As a small boy growing up in Nebraska, Johnny Carson spent hours in front of a radio listening to his favorite shows and entertainers.
It was through this way that Carson became enamored with comedians. They brought him a lot of joy and happiness. But there was one specific comedian who took Carson’s imagination by storm. Much later in his life, he found himself being able to share a stage with this man.
Radio listeners back in the 1930s and 1940s fell in love with Jack Benny. His show, simply called The Jack Benny Program, was one of the first ones with a full cast of characters. As in, Don Wilson, Dennis Day, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Phil Harris, and Jack’s real-life wife, Mary Livingstone.
Carson listened to Benny, yet also watched him on television much later. He noticed how Benny talked, used his arms and hands, and his walking style. All of these became a part of the professional life of Johnny Carson. When hosting his own daytime show The Johnny Carson Show in the 1950s, it gave Carson a chance to try out his style. Looking at kinescopes or existing tapes of Carson at that time gives viewers a look at a boyish Carson.
He’s young, attentive, and quite focused on his brand of humor. There’s no doubt, though, that Jack Benny had a direct influence on Johnny Carson.
Finding A Way To Copy A Radio Star
Jack Benny had a list of mannerisms and phrases that were uniquely his own. For instance, Benny might be talking with Day or even the legendary Mel Blanc. Modern-day fans of Benny’s work will recognize Blanc’s name for his voiceover work on many Warner Bros. cartoons. He was the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Tweety, Foghorn Leghorn, and others.
A running gag between Benny and Blanc in character would be when Benny asks Blanc for help. Portraying a Hispanic man, Blanc would answer Benny’s questions with a “Si” or “No.” And his voice inflection would really never change in the exchange between them both. Seeing this take place brought laughs to studio audiences and fans watching at home.
Another one of Benny’s well-known bits was a simple thing. He might hear someone like guest star Raymond Burr say something outlandish. Burr would look at Benny, waiting for a response. Jack stands there, hands folded about chest-high, and eventually says, “Well…” It was in an exasperated tone, one that Johnny Carson mimicked. No, Carson didn’t fold his hands. But he borrowed from Jack’s long silence. Benny did this to bring out laughs from the audience…and it worked.
Carson did his best to copy Benny yet in his way. He didn’t use Benny’s well-known gags. Yet Benny’s sense of timing around jokes was a Carson standard in his monologues. When Carson started hosting The Tonight Show in 1962, he’d had some experience on television. He wasn’t a newbie to the medium.
He became the third host of NBC’s popular late-night franchise, following Steve Allen and Jack Paar. Carson sat behind his desk for 30 years, interviewing celebrities, politicians, and everyday people. In his own way, Johnny Carson copied Jack Benny.
Johnny Carson Heaps Praise On Jack Benny
Once Johnny Carson got more comfortable in his talk-host role, he made sure that people he respected and even loved got spots on his show. Jack Benny was probably at the top of his list. Well, Benny and Carson got to have their moment together on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
It got a little easier for Benny to make appearances on Carson’s show once Johnny brought his talk show to Burbank from New York City. Making this move let Carson’s showbookers have a bevy of celebrities to bring on there.
Benny made a couple of appearances in the 1970s, way after his own show had left the airwaves. The Jack Benny Program made a successful transition from radio to television. Yes, Benny brought all of his cast of characters with him to the TV show in the 1950s.
Johnny Carson always made sure to give Benny a great entrance. Jack didn’t step beyond that peacock-colored curtain until Johnny talked him up. Yet once he made his entrance, there was little doubt it was Benny. The walk, the mannerisms, the sing-song style of his voice…all Benny traits.
Carson made sure to heap praise on Jack Benny. In 1970, Carson acted as Master of Ceremonies for a Friar’s Club roast that aired on NBC’s Kraft Music Hall. Johnny made sure to let Jack know that he viewed him as a mentor and friend. That’s a pretty high calling to give one’s hero. Benny made his final appearance on The Tonight Show on August 21, 1974. Impressionist Rich Little was sitting in for Johnny on this night.
But Benny’s health was not getting any better. He was scheduled to star in the movie version of Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys with Walter Matthau. There were some screen tests done with Benny and Matthau appearing together. These films exist on YouTube but have no volume to them. So, Benny pitched his longtime friend George Burns to take his place. Burns did and the movie was eventually made.
Jack Benny died in December 1974 after falling into a coma. He started feeling stomach pains and went to a doctor. It was at that time Benny learned he had inoperable pancreatic cancer.
Johnny Carson was among many celebrities and dignitaries who went to Benny’s funeral at Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary. Burns was set to give Benny’s eulogy but got too choked up to continue. Bob Hope stepped in and finished for him.
Today, both Benny and Carson have died. Yet their own body of work remains popular with new legions of fans popping up year after year. Benny’s radio programs are aired regularly on SiriusXM‘s Radio Classics channel. Carson’s Tonight Show sketches and interviews have a home, too, on PlutoTV‘s Variety channel.
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