstone's pet.)''

Cosmo G. Spacely ''(The Jetsons, 1962–1989)''

Hardy Har Har (1962–1964)

Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse (1963–1967)

Sneezly Seal (1964–1967)

Secret Squirrel (1965–1966)

Frito Bandito (1967–1971)

Bubba McCoy from "Where's Huddles?"

Chugga-Boom/Yak Yak/The Bully Brothers also from "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop"

Speed Buggy (1973)

Tucker the Mouse from "The Cricket in Times Square" (1973) and two sequels

Captain Caveman (1977)

Twiki from ''Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' (1979–1981)

Heathcliff (1980, appeared in syndication from 1984–1988)

Scientist from SuperTed and the stolen rocket (1982)

Gideon from ''Pinocchio'' (hiccups)

Bertie Mouse (of Hubie and Bertie)

Marc Antony

Moo the Cow in Berkeley Farms Radio Ads. "Farms in Berkeley....Moooo"

Officer Short Shrift, several Lethargians, three out of five of the royal palace guards, The Word Speller, The Dodecahedron, and The Demon of Insincerity from ''The Phantom Tollbooth'' (1969)

Go Go Gomez, Flat Top, B.B. Eyes, additional voices from ''The Dick Tracy Show''

Tycoon Magoo

Worcestershire (Tycoon Magoo's butler)

List of noteworthy radio characters

Besides voicing characters on his own radio show (which ran from 1946–47) Blanc was a regular on such comedy classics as ''The Jack Benny Show'', ''Burns & Allen'', and ''Abbott & Costello'', providing both voices and sound effects ranging from people to animals to backfiring cars.

The Happy Postman (''Burns & Allen'')

Professor LeBlanc (''The Jack Benny Program'')

Mr. Technicolovich (''Abbott & Costello'')

Sy the Mexican (''Jack Benny'', radio & TV)

Himself (''The Mel Blanc Show'')

Zookie (''The Mel Blanc Show'')

Polly the Parrot (''The Jack Benny Program'')

Carmichael the Polar Bear (''The Jack Benny Program'')

Train Station Announcer (''The Jack Benny Program''; "Train now departing on Track Five for Ana-heim, A-zuza, and Cuc-a-monga!!")

Christmas sales clerk (''The Jack Benny Program''; in most holiday episodes of the radio and TV version, Blanc would appear as a sales clerk in a department store who's driven insane by Jack's style of shopping and returning gifts.)

The Maxwell (''The Jack Benny Program'')

Other credits

Mel Blanc was hired to perform the voice of Gideon the Cat in Walt Disney's ''Pinocchio''. However, it was eventually decided for Gideon to be mute (just like Dopey, whose whimsical, Harpo Marx-style persona made him one of ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''' most comic and popular characters), and all of Blanc's recorded dialogue in this film had been deleted, save for one military hiccup, which was heard three times in the film (he was still paid for all of the unused dialogue so if you consider his salary against the actual used "hiccup", he holds the record for highest paid—per word—voice-over actor). This and ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' are the only known work he ever did for Disney animation. He was, however, heard on occasional radio projects featuring Disney characters, such as ''The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air''.

In 1949, Mel appeared in the film ''Neptune's Daughter'' with Esther Williams, Red Skelton and Ricardo Montalban.

Blanc was one of three regular panelists in the 1955 game show ''Musical Chairs''. Occasionally, he was asked to sing in the style of a popular singer.

In 1959 Blanc played the role of Trinkle the dog catcher on the sitcom ''Dennis The Menace'', episode titled " Miss Cathcart's Friend".

Appeared in the 1964 movie Kiss Me Stupid as The Dentist

Blanc once called into the game show ''Press Your Luck'' during the end credits when host Peter Tomarken mistakenly gave the answer to the question "Which cartoon character uses the phrase 'Sufferin' succotash'?" as Daffy Duck. Blanc informed him that the correct answer was Sylvester. (In reality, both characters have used the phrase, although it is more commonly associated with Sylvester.) Blanc spoke to Tomarken in Sylvester's voice to explain the error, as well in the voices of Speedy Gonzales and Porky Pig. Tomarken apologized for the error and promised that all three contestants would be allowed to return to play the game again.

Blanc was the voice of Bob and Doug McKenzie's father in the movie ''Strange Brew''.

In 1970, Blanc narrated an educational film that was commissioned by the City of Dallas called How Motor Cars and Other Living Things Can Find Happiness in the Dallas Freeway System. He also did the sound effects for the animated car.

In 1971, he appeared as himself in one of the American Express "Do you know me?" credit card TV commercials. The ad campaign centered on famous people whose faces were nonetheless usually not recognized by the public.

Blanc appeared in a public service announcement for the Shriners Burns Institute on the dangers of burns on children.

He also provided the voice of Quintro the Puppet in ''Snow White and the Three Stooges''.

Blanc did virtually all of his famous Looney Tunes characters' voices in NFL Films' ''The Son of Football Follies''

In addition to hundreds of credited vocal roles, Blanc also provided many brief incidental voices and vocal effects for TV sitcoms, almost never receiving screen credit. Two noted examples were regularly providing the voice of the raven cuckoo clock in ''The Munsters''' and voicing a parrot (who even spoke in the courtroom) in the ''Perry Mason'' episode "The Case of the Perjured Parrot."

In his autobiography, ''That's Not All, Folks!'', Blanc confessed to a minor bit of deception regarding his nickname, "The Man of a Thousand Voices," stating that by his estimate, he had provided ''only'' 850 voices.

Blanc performed his Speedy Gonzales character in Pat Boone's 1962 hit record of "Speedy Gonzales".

Blanc also made many records for Capitol Records, including his Warner Brothers characters and such other characters as Woody Woodpecker, with his most famous Capitol album being ''Party Panic'' and in 1950 had a hit single (also in the UK) as Sylvester and Tweety-Pie in "I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat". He also performed on records with other artists including Spike Jones and His City Slickers and The Sportsmen.

During 1977–1978, Blanc was an active CB Radio operator. He often used the CB handles ''Bugs'' or ''Daffy'' and talked over the air in the Los Angeles area using his many voices. He appeared in an interview with clips of him having fun talking to children on his home CB radio station in the ''NBC Knowledge Series'' television episode about CB radio in 1978.

He was also the voice of the cuckoo & the parrot in the Coco Wheats Commercials

Blanc's voice over sound effects were used in many animated films such as Paramount's ''Gulliver's Travels'' (as an uncredited voice over as King Bombo's shout of joy) to animated shorts from ''The Pink Panther'' to most recently in Jetix's "Pucca", in ''Gremlins 2 The New Batch'' some of the gremlin laughter and their hiccups were recycled from his recordings, also several monster growls and his bird screeches were also frequently used in several films and animation.

Blanc supplies Charlie Brown's grunting in the 1979 special ''You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown'' as he tries to lift the barbell which is the same grunting Daffy Duck made in the 1965 Warner Bros. cartoon ''Tease for Two'' when Daffy tries lifting a rock. The same grunt was also heard in the 1980 film ''Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!)'' by Linus van Pelt.

Portland's Mayor Sam Adams, with the help of the Oregon Cartoon Institute, officially declared June 29th to be Mel Blanc Day in Portland, Oregon.

Homages and tributes

In the Porky Pig short ''Curtain Razor'', Mel Blanc appears as a turtle doing only 999 voices out of a claimed one thousand (he actually does only about 7 distinct voices here, which were edited into a rapid-fire montage of short sound bites, thus giving the impression of more voices). The clip was shown by Turner Network Television out of context as a tribute when Blanc died.

In the ''Frasier'' episode "Ham Radio", a voice actor of many voices is named Mel White, a homage to Mel Blanc. In French, ''blanc'', the way the famous voice actor preferred to spell his surname, means ''white''.

In the 1944 Warner's cartoon ''Russian Rhapsody'' (directed by Bob Clampett), Blanc appears as one of the gremlins (the one sawing around Henry Binder's hair) who are sabotaging Adolf Hitler's plane. The other gremlins are other members of the Warners' staff, including Binder, Leon Schlesinger, and Friz Freleng.

A well-known lithograph was made in his honor. It shows ''Looney Tunes'' characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Porky Pig, Pepé Le Pew, Sylvester, Tweety Bird, and Speedy Gonzales with their heads bowed in reverence, standing around a lone microphone with a spotlight shining on it. The simple inscription on the print reads: "Speechless." According to Warner Bros., it is the highest selling piece of animation art ever produced. The picture was also made into an animated picture, with sound and changing scenes, and sold in the now-defunct Warner Brothers chain of retail stores. In the ''The Office'' episode "Take Your Daughter to Work Day", boss Michael Scott acts out Blanc's "Cucamonga" bit, even including a pause.

In the ''Histeria!'' episode "General Sherman's Campsite", during the sketch about the Transcontinental Railroad, Loud Kiddington acts as a conductor and does the "Cucamonga" bit.

On an episode of ''Night Court'', Harry's father, Buddy (John Astin), tells Harry (Harry Anderson) that he had wanted to name him Mel, after Mel Blanc. The joke is that Harry is an avid fan of singer Mel Tormé, and assumes that to be what Buddy meant.

Notes

Bibliography

''That's Not All, Folks!'', 1988 by Mel Blanc, Philip Bashe. Warner Books, ISBN 0-446-39089-5 (Softcover), ISBN 0-446-51244-3 (Hardcover)

Terrace, Vincent. ''Radio Programs, 1924–1984''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999. ISBN 0-7864-0351-9

External links

Mel Blanc Show Archive in MP3 format

Toonopedia article about Mel Blanc

Mel Blanc sings ''Somebody Stole My Gal'' (Capitol F2470)

40 MP3 downloads of The Mel Blanc Show

Category:1908 births Category:1989 deaths Category:American radio actors Category:American voice actors Category:Voice actors Category:Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in California Category:Looney Tunes Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:People from Portland, Oregon Category:People from San Francisco, California Category:Lincoln High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Category:Jewish actors

ar:ميل بلانك ca:Mel Blanc da:Mel Blanc de:Mel Blanc es:Mel Blanc fr:Mel Blanc it:Mel Blanc he:מל בלאנק sw:Mel Blanc nl:Mel Blanc ja:メル・ブランク pl:Mel Blanc pt:Mel Blanc ru:Бланк, Мел simple:Mel Blanc sr:Мел Бланк fi:Mel Blanc sv:Mel Blanc

name	Jayne Mansfield
birth name	Vera Jayne Palmer
birth date	April 19, 1933
birth place	Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States
death date	June 29, 1967
death place	Slidell, Louisiana, United States
occupation	Actress, singer, model
years active	1954–1967
spouse
children	Jayne Marie Mansfield (b. 1950)Miklós "Mickey" Hargitay, Jr. (b. 1958)Zolton Hargitay (b. 1960)Mariska Hargitay (b. 1964)Antonio "Tony" Cimber (b. 1966) }}

Jayne Mansfield (April 19, 1933June 29, 1967) was an American actress working both on Broadway and in Hollywood. One of the leading blonde sex symbols of the 1950s, Mansfield starred in several popular Hollywood films that emphasized her platinum-blonde hair, hourglass figure and cleavage-revealing costumes.

While Mansfield's film career was short-lived, she had several box office successes. She won the Theatre World Award, a Golden Globe and a Golden Laurel.

Mansfield's well-remembered for her starring roles (as a blonde stereotype) in three 20th Century Fox films: ''The Girl Can't Help It'' (1956); ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' (1957); and, ''The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw'' (1958); however, ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' was the most successful of the three, fore, Mansfield starred in the play and the film version; therefore, this film is better known.

As the demand for blonde bombshells declined in the 1960s, Mansfield was relegated to low-budget film melodramas and comedies, but remained a popular celebrity. Her most noted film in the '60s was the romantic-comedy, ''Promises! Promises!'' (1963), in which she appeared nude in four scenes.

In her later career she continued to attract large crowds in foreign countries and in lucrative and successful nightclub tours. Mansfield had been a ''Playboy'' Playmate of the Month and appeared in the magazine several additional times. She died in an automobile accident at age 34.

Early life

name	Jayne Mansfield
issue	February 1955
bust
waist
hips
height	(5ft 8in according to her autopsy)
preceded	Bettie Page
succeeded	óMarilyn Waltz }}

Jayne Mansfield was the only child of Herbert William and Vera (née Jeffrey) Palmer. Her birthname was Vera Jayne Palmer. A natural brunette, she was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, but spent her early childhood in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. She was of Cornish, German and English ancestry. Her parents came from Pen Argyl where an estimated eight out of ten people bear Cornish slate mining forebears. When she was three years old, her father, a lawyer who was in practice with future New Jersey governor Robert B. Meyner, died of a heart attack while driving a car with his wife and daughter. After his death, her mother worked as a school teacher. In 1939, when Vera Palmer remarried, the family moved to Dallas, Texas. Mansfield's desire to become an actress developed at an early age. In 1950, Vera Jayne Palmer married Paul Mansfield, thus becoming Jayne Mansfield, and the couple moved to Austin, Texas.

She studied dramatics at the University of Dallas and the University of Texas at Austin, having only attended Highland Park High School until her junior year. Her acting aspirations were temporarily put on hold with the birth of her first child, Jayne Marie Mansfield, on November 8, 1950, when Mansfield was 17. She juggled motherhood and classes at the University of Texas, then spent a year at Camp Gordon, Georgia, while Paul Mansfield served in the United States Army. She entered the Miss California contest, hiding her marital status, and won in the local round before withdrawing. Her husband, Paul Mansfield, hoped the birth of their child would discourage her interest in acting. When it did not, he agreed to move to Los Angeles in late 1954 to help further her career. In 1954, they moved to Los Angeles and she studied dramatics at UCLA. Between a variety of odd jobs, including a stint as a candy vendor at a movie theatre, she attended UCLA during the summer, and then went back to Texas for fall quarter at Southern Methodist University. She posed nude for the February 1955 issue of ''Playboy'', an event that helped to push the magazine's circulation and launch Mansfield's career. In 1964, ''Playboy'' reran that pictorial.

In Dallas, she became a student of actor Baruch Lumet, father of director Sidney Lumet and founder of the Dallas Institute of the Performing Arts. On October 22, 1953, she first appeared on stage in a production of Arthur Miller's ''Death of a Salesman''. Frequent references have been made to Mansfield's very high IQ, which she advertised as 163. She spoke five languages, and was a classically trained pianist and violinist. Mansfield admitted her public did not care about her brains. "They're more interested in 40-21-35," she said. While attending the University of Texas, she won several beauty contests, with titles that included "Miss Photoflash," "Miss Magnesium Lamp" and "Miss Fire Prevention Week." The only title she ever turned down was "Miss Roquefort Cheese", because she believed it "just didn't sound right." Early in her career, the prominence of her breasts was considered problematic, leading her to be cut from her first professional assignment, an advertising campaign for General Electric, which depicted several young women in bathing suits relaxing around a pool.

Film career

Mid 1950s

Mansfield's first movie role was as a supporting role as Candy Price in, ''Female Jungle'' (1955), a low-budget drama, filmed in just ten days. Jayne's part was filmed in just a few days; she was paid $150 for her performance. ''Female Jungle'' was released in January 1955, by producer, Burt Kaiser. In early 1955, Jayne was noticed by Warner Bros. and signed to a six month contract; Warner wanted Jayne to be the studio's version of Marilyn Monroe, because Monroe was widely popular and made millions of dollars for 20th Century Fox. She was signed by the studio after one of its talent scouts discovered her in a production at the Pasadena Playhouse. Mansfield was then given a bit part in ''Pete Kelly's Blues'' (1955), which starred, and, was directed by Jack Webb. Soon after the film's release, Warner Bros. lent Jayne out to RKO for a small role in ''Underwater!'' (1955), starring Jane Russell. Mansfield was one of the many girls in bikinis by the pool; she was on screen for no more than two seconds.

In 1955, Paul Wendkos offered her the dramatic role of Gladden in ''The Burglar'' (1957), his film adaptation of David Goodis' novel. The film was done in film noir style, and Mansfield appeared alongside Dan Duryea and Martha Vickers. ''The Burglar'' was released two years later, when Mansfield's fame was at its peak. She was successful in this straight dramatic role, though most of her subsequent film appearances would be either comedic in nature or capitalize on her sex appeal.

She made one more movie with Warner Bros., which gave her another small, but important role as Angel O'Hara, opposite Edward G. Robinson, in ''Illegal'' (1955). The film offered another rare serious performance by Mansfield. After leaving Warner Bros., Mansfield made an uncredited cameo appearance in ''Hell on Frisco Bay'' (1955), starring Alan Ladd.

Late 1950s

In 1955, she enjoyed a successful Broadway run acting in ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?''. This wild comedy starred Mansfield as Rita Marlowe, a wild blonde Hollywood actress. The play also starred Orson Bean and Walter Matthau. Returning to Hollywood on May 3, 1956, Mansfield signed a six-year contract with 20th Century Fox. Fox had plans to mold Jayne as another Marilyn Monroe, to threaten Monroe when she got out of line. The studio advertised her as "Marilyn Monroe King Sized". She was then given her first starring role as Jerri Jordan in the film production of Frank Tashlin's ''The Girl Can't Help It'' (1956). The film features some early performances from Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Fats Domino, The Platters and Little Richard.

Mansfield then played a dramatic role in ''The Wayward Bus'' in 1957. In this film, she attempted to move away from her "dumb blonde" image and establish herself as a serious actress. This film was adapted from John Steinbeck's novel, and the cast included Dan Dailey and Joan Collins. The film enjoyed reasonable success at the box office. She won a Golden Globe in 1957 for New Star Of The Year – Actress, beating Carroll Baker and Natalie Wood, for her performance as a "wistful derelict" in ''The Wayward Bus''. It was "generally conceded to have been her best acting", according to ''The New York Times'', in a fitful career hampered by her flamboyant image, distinctive voice ("a soft-voiced coo punctuated with squeals"), voluptuous figure, and limited acting range. Mansfield reprised her role of Rita Marlowe in the 1957 movie version of ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'', co-starring Tony Randall and Joan Blondell. ''The Girl Can't Help It'' and ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' were popular successes in their day and are considered classics. ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' is known as Mansfield's "signature film", because Jayne starred in both the play and film version.

Mansfield's fourth starring role in a Hollywood film was in ''Kiss Them for Me'' (1957) in which she received prominent billing alongside Cary Grant. However, in the film itself, she is little more than comedy relief while Grant's character shows a preference for a sleek, demure redhead portrayed by fashion model Suzy Parker. ''Kiss Them for Me'' was a box office disappointment and would prove to be her final starring role in a mainstream Hollywood studio film. The movie was described as "vapid" and "ill-advised". It also marked one of the last attempts by 20th Century Fox to publicize her. The continuing publicity around her physical presence failed to sustain her career. Mansfield was then offered a part opposite James Stewart and Jack Lemmon in ''Bell, Book and Candle'' (1958), but had to turn it down due to pregnancy. Afterward, Mansfield got word that her rival Kim Novak would replace her in the film.

In 1958, Fox gave Mansfield the lead role as Kate opposite Kenneth More in the western spoof ''The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw''. Despite being filmed in 1958, ''The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw'', was not released in the United States until 1959. ''The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw'' required Jayne to sing three songs; she was not a trained singer, so the studio dubbed Mansfield's voice with singer/actress Connie Francis. When released in the United States, ''The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw'' was a success; it was her last mainstream successful film.

1960s

Despite the publicity and her public popularity, good film roles dried up for Mansfield after 1959. She kept busy in a series of low-budget films, mostly made in Europe. Fox tried to cast Mansfield opposite Paul Newman in his ill-fated first attempt at comedy, ''Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!'' (1958), but Mansfield's ''Wayward Bus'' co-star Joan Collins was selected instead. In 1959, Fox lent her to appear in two independent gangster thrillers in England: ''The Challenge'', co-starring Anthony Quayle, and ''Too Hot to Handle'', co-starring Christopher Lee. Both films were low-budgeted, and their American releases were delayed; ''Too Hot to Handle'' was released in the US in 1961 as ''Playgirl After Dark'', while ''The Challenge'' would not be seen by American audiences until 1963, under the title ''It Takes a Thief''.

When she returned to Hollywood in mid-1960, 20th Century-Fox cast her in ''It Happened in Athens'' (1962). She received first billing above the title, but only appears in a supporting role. ''It Happened in Athens'' starred a handsome newcomer, Trax Colton, a "unknown" whom Fox was trying to mold into a big star. This Olympic Games-based film was shot in Greece, in the fall of 1960, but was not released until June 1962. It was a box-office flop, and Mansfield's 20th Century-Fox contract was dropped.

In 1961, Jayne signed on to play Lisa Lang in, ''The George Raft Story'', starring Ray Danton as the actor. Jayne accepted the part mainly for the money, and because the film was going to be filmed in Hollywood, rather in Europe. Soon after the release of ''The George Raft Story'', Jayne returned to European films to find work. Over the next few years, Mansfield mainly appeared in low-budgeted foreign films, such as ''Panic Button'', ''Heimweh nach St. Pauli'', ''Einer Frisst den anderen'', and, ''L'Amore Primitivo''.

thumb|left|In ''Promises! Promises!'', the first Hollywood motion picture with sound to feature a mainstream star in the nude In 1963, Tommy Noonan persuaded Mansfield to become the first mainstream American actress to appear nude with a starring role, in the film ''Promises! Promises!''. Photographs of a naked Mansfield on the set were published in the June 1963 issue of ''Playboy'', which resulted in obscenity charges being filed against Hugh Hefner in Chicago municipal court. ''Promises! Promises!'' was banned in Cleveland, but enjoyed box office success elsewhere. As a result of the film's success, Mansfield landed on the Top 10 list of Box Office Attractions for that year. The autobiographical book, ''Jayne Mansfield's Wild, Wild World'', which she co-authored with her husband at the time, Mickey Hargitay, was published right after ''Promises! Promises!'' and contains 32 pages of black-and-white photographs from the film printed on glossy paper.

In 1966, Mansfield was cast opposite Mamie Van Doren and Ferlin Husky in ''The Las Vegas Hillbillys'', a low-budget comedy released by Woolner Brothers. Despite her career setbacks, Mansfield remained a highly visible personality through the early 1960s through her publicity antics and stage performances. In early 1967, Fox cast Mansfield in a cameo appearance in ''A Guide for the Married Man'' a comedy starring Walter Matthau, Robert Morse, and Inger Stevens. Mansfield received seventh billing. For her last film ''Single Room Furnished'', Mansfield acted without makeup and wore black wig to break out of the stereotype. This film was filmed in 1967, but was not released until mid 1968.

Career outside film

Stage work

Mansfield acted on stage as well as in film. In 1955, she went to New York and appeared in a prominent role in the Broadway production of George Axelrod's comedy ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?''. The ''New York Times'' described the "commendable abandon" of her scantily clad rendition of Rita Marlowe in the play, "a platinum-pated movie siren with the wavy contours of Marilyn Monroe. In October 1957, Mansfield went on a 16-country tour of Europe for 20th Century Fox. She also appeared in stage productions of ''Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' and ''Bus Stop'', which were well reviewed and co-starred Hargitay.

Dissatisfied with her film roles, Mansfield and Hargitay headlined at the Dunes in Las Vegas in an act called ''The House of Love'', for which the actress earned $35,000 a week. It proved to be such a hit that she extended her stay, and 20th Century Fox Records subsequently recorded the show for an album called ''Jayne Mansfield Busts Up Las Vegas'', in 1962. With her film career floundering, she still commanded a salary of $8,000-$25,000 per week for her nightclub act. She traveled all over the world with it. In 1967, the year she died, Mansfield's time was split between nightclub performances and the production of her last film, ''Single Room Furnished'', a low-budget production directed by then-husband Matt Cimber.

Recordings

In addition to singing in English and German in a number of films, in 1964, Mansfield released a novelty album called ''Jayne Mansfield: Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky & Me'', on which she recited Shakespeare's sonnets and poems by Marlowe, Browning, Wordsworth, and others against a background of Tchaikovsky's music. The album cover depicted a bouffant-coiffed Mansfield with lips pursed and breasts barely covered by a fur stole, posing between busts of the Russian composer and the Bard of Avon. ''The New York Times'' described the album as the actress reading "30-odd poems in a husky, urban, baby voice". The paper's reviewer went on to state that "Miss Mansfield is a lady with apparent charms, but reading poetry is not one of them."

Jimi Hendrix played bass and lead guitar for Mansfield in 1965 on two songs, "As The Clouds Drift By" and "Suey", released together on two sides. According to Hendrix historian Steven Roby (''Black Gold: The Lost Archives Of Jimi Hendrix'', Billboard Books) this collaboration happened because they shared the same manager.

Mansfield starred in film ''The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw'' and her character sang three songs on the film: "In The valley Of Love", "Strolling Down The Lane With Billy", and "If The San Francisco Hills Could Only Talk". These were only lip-synced by Mansfield. The singing voice was provided by Connie Francis. Of these three, only "In The Valley Of love" was released on record, albeit only in the United Kingdom and Japan.

Television

Though her acting roles were becoming marginalized, in 1964 Mansfield turned down the role of Ginger Grant in ''Gilligan's Island'', claiming that the role, which eventually was given to Tina Louise, epitomized the stereotype she wished to rid herself of.

Mansfield toured with Bob Hope for the USO. She appeared in numerous television programs, including ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' and ''The Jack Benny Program'' (where she played the violin), ''The Steve Allen Show'', ''Down You Go'', ''The Match Game'' (one rare episode exists with her as a team captain), and ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' (in the mid-1960s when the show was the second highest rated in the US). Mansfield's television roles included appearances in ''Burke's Law'' and ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''.

On returning from New York to Hollywood, she made several television appearances, including several spots as a featured guest star on game shows. In 1962, Mansfield appeared with Brian Keith in ABC's ''Follow the Sun'' dramatic series in an acclaimed episode entitled "The Dumbest Blonde" in which her character "Scottie" is a beautiful blonde who feels insecure in the high society of her older boyfriend, played by Keith. The plot was based on the film of ''Born Yesterday''.

Recognition

In February 1955, Mansfield was the Playmate of the Month in ''Playboy'', in which she subsequently appeared over 30 times. Although Mansfield was reluctant to appear in the play, she received the Theatre World Award of 1956 for her performance in the Broadway production of George Axelrod's comedy ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?''. Mansfield won a Golden Globe in 1957 for ''New Star Of The Year – Actress'' Mansfield won a Golden Laurel in 1959 for ''Top Female Musical Performance'' for her role in ''The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw'', a western spoof directed by Raoul Walsh, although the songs were performed by Connie Francis. In 1963, Mansfield was voted one of the Top 10 Box Office Attractions by an organization of American theater owners for her performance in ''Promises! Promises!'', a film banned in areas around the US. Mansfield has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6328 Hollywood Boulevard.

Personal life

Mansfield was married three times, divorced twice, and had five children. Reportedly she also had affairs and sexual encounters with numerous individuals, including Claude Terrail (the owner of the Paris restaurant La Tour d'Argent), Robert F. Kennedy, John F Kennedy, the Brazilian billionaire Jorge Guinle, and Anton LaVey. She had a brief affair with Jan Cremer, a young Dutch writer who dedicated his 1965 autobiographical novel, ''I, Jan Cremer'', to her. Jan Cremer wrote a large part of his book ''I, Jan Cremer - III'' about their relationship. She also had a well-publicized relationship in 1963 with the singer Nelson Sardelli, whom she said she planned to marry once her divorce from Hargitay was finalized. At the time of her death, Mansfield was accompanied by Sam Brody, her married divorce lawyer and lover at the time.

First marriage

She secretly married Paul Mansfield on January 28, 1950, when she was 16 and he was 21. The couple had a public wedding on May 10, 1950 when Jayne was three months pregnant and were divorced on January 8, 1958. Their only child together, a daughter named Jayne Marie Mansfield, was born in November 1950. Two weeks before her mother's death, Jayne Marie, then 16, accused her mother's boyfriend, Sam Brody, of beating her. The girl's statement to officers of the West Los Angeles police department the following morning implicated her mother in encouraging the abuse, and days later, a juvenile-court judge awarded temporary custody of Jayne Marie to a great-uncle, W.W. Pigue.

Second marriage

When seeing Hargitay for the first time at ''The Mae West Show'', at New York City's Latin Quarter nightclub, Jayne told the waiter asking for her order, "I’ll have a steak and that tall man on the left". The man turned out to be Mickey Hargitay, an actor and bodybuilder who had won the Mr. Universe competition in 1955. When Mansfield and her husband toured for stage shows, she showed a fair amount of skin in the leopard-spot bikini she wore for her stage shows.

Mansfield and Hargitay married on January 13, 1958 at the Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The unique glass chapel made public and press viewing of the wedding much easier. Jayne herself wore a transparent wedding gown, adding to the occasion's publicity aspect. The couple divorced in Juarez, Mexico in May 1963. After the divorce, Mansfield discovered she was pregnant. Since being an unwed mother would have killed her career, Mansfield and Hargitay announced they were still married.

After the birth of the child, Mansfield sued for the Juarez divorce to be declared legal and won. The divorce was recognized in the United States on August 26, 1964. She had previously filed for divorce on May 4, 1962, but told reporters, "I'm sure we will make it up." Their acrimonious divorce had the actress accusing Hargitay of kidnapping one of her children to force a more favorable financial settlement. During this marriage she had two children – Miklós Jeffrey Palmer Hargitay (born December 21, 1958), Zoltán Anthony Hargitay (born August 1, 1960). A third child Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (born January 23, 1964), an actress best known for her role as Olivia Benson in ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', was born after the actual divorce but before California ruled it valid.

In November 1957 (shortly before her marriage to Hargitay), Mansfield bought a 40-room Mediterranean-style mansion formerly owned by Rudy Vallée at 10100 Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Mansfield had the house painted pink, with cupids surrounded by pink fluorescent lights, pink furs in the bathrooms, a pink heart-shaped bathtub, and a fountain spurting pink champagne, and then dubbed it the ''Pink Palace''. Hargitay, a plumber and carpenter before getting into bodybuilding, built a pink heart-shaped swimming pool. Mansfield decorated the Pink Palace by writing to furniture and building suppliers requesting free samples. She received over $150,000 worth of free merchandise while paying only $76,000 for the mansion itself (a large sum nonetheless when the average house cost under $7,500 at the time).

Third marriage

Mansfield married Matt Cimber (''alias'' Matteo Ottaviano, né Thomas Vitale Ottaviano) an Italian-born film director on September 24, 1964. The couple separated on July 11, 1965, and filed for divorce on July 20, 1966. Cimber was a director with whom the actress had become involved when he directed her in a widely praised stage production of ''Bus Stop'' in Yonkers, New York, which costarred Hargitay. Cimber took over managing her career during their marriage. With him she had one son, Antonio Raphael Ottaviano (''alias'' Tony Cimber, born October 17, 1965). Work on her last film, ''Single Room Furnished'', was suspended as her marriage to Cimber began to collapse in the wake of Mansfield's alcohol abuse, open infidelities, and her claim to Cimber that she had only ever been happy with her former lover, Nelson Sardelli.

Publicity stunts

Mansfield appeared in about 2,500 newspaper photographs between September 1956 and May 1957, and had about 122,000 lines of newspaper copy written about her during this time. Because of the successful media blitz, Mansfield was a household name. Throughout her career, Mansfield was compared by the media to the reigning sex symbol of the period, Marilyn Monroe. Of this comparison, she said, "I don't know why you people [the press] like to compare me to Marilyn or that girl, what's her name, Kim Novak. Cleavage, of course, helped me a lot to get where I am. I don't know how they got there." Even with her film roles drying up she was widely considered to be Monroe's primary rival in a crowded field of contenders that included Mamie Van Doren (whom Mansfield considered her professional nemesis), Diana Dors, Cleo Moore, Barbara Nichols, Greta Thyssen, Joi Lansing and Sheree North.

In April 1957, her bosom was the feature of a notorious publicity stunt intended to deflect attention from Sophia Loren during a dinner party in the Italian star's honor. Photographs of the encounter were published around the world. The most famous image showed Loren's gaze falling upon the cleavage of the American actress who, sitting between Loren and her dinner companion, Clifton Webb, had leaned over the table, allowing her breasts to spill over her low neckline and exposing one nipple. The image was one of several taken in the same minutes as the image visible left. A similar incident, resulting in the full exposure of both breasts, occurred during a film festival in West Berlin, when Mansfield was wearing a low-cut dress and her second husband, Mickey Hargitay, picked her up so she could bite a bunch of grapes hanging overhead at a party; the movement caused her breasts to erupt out of the dress. The photograph of that episode was a UPI sensation, appearing in newspapers and magazines with the word "censored" hiding the actress's exposed bosom.

The world's media were quick to condemn Mansfield's stunts, and one editorial columnist wrote, "We are amused when Miss Mansfield strains to pull in her stomach to fill out her bikini better. But we get angry when career-seeking women, shady ladies, and certain starlets and actresses ... use every opportunity to display their anatomy unasked." By the late 1950s, Mansfield began to generate a great deal of negative publicity because of her repeated successful attempts to expose her breasts in carefully staged public "accidents".

Mansfield's most celebrated physical attributes would fluctuate in size as a result of her pregnancies and breast feeding five children. Her smallest measurement was 40D (102 cm) (which she was throughout the 1950s), and largest at 46DD (117 cm), when measured by the press in 1967. According to ''Playboy'', her measurement was 40D-21-36 (102-53-91 cm) and her height was 5'6" (1.68 m). According to her autopsy report, she was 5'8" (1.73 m). Her bosom was so much a part of her public persona that talk-show host Jack Paar once welcomed the actress to ''The Tonight Show'' by saying, "Here they are, Jayne Mansfield", a line that was written for Paar by Dick Cavett and became the title of her biography by Raymond Strait.

Death

While in Biloxi, Mississippi, for an engagement at the Gus Stevens Supper Club, Mansfield stayed at the Cabana Courtyard Apartments, which were near the supper club. After a June 28, 1967 evening engagement, Mansfield, Brody, and their driver, Ronnie Harrison, along with the actress's children Miklós, Zoltán, and Mariska, set out in Stevens' 1966 Buick Electra 225 for New Orleans, where Mansfield was to appear in an early morning television interview. Before leaving Biloxi, the party made a stop at the home of Rupert and Edna O'Neal, a family that lived nearby. After a late dinner with the O'Neals, during which the last photographs of Mansfield were taken, the party set out for New Orleans. On June 29 at approximately 2:25 a.m., on U.S. Highway 90, the car crashed into the rear of a tractor-trailer that had slowed because of a truck spraying mosquito fogger. The automobile struck the rear of the trailer and went under it. Riding in the front seat, the adults were killed instantly. The children in the rear survived with minor injuries.

Rumors that Mansfield was decapitated are untrue, though she did suffer severe head trauma. This urban legend was spawned by the appearance in police photographs of a crashed automobile with its top virtually sheared off, and what resembles a blonde-haired head tangled in the car's smashed windshield. It is believed this was either a wig Mansfield was wearing or was her actual hair and scalp. The death certificate stated the immediate cause of Mansfield's death was a "crushed skull with avulsion of cranium and brain." Following her death, the NHTSA began requiring an underride guard, a strong bar made of steel tubing, to be installed on all tractor-trailers. This bar is also known as a Mansfield bar, and on occasions as a DOT bar.

Mansfield's funeral was held on July 3, in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania. The ceremony was conducted by a Methodist minister, though Mansfield, who long tried to convert to Catholicism, had become interested in Judaism at the end of her life through her relationship with Sam Brody. She is interred in Fairview Cemetery, southeast of Pen Argyl. Her gravestone reads "We Live to Love You More Each Day". A memorial cenotaph, showing an incorrect birth year, was erected in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, California. The cenotaph was placed by The Jayne Mansfield Fan Club and has the incorrect birth year because Mansfield herself tended to provide incorrect information about her age.

Legacy

Shortly after Mansfield's funeral, Mickey Hargitay sued his former wife's estate for more than $275,000 to support the children, whom he and his third and last wife, Ellen Siano, would raise. Mansfield's youngest child, Tony, was raised by his father, Matt Cimber, whose divorce from the actress was pending when she was killed. In 1968, wrongful-death lawsuits were filed on behalf of Jayne Marie Mansfield and Matt Cimber, the former for $4.8 million and the latter for $2.7 million. The ''Pink Palace'' was sold and its subsequent owners have included Ringo Starr, Cass Elliot, and Engelbert Humperdinck. In 2002, Humperdinck sold it to developers, and the house was demolished in November of that year. Much of her estate is managed by CMG Worldwide, an intellectual property management company.

In 1980, ''The Jayne Mansfield Story'' aired on CBS starring Loni Anderson in the title role and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mickey Hargitay. It was nominated for three Emmy Awards.

Filmography

! Year	! Movie Title	! Role	! Co-actors	! Director	! Producer	! Notes
	''Female Jungle''	Candy Price	Burt Kaiser, Kathleen Crowley	Bruno VeSota	Burt Kaiser, Kathleen Crowley	Alternative title: ''The Hangover''
1955		Cigarette Girl	Jack Webb, Janet Leigh, Edmond O'Brien, Peggy Lee	Jack Webb	Warner Bros.	Uncredited
1955	''Underwater!''	Girl in Bikini by Pool		John Sturges	RKO	Uncredited
1955		Angel O'Hara	Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe		Warner Bros.
1955	''Hell on Frisco Bay''	Mario's dance partner in nightclub	Alan Ladd, Fay Wray	Frank Tuttle	Jaguar Productions	Uncredited
	''The Girl Can't Help It''	Jerri Jordan	Tom Ewell, Edmond O'Brien, Julie London, Ray Anthony	Frank Tashlin	20th Century Fox	Jayne's first starring role; considered a classic.
	''The Burglar''	Gladden	Dan Duryea, Martha Vickers, Peter Capell, Mickey Shaughnessy	Paul Wendkos	Columbia Pictures	Filmed in 1955
1957		Camille Oakes	Joan Collins, Dan Dailey	Victor Vicas	20th Century Fox
1957	''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?''	Rita Marlowe		Frank Tashlin	20th Century Fox	Alternative title: ''Oh! For a Man!'' (UK); considered a classic.Known as Mansfield's "signature film".
1957		Alice Kratzner	Cary Grant, Leif Erickson, Suzy Parker	Stanley Donen	Sol C. Siegel	Mansfield's last starring role in a mainstream Hollywood studio film.
	''The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw''	Kate	Kenneth More, Henry Hull, Bruce Cabot	Raoul Walsh	20th Century Fox	Not released in the United States until 1959.
		Billy	Anthony Quayle, Carl Möhner, Peter Reynolds	John Gilling	Alexandra	Alternative title: ''It Takes a Thief'' (US); not released in the United States until 1963.
1960		Midnight Franklin	Leo Genn, Karlheinz Böhm, Christopher Lee		Wigmore Productions	Alternative title: ''Playgirl After Dark'' (US); not released in the United States until 1961.
	''The Loves of Hercules''	Queen Dianira/ Hippolyta	Mickey Hargitay, Massimo Serato	Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia	Contact Organisation	Alternative titles ''Gli Amori di Ercole'' (Italy), ''Les Amours d'Hercule'' (France), ''Hercules vs. the Hydra'' (TV title); not released to US movie theaters.
1961		Lisa Lang	Ray Danton, Julie London, Barrie Chase	Joseph M. Newman	Allied Artists Pictures	Alternative title: ''Spin of a Coin'' (UK).
	''It Happened in Athens''	Eleni Costa	Trax Colton, Nico Minardos, Bob Mathias	Andrew Marton	20th Century Fox	Filmed in the fall of 1960; in Greece.
	''Heimweh nach St. Pauli''	Evelyne		Werner Jacobs	Rapid Film	Alternative title: ''Homesick for St. Pauli'' (US); never released in the United States.
1963	''Promises! Promises!''	Sandy Brooks	Marie McDonald, Tommy Noonan, Mickey Hargitay	King Donovan	Tommy Noonan-Donald F. Taylor	Aka: ''Promise Her Anything'' (some releases)
	''L'Amore Primitivo''	Dr. Jane	Franco Franchi, Ciccio Ingrassia, Mickey Hargitay	Luigi Scattini	G.L.M.	Alternative title: ''Primitive Love'' (US); not released in the United States until 1966.
1964		Angela	Maurice Chevalier, Eleanor Parker, Mike Connors	George Sherman, Giuliano Carnimeo	Gordon Films	Alternative title: ''Let's Go Bust'' (US), filmed in 1962; in Italy.
1964	''Einer Frisst den anderen''	Darlene/ Mrs. Smithopolis		Richard E. Cunha, Gustav Gavrin	Dubrava Film	Alternative title: ''Dog Eat Dog!'' (US); not released in the United States until 1966.
	''The Fat Spy''	Junior Wellington	Phyllis Diller, Jack E. Leonard	Joseph Cates	Woolner Brothers
1966	''The Las Vegas Hillbillys''	Tawny	Phyllis Diller, Jack E. Leonard, Brian Donlevy	Arthur Pierson	Woolner Brothers	Alternative title: ''Country Music''.
	''A Guide for the Married Man''	Technical Adviser (Girl with Harold)	Walter Matthau, Inger Stevens	Gene Kelly	20th Century Fox	Cameo appearance.
	''Single Room Furnished''	Johnnie/ Mae/ Eileen	Dorothy Keller, Fabian Dean, Billy M. Greene	Matt Cimber	Empire Film Studios	Posthumous release.

Documentaries

! Year	! Title	! Role	! Notes
1956	''Reflets de Cannes''	Herself	TV documentary
1957	''Screen Snapshots: The Walter Winchell Party''	Herself	Documentary short
1958	''Screen Snapshots: Salute to Hollywood''	Herself	Documentary short
1962	''Lykke og krone''	Herself	Feature length
1964	''Cinépanorama''	Herself	TV documentary
1967	''Spree''	Herself	Feature length
1967	''Mondo Hollywood''	Herself	Feature length
1968	''The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield''	Herself (archive footage)	Feature length

Television work

As an actor

''Sunday Spectacular: The Bachelor'', NBC (July 1956)

''Shower of Stars'', Desilu Productions, Season 3, Episode 4 ("Star Time", January 1957)

''Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium'', Associated Television, Season 3, Episode 1 (September 1957)

''The Red Skelton Hour'', CBS, Season 9, Episode 2 ("Clem's General Store", October 1959)

''After Hours'', ABC Weekend Television, Season 2, Episode 13 (December 1959)

''Kraft Mystery Theater'', Season 1, Episode 12 ("The House of Rue Riviera", August 1961)

''Follow the Sun'', 20th Century Fox Television, Season 1, Episode 21 ("The Dumbest Blonde", February 1962)

''Monte Carlo'', 20th Century Fox Television (August 1961)

''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'', Season 1, Episode 12 ("Hangover", December 1962)

''The Red Skelton Hour'', CBS, Season 11, Episode 1 ("Will Success Spoil Clem Kadiddlehopper?", September 1961)

''The Red Skelton Hour'', CBS, Season 12, Episode 21 ("Advice to the Loveworn", February 1963)

''Amos Burke, Secret Agent'', Four Star Television, Season 1, Episode 26 ("Who Killed Molly?", March 1964)

As herself

''The Bob Hope Show'', Hope Enterprise, Season 17, Episode 4 (''A Bob Hope Comedy Special'', December 1966)

''What's My Line?'', CBS, 4 Episodes; dated: 1956, 1957, 1964, 1966

''The Ed Sullivan Show'' (also named ''Toast of the Town''), CBS, Season 10, Episode 35 (May 1957)

''The Ed Sullivan Show'', CBS, Season 10, Episode 46 (August 1957)

''The Jack Benny Program'', J&M; Productions, Season 7, Episode 8 ("Talent Show", December 1956)

''The Jack Benny Program'', J&M; Productions, Season 14, Episode 9 ("Jack Takes Boat to Hawaii", November 1963)

''The Tonight Show'', NBC, ("The Jack Paar Tonight Show", January 1962)

''The Tonight Show'', NBC, (April 1962)

Discography

Albums

''Jayne Mansfield Busts up Las Vegas'' (20th Century Fox, 1962)

''Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky & Me'' (MGM, 1964)

''I Wanna Be Loved By You'' (Golden Options, 2000)

''Dyed Blondes'' (Recall Records, 2002)

''Too Hot to Handle'' (Blue Moon, France, 2003)

Singles

''That Makes It'' (''The Las Vegas Hillbillys'')

''Too Hot to Handle'' (''Too Hot to Handle'')

''Little Things Mean a Lot''

''As The Clouds Drift By'' (with Jimi Hendrix, A-side) ''Suey'' (with Jimi Hendrix, B-side)

''You Were Made for Me''

''Wo Ist Der Mann'' (''Homesick for St. Pauli'')

''Snicksnack-Snucklchen'' (''Homesick for St. Pauli'')

''I'm in love'' (also known as the ''Lullaby of Love''; ''Promises! Promises!'')

''Promise her anything'' (''Promises! Promises!'')

''It's a Living''

Theater performances

''Death of a Salesman'' (1953)

''Bus Stop'' (1965)

''Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1966)

''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' (1955–1956)

''Rabbit Habit'' (1965)

Books

''Jayne Mansfield's Wild, Wild World'' (Holloway House; 1963; co-author: Mickey Hargitay)

See also

List of people in Playboy 1953–1959

List of people in Playboy 1960–1969

References

"Jayne Mansfield: Blonde Ambition", a documentary broadcast on the A&E; Network in 2004.

"Dead Famous: Jayne Mansfield", biography.com

Citation

External links

Online biographies

Biographical timeline at Philadelphia Weekly

JM's Biography at the Biography Channel

JM's Biography at Dreamtime

JM's Biography at Find Articles (from St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture)

JM's bio and other facts at Bombshells

Category:1933 births Category:1967 deaths Category:American film actors Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Road accident deaths in Louisiana Category:New Star of the Year (Actress) Golden Globe winners Category:People from Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania Category:People from Phillipsburg, New Jersey Category:University of Dallas alumni Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Cornish descent Category:American people of German descent Category:Playboy Playmates (1953–1959)

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name	Jack Webb
birth date	April 02, 1920
birth place	Santa Monica, California, U.S.
death date	December 23, 1982
death place	West Hollywood, California, U.S.
other names	John Randolph
occupation	Actor, producer, director, screenwriter
years active	1954–78
spouse	}}

Jack Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982), also known by the pseudonym John Randolph, was an American actor, television producer, director and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sergeant Joe Friday in the radio and television series ''Dragnet''. He was also the founder of his own production company, Mark VII Limited.

Early life

Born in Santa Monica, California, Webb grew up in the Bunker Hill section of Los Angeles. His Jewish father left home before Webb was born, and Webb never knew him. He was raised a Roman Catholic by his Irish-Indian mother. One of the tenants in his mother's rooming house was an ex-jazzman who began Webb's lifelong interest in jazz by giving him a recording of Bix Beiderbecke's "At the Jazz Band Ball".

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Webb lived in the parish of Our Lady of Loretto Church and attended Our Lady of Loretto Elementary School in Echo Park, where he served as an altar boy. He then attended Belmont High School, and later, the St. John's University, Minnesota, where he studied art. During World War II, Webb enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces. After washing out of flight training, he applied for and received a hardship discharge, being the primary financial support for his mother and grandmother.

Career

Acting

Following his discharge, he moved to San Francisco to star in his own radio show on ABC's KGO Radio. ''The Jack Webb Show'' was a half-hour comedy that had a limited run on ABC radio in 1946. By 1949 he had abandoned comedy for drama, and starred in ''Pat Novak for Hire'', a radio show about a man who worked as an unlicensed private detective. The program co-starred Raymond Burr. ''Pat Novak'' was notable for writing that imitated, almost to parody, the hard-boiled style of such writers as Raymond Chandler, with lines such as: ''"She drifted into the room like 98 pounds of warm smoke. Her voice was hot and sticky--like a furnace full of marshmallows."

Webb's radio shows included ''Johnny Modero, Pier 23;'' ''Jeff Regan, Investigator;'' ''Murder and Mr. Malone'' and ''One Out of Seven.'' Webb did all of the voices on ''One Out of Seven'', often vigorously attacking racial prejudice.

His most famous motion picture role was as the combat-hardened Marine Corps drill instructor at Parris Island in the 1957 film ''The D.I.,'' with Don Dubbins as a callow Marine private. Webb's characterization in this role (Sgt. Jim Moore) would be reflected in much of his later acting.

''Dragnet'' and stardom

Webb had a featured role as a crime lab technician in the 1948 film ''He Walked by Night'', based on the real-life murder of a California Highway Patrolman by Erwin Walker, a World War II army veteran and former Glendale police department employee. The film was done in semidocumentary style with technical assistance provided by Detective Sergeant Marty Wynn of the Los Angeles Police Department. ''He Walked by Night'''s thinly-fictionalized recounting of the 1946 Walker crime spree gave Webb the idea for ''Dragnet'': a recurring series based on real cases from LAPD police files, featuring authentic depictions of the modern police detective, including methods, mannerisms, and technical language.

With much assistance from Sgt. Marty Wynn and legendary LAPD chief William H. Parker, ''Dragnet'' hit radio airwaves in 1949 (running until 1954). It was then picked up as a television series by NBC, which aired episodes each season from 1952 to 1959. Webb played Sgt. Joe Friday, and Barton Yarborough co-starred as Sgt. Ben Romero. After Yarborough's death, Ben Alexander joined the cast as Officer Frank Smith.

Webb was a stickler for attention to detail. He believed viewers wanted "realism" and tried to give it to them. Webb had tremendous respect for those in law enforcement. He often said in interviews that he was angry about the "ridiculous amount" of abuse to which police were subjected by the press and the public. Webb was also impressed by the long hours, low pay, and injury rate among police investigators of the day, particularly in the LAPD, which was notorious for jettisoning officers who had become ill or injured in the line of duty. In announcing his vision of ''Dragnet'', Webb said he intended to perform a service for the police by showing them as low-key working class heroes. ''Dragnet'' moved away from earlier portrayals of the police in shows such as ''Jeff Regan'' and ''Pat Novak,'' which often showed them as brutal and even corrupt. According to one ''Dragnet'' technical advisor, when the advisor pointed out that several circumstances in an episode were extremely unlikely in real life, Webb responded, "You know that, and now I know that. But that little old lady in Kansas will never know the difference." ''Dragnet'' became a successful television show in 1952. Barton Yarborough died of a heart attack, and Barney Phillips (Sgt. Ed Jacobs) and Herbert Ellis (Officer Frank Smith) temporarily stepped in as partners. Veteran radio and film actor Ben Alexander soon took over the role of jovial, burly Officer Frank Smith. Alexander was popular and remained a cast member until the show's cancellation in 1959. In 1954, a full-length feature film adaptation of the series was released, starring Webb, Alexander, and Richard Boone.

''Dragnet'' began with the narration "The story you are about to see is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent." At the end of each show, the trial verdict of the suspect was announced by Hal Gibney. Webb frequently re-created entire floors of buildings on sound stages, such as the police headquarters at Los Angeles City Hall and a floor of the ''Los Angeles Herald-Examiner''.

In ''Dragnet'''s early days, Webb continued to appear in movies, notably as the best friend of William Holden's character in the 1950 Billy Wilder film ''Sunset Boulevard''. In 1950, Webb appeared alongside future 1960s ''Dragnet'' partner Harry Morgan in the film noir ''Dark City'', which also featured the first screen appearance of a new young actor named Charlton Heston. In contrast to the pair's straight-arrow image in ''Dragnet'', here Webb played a vicious card sharp in Dark City and Morgan a punch-drunk ex-fighter who tries to talk Heston back into a straight-and-narrow life.

In 1951, Webb introduced a short-lived radio series, ''Pete Kelly's Blues'', in an attempt to bring the music he loved to a broader audience. That show became the basis for a 1955 movie of the same name. In 1959 a television version was made. Neither were very successful. In the early 1960s Webb (along with actor Jeffrey Hunter) formed Apollo Productions. They made the TV series Temple Houston.

In 1963, Webb took over from William T. Orr as executive producer of the ABC detective series ''77 Sunset Strip''. He brought about wholesale changes in the program and retained only Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., in the role of Stuart Bailey. The outcome was a disaster. Ratings fell and the series was cancelled in its sixth season.

Beginning in early 1967, Webb produced and starred in a new color version of ''Dragnet'' for NBC, this time for Universal Television, which packaged all but one of his subsequent shows. Harry Morgan co-starred as Officer Bill Gannon. (Ben Alexander was unavailable, as he was co-starring in ''Felony Squad'' on ABC.) The show's pilot, originally produced as a made-for-TV movie in 1966, did not air until 1969. The TV movie was based on the Harvey Glatman serial killings. The TV series ran through 1970. To distinguish it from the original series, the year of production was added to the title (''Dragnet 1967,'' ''Dragnet 1968,'' etc.). The revival emphasized crime prevention and outreach to the public. Its attempts to address the contemporary youth-drug culture (such as the Blue Boy episode voted 85th-best TV episode of all time by TV Guide and TV Land) have led certain episodes on the topic to achieve cult status due to their strained attempts to be "with-it", such as Joe Friday grilling Blue Boy by asking him, "You're pretty high and far out, aren't you? What kind of kick are you on, son?"

In 1968, in concert with Robert A. Cinader, Webb produced NBC's popular ''Adam-12'', which focused on uniformed LAPD officers Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and Jim Reed (Kent McCord), which ran until 1975. Webb also performed the classic "Copper Clappers" sketch during an appearance on ''The Tonight Show'' where a pokerfaced Joe Friday echoed Johnny Carson's equally-deadpan robbery report in which all the details started with "Cl" or least the letter C.

In the 1970s Webb began to expand his Mark VII Limited into other shows. The most successful of his 1970s efforts was ''Emergency!'', which portrayed the fledgling paramedic program of the L.A. County Fire Department. The show become a huge success, running from 1972–79, with ratings occasionally even topping its time slot competitor, ''All in the Family''. Webb cast his ex-wife, Julie London, as well as her second husband and ''Dragnet'' ensemble player Bobby Troup, as nurse Dixie McCall and Dr. Joe Early. There was even a cartoon spin-off, ''Emergency+4''.

Personal life

Webb's personal life was better defined by his love of jazz than his interest in police work. His life-long interest in the cornet and racially tolerant attitude allowed him to move easily in the jazz culture, where he met singer and actress Julie London. They married in 1947 and had two children. They later divorced, and Webb would marry three more times.

Webb's first marriage to Julie London ended in 1954. Subsequently, he married Dorothy Towne in 1955, divorcing in 1957, former Miss USA Jackie Loughery (to whom he was married from 1958 to 1964), and Opal Wright, who married him in 1980 and was widowed by his death in 1982. He had two daughters with Julie London: Stacy (1950–1996) and Lisa (born 1952). Stacy Webb authorized and collaborated on a book, ''Just the Facts, Ma'am; The Authorized Biography of Jack Webb, Creator of Dragnet, Adam-12, and Emergency'', by Daniel Moyer and Eugene Alvarez. It was published in 1999. Stacy did not live to see the publication of the book, having been killed in a car accident three years earlier.

Death

Jack Webb began working on scripts for a revival of ''Dragnet'' with Kent McCord as his partner. However, he died of a heart attack in 1982 at the age of 62.

He was interred in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, and was given a funeral with full police honors. On Webb's death Chief Daryl Gates announced that badge number 714 which was used by Joe Friday in ''Dragnet'' would be retired. Mayor Tom Bradley of Los Angeles ordered all flags lowered to half-staff in Webb's honor for a day, and Webb was buried with a replica LAPD badge bearing the rank of Sergeant, and the number 714.

Webb has two Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: for radio at 7040 Hollywood Boulevard, and for television at 6728 Hollywood Boulevard.

Selected filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film |- align="center" ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Year ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Film ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Role ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Notes |- | 1932 | ''Three on a Match'' | Boy in schoolyard | Uncredited |- | rowspan=2|1948 | ''Hollow Triumph'' | Bullseye | Uncredited |- | ''He Walked by Night'' | Lee | |- | 1949 | ''Sword in the Desert'' | Hoffman | Uncredited |- | rowspan=4|1950 | ''The Men'' | Norm | Alternative title: ''Battle Stripe'' |- | ''Sunset Boulevard'' | Artie Green | |- | ''Dark City'' | Augie | |- | ''Halls of Montezuma'' | Correspondent Dickerman | |- | rowspan=2|1951 | ''You're in the Navy Now'' | Ens. Anthony "Tony" Barbo | Alternative title: ''U.S.S. Teakettle'' |- | ''Appointment with Danger'' | Joe Regas | |- | 1954 | ''Dragnet'' | Sgt. Joe Friday | Director |- | 1955 | ''Pete Kelly's Blues'' | Pete Kelly | Producer/Director |- | 1957 | ''The D.I.'' | Tech Sgt. Jim Moore | Director |- | 1959 | ''-30-'' | Sam Gatlin | Director |- | 1961 | ''The Last Time I Saw Archie'' | William "Bill" Bowers | Producer |- | 1962 | ''Red Nightmare'' | Narrator | Producer |- |- align="center" ! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Television |- align="center" ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Year ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Title ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Role ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Notes |- | 1951–1959 | ''Dragnet'' | Sergeant Joe Friday | 276 episodes |- | 1956–1957 | ''Noah's Ark'' | Creator of the series starring Paul Burke | 24 episodes |- | 1962–1963 | ''GE True'' | – | Director, 4 episodes |- | 1967–1970 | ''Dragnet 1967'' | Sergeant Joe Friday | 98 episodes |- | 1968–1975 | ''Adam-12'' | – | Writer, 174 episodes |- | rowspan=2|1971 | ''O'Hara, U.S. Treasury'' | Narrator | 1 episode |- | ''The Partners'' | The Commissioner | 1 episode |- | 1972–1976 | ''Emergency!'' | – | Director, 5 episodes |- | 1978 | ''Project UFO'' | Announcer | 1 episode |}

Discography

''Songs from Pete Kelly's Blues'' (1955)

''You're My Girl: Romantic Reflections by Jack Webb'' (1958)

''Golden Throats'' volume 1 (1988)

''Just the Tracks, Ma'am: The Warner Brothers Recordings'' (2000)

References

Further reading

Hugh W. Binyon: Reflections in a Pig's Eye Babcock Publishing; (paperback, 2002)

Michael J. Hayde: My Name's Friday: The Unauthorized but True Story of Dragnet and the Films of Jack Webb; Cumberland House Publishing; ISBN 1-58182-190-5 (paperback, 2001)

Jack Webb: The Badge: The Inside Story of One of America's Great Police Departments; Prentice-Hall; (hardback, 1958)

Maurice Zolotow: The True Story of Jack Webb The American Weekly, September 12, 19, 26, October 3, 1954.

External links

Badge 714 (''Dragnet'' and Webb fan site)

Pat Novak For Hire (''Pat Novak For Hire'' fan site)

AAFCollection.info Pictures of Jack Webb as an Air Cadet at the Rankin Aeronautical Academy at Tulare, California in 1943.

Category:Actors from California Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American film producers Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:United States Army Air Forces soldiers Category:American radio actors Category:American television actors Category:American television directors Category:American television producers Category:American television writers Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Edgar Award winners Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:1920 births Category:1982 deaths Category:People from Echo Park, Los Angeles

de:Jack Webb es:Jack Webb fr:Jack Webb it:Jack Webb sh:Jack Webb fi:Jack Webb

name	Harry Morgan
birth name	Harry Bratsberg
birth date	April 10, 1915
birth place	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
nationality	American
education	Muskegon High School
alma mater	University of Chicago
occupation	Actor, director, writer
years active	1942–2002
spouse	Eileen Detchon (1940–85) (her death) 4 childrenBarbara Bushman (1986–present)
website	}}

Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg. April 10, 1915) is an American actor. Morgan is well-known for his roles as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on ''M*A*S*H'' (1975–1983), Pete Porter on both ''Pete and Gladys'' (1960–1962) and ''December Bride'' (1954–1959), Detective Bill Gannon on ''Dragnet'' (1967–1970), and Amos Coogan on ''Hec Ramsey'' (1972–1974). He has appeared in more than 100 films.

Biography

Early life and career

Morgan was born Harry Bratsberg in Detroit, Michigan, of Norwegian and Swedish heritage. He was raised in Muskegon, Michigan, and graduated from Muskegon High School in 1933, where he achieved distinction as a statewide debating champion. He originally aspired to a law degree, but began acting while a junior at the University of Chicago in 1935.

Morgan began acting on stage under his birth name, joining the Group Theatre in New York City in 1937, and appearing in the original production of the Clifford Odets play ''Golden Boy'', followed by a host of successful Broadway roles alongside such other Group members as Lee J. Cobb, Elia Kazan, Sanford Meisner, and Karl Malden.

Morgan did summer stock at the Pine Brook Country Club located in the countryside of Nichols, Connecticut, with the Group Theatre (New York) formed by Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford and Lee Strasberg in the 1930s and early 1940s.

Screen debut

Morgan made his screen debut (originally using the name "Henry Morgan") in the 1942 movie ''To the Shores of Tripoli''. His screen name later would become "Henry 'Harry' Morgan" and eventually Harry Morgan, to avoid confusion with the then-popular humorist of the same name.

In the same year, Morgan appeared in the movie "Orchestra Wives" as a young man pushing his way to the front of a ballroom crowd with his date to hear Glenn Miller's band play. Ironically, a few years later, still credited as Henry Morgan, was cast in the role of pianist Chummy MacGregor in the 1954 biopic The Glenn Miller Story.

Screen career

Morgan continued to play a number of significant roles on the big screen in such films as ''The Ox-Bow Incident'' (1943), ''Wing and a Prayer'' (1944), ''Dragonwyck'' (1946), ''The Big Clock'' (1948), ''High Noon'' (1952), and several films in the 1950s for director Anthony Mann, including ''Bend of the River'' (1952), ''Thunder Bay'' (1953), ''The Glenn Miller Story'' (1954), ''The Far Country'' (1955) and ''Strategic Air Command'' (1955); in his later film career he appeared in ''Inherit the Wind'' (1960), ''How the West Was Won'' (1962), ''John Goldfarb, Please Come Home'' (1965), ''Frankie and Johnny'' (1966), ''Support Your Local Sheriff!'' (1969), ''Support Your Local Gunfighter!'' (1971), ''Snowball Express'' (1972), ''The Shootist'' (1976), ''The Wild Wild West Revisited'' (1979), and a cameo in the film version of ''Dragnet'' (1987) with Dan Ackroyd and Tom Hanks. Besides all of the Anthony Mann films, Morgan was in a number of movies with James Stewart, including ''Strategic Air Command (film)'' (1955), ''The Mountain Road'' (1960), ''How the West Was Won'' (1962), ''The Glenn Miller Story'' (1954) and ''The Shootist'' (1976), also with John Wayne, with whom Morgan also shared scenes in ''How the West Was Won'', featuring Morgan portraying Ulysses S. Grant to Wayne's William Tecumseh Sherman in the John Ford-directed segment of the Cinerama film.

1950s TV roles

Morgan hosted the NBC radio series ''Mystery in the Air'' starring Peter Lorre in 1947. On CBS, he played Pete Porter in ''Pete and Gladys'' (1960–1962), with Cara Williams as wife Gladys. ''Pete and Gladys'' was a spinoff of ''December Bride'' (1954–1959), starring Spring Byington, Dean Miller, Frances Rafferty, and Verna Felton. When Miller and Rafferty died within three months of each other in 2004, Morgan became the last surviving member of the ''December Bride'' cast.

1960s: ''Dragnet'' and other roles

In the 1964–1965 season, Morgan co-starred as Seldom Jackson in the 26-week NBC comedy/drama ''Kentucky Jones'', starring Dennis Weaver.

Morgan is even more widely recognized as Officer Bill Gannon, Joe Friday's partner in the revived version of ''Dragnet'' (1967–1970). Morgan had also appeared with ''Dragnet'' star Jack Webb in two film noir movies, ''Dark City'' (1950) and ''Appointment with Danger'' (1951), and was an early regular member of Jack Webb's stock company of actors on the original ''Dragnet'' radio show. Morgan later worked on two other shows for Webb, 1971's ''The D.A.'' and the 1972–1974 western ''Hec Ramsey.'' Morgan also appeared in at least one episode of Gunsmoke.

''M*A*S*H'' (1975–1983)

Morgan's first appearance on ''M*A*S*H'' was in the show's third season (1974–1975), when he played spaced-out Major General Bartford Hamilton Steele ("That's three e's, not all in a row!") in "The General Flipped at Dawn", which originally aired on September 10, 1974. Steele is convinced that the 4077th needs to move closer to the front line, to be near the action.

Morgan's memorable Emmy-nominated performance impressed the producers of the show. The following season, Morgan joined the cast of ''M*A*S*H'' as Colonel Sherman T. Potter. Morgan replaced McLean Stevenson, who had left the show at the end of the previous season. Col. Potter was a career army officer who was tough, yet good-humored and caring—a father figure to the people under his command. The picture of Col. Potter's wife, on the right side of his desk, is actually that of Eileen Detchon, Morgan's real-life wife at the time. He asked if he could use the picture of his wife, and the producers had no objections.

In 1980, Morgan won an Emmy award for his performance on ''M*A*S*H''. After the end of the series, Morgan reprised the Potter role in a short-lived spinoff series, ''AfterMASH''.

Later years

In 1986, he costarred with Hal Linden in ''Blacke's Magic'', a show about a magician who doubled as a detective solving unusual crimes. The series lasted only one season.

In 1987, Morgan played Martin Vanderhof on a TV series version of Kaufman and Hart's Pulitzer prize-winning play ''You Can't Take It With You''.

In 1987, Morgan reprised his Bill Gannon character for a supporting role in another film version of ''Dragnet'', a parody of the original series written by and starring Dan Aykroyd and co-starring Tom Hanks and Christopher Plummer.

In the 1990s, Morgan played the role of Judge Stoddard Bell in a series of ''The Incident''; ''Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (TV 1992)'' and ''Incident in a Small Town (1994 TV)'' TV movies starring Walter Matthau. He was on an episode of ''The Simpsons'' as Officer Bill Gannon from ''Dragnet'' in the 7th season ("Mother Simpson") and had a recurring role on ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' as Professor Suter. Morgan directed episodes for several TV series, including two episodes of ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'' and eight episodes of ''M*A*S*H''. Morgan had a guest role on ''The Jeff Foxworthy Show'' as Raymond and a guest role on ''Grace Under Fire'' as Jean's pot-smoking boyfriend.

In 2006, Morgan was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

At 96, Morgan is one of the oldest living Hollywood male actors.

Personal life

Morgan has been married twice: first to Eileen Detchon, from 1940 until her death in 1985, and then to Barbara Bushman Quine (granddaughter of silent film star Francis X. Bushman) from December 17, 1986 to the present. He had four sons with his first wife: Christopher, Charles, Paul, and Daniel (who died in 1989). His grandson Spencer Morgan is a columnist at the ''New York Observer''.

In July 1997, Morgan was charged with abusing his wife a year earlier, after a beating left her with injuries to her eye, foot, and arm. Prosecutors dropped the charges after the 82-year-old actor completed a six-month domestic violence counseling program.

During Morgan's tenure on ''M*A*S*H'', a photograph of Eileen Detchon regularly appeared on the desk of his character, Sherman T. Potter, to represent Potter's wife, Mildred. Mildred was also the name of Morgan's character's wife in ''High Noon'', as well as the name of his wife in the movie ''The Apple Dumpling Gang''. A drawing of a horse, seen on the wall behind Potter's desk, was drawn by Morgan's grandson, Jeremy Morgan. In addition, Eileen was the name of the wife of Officer Bill Gannon on ''Dragnet''.

Filmography

''To the Shores of Tripoli'' (1942)

''The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe'' (1942)

''Orchestra Wives'' (1942)

''The Omaha Trail'' (1942)

''A Scrap of Paper'' (1943)

''Crash Dive'' (1943)

''The Ox-Bow Incident'' (1943)

''Happy Land'' (1943)

''The Eve of St. Mark'' (1944)

''Roger Touhy, Gangster'' (1944)

''Wing and a Prayer'' (1944)

''Gentle Annie'' (1944)

''A Bell for Adano'' (1945)

''State Fair'' (1945)

''From This Day Forward'' (1946)

''Johnny Comes Flying Home'' (1946)

''Dragonwyck'' (1946)

''Somewhere in the Night'' (1946)

''It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog'' (1946)

''Crime Doctor's Man Hunt'' (1946)

''The Gangster'' (1947)

''All My Sons'' (1948)

''The Big Clock'' (1948)

''Race Street'' (1948)

''The Saxon Charm'' (1948)

''Moonrise'' (1948)

''Yellow Sky'' (1948)

''Hello Out There'' (1949)

''Down to the Sea in Ships'' (1949)

''The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend'' (1949)

''Madame Bovary'' (1949)

''Strange Bargain'' (1949)

''Red Light'' (1949)

''Holiday Affair'' (1949)

''Outside the Wall'' (1950)

''The Showdown'' (1950)

''Dark City'' (1950)

''Belle Le Grand'' (1951)

''When I Grow Up'' (1951)

''Appointment with Danger'' (1951)

''The Highwayman'' (1951)

''The Well'' (1951)

''The Blue Veil'' (1951)

''Boots Malone'' (1952)

''Scandal Sheet'' (1952)

''Bend of the River'' (1952)

''My Six Convicts'' (1952)

''High Noon'' (1952)

''What Price Glory?'' (1952)

''Big Jim McLain'' (1952)

''Apache War Smoke'' (1952)

''Toughest Man in Arizona'' (1952)

''Stop, You're Killing Me'' (1952)

''Thunder Bay'' (1953)

''Arena'' (1953)

''Champ for a Day'' (1953)

''Torch Song'' (1953)

''The Glenn Miller Story'' (1954)

''Prisoner of War (1954)

''The Forty-Niners'' (1954)

''About Mrs. Leslie'' (1954)

''The Far Country'' (1955)

''Strategic Air Command'' (1955)

''Not as a Stranger'' (1955)

''Pete Kelly's Blues'' (1955)

''The Bottom of the Bottle'' (1956)

''Backlash'' (1956)

''Operation Teahouse'' (1956)

''Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers'' (1956)

''Star in the Dust'' (1956)

''The Teahouse of the August Moon'' (1956)

''Under Fire (1957)

''It Started with a Kiss'' (1959)

''The Mountain Road'' (1960)

''Inherit the Wind''(1960)

''Cimarron'' (1960)

''How the West Was Won'' (1962)

''John Goldfarb, Please Come Home'' (1965)

''Frankie and Johnny'' (1966)

''What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?'' (1966)

''The Flim-Flam Man'' (1967)

''Star Spangled Salesman'' (1968)

''Support Your Local Sheriff!'' (1969)

''Viva Max!'' (1969)

''The Barefoot Executive'' (1971)

''Support Your Local Gunfighter!'' (1971)

''Scandalous John'' (1971)

''Snowball Express'' (1972)

''Charley and the Angel'' (1973)

''The Apple Dumpling Gang'' (1975)

''The Shootist'' (1976)

''The Cat from Outer Space'' (1978)

''The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again'' (1979)

''The Wild Wild West Revisted'' (1979)

''More Wild Wild West'' (1980)

''The Flight of Dragons'' (1982)

''Dragnet'' (1987)

''The Incident'' (1990)

''Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore'' (1992)

''Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick'' (1996)

''Family Plan'' (1998)

''Crosswalk'' (1999)

References

External links

Harry Morgan Interview with Archive of American Television

Category:1915 births Category:Actors from Michigan Category:American film actors Category:American stage actors Category:American television directors Category:Living people Category:American people of Norwegian descent Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:People from Detroit, Michigan Category:People from Muskegon, Michigan Category:Emmy Award winners

cs:Harry Morgan da:Harry Morgan de:Harry Morgan fr:Harry Morgan (acteur) nl:Harry Morgan no:Harry Morgan pl:Harry Morgan (aktor) ro:Harry Morgan ru:Морган, Гарри simple:Harry Morgan sh:Harry Morgan fi:Harry Morgan sv:Harry Morgan tl:Harry Morgan