Friday, February 13, 2009

Happy Birthday To Jack Benny!

Tomorrow is the birthday of Jack Benny. He was born on February 14, 1894 in Chicago. I was too young to remember Jack when he was alive. I was born in December of 1970 and he died in December of 1974. Growing up I learned about him from my grandparents, who were all big fans of his. I also learned about him from George Burns, who was his best friend for years. It was actually through George Burns that I would find out more about many stars of yesteryear who had passed away. I was reminded of that fact recently when I read All My Best Friends by George Burns. He wrote about so many of his friends. Pretty much all of those friends had passed away over the years by the time of the book's publication in the late 1980's. George Burns himself would die at the age of 100 in 1996. George wrote so much about his long and meaningful friendship with Jack Benny. He was definitely devastated when Jack passed away from cancer. I wish I could have really gotten to see Jack when he was living. I've seen clips featuring him over the years on specials and so forth, but I feel like I really missed out on something special. I want to raise a toast to the legendary Jack Benny. Happy Birthday! Cheers!

sammy-frank-george-dino-jack

That picture is from a Hollywood benefit for mental health in 1960. It features Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, George Burns, Dean Martin & Jack Benny. When I decided to do this post, I was hoping to find either a picture of Jack Benny and George Burns, or possibly even one of Jack with Dean Martin. I was pleasantly surprised when I came across this one. I definitely plan to post some more things in the future about Jack Benny.

24 comments:

Mondo said...

Jack Benny - there's a blast from the past

Keith said...

Hey Dave. Yeah, he definitely is. Cheers!

Nancy Sinatra Fan said...

I really don't know much about him myself. I remember my grandmother talking about him. Good post.

Keith said...

Thanks Phoebe. I've learned more about him since I've been an adult than I did growing up.

dino martin peters said...

Hey pallie Keith, great pix of our Dino with the Ben....hopes you do lots of Dinoamorin' on Dinoamoreday...

Keith said...

Hey pallie DMP. Thanks. Glad you liked it. I was thrilled to find a pic of them together. Happy Dinoamoreday to you too!

Ben Varkentine said...

The girl that I marry will have to love Jack Benny...

Robert M. Lindsey said...

Jack Benny is one of the funniest men ever. I have been a fan of his for a long time now. He was on Laugh-In a few times.

Retrohound

Allison said...

My grandfather always talks about Jack Benny! I'm glad that now I have more knowledge so I can actually talk to him about Jack now :)

Keith said...

Hey Ben. I don't blame you. That's how I am.

Keith said...

Hey Robert. Thanks for the comments. He's so hilarious. I've been watching so many clips featuring him. Plus I've really gotten to know him better reading the books of George Burns.

Keith said...

Hey Allison. Thanks for the comments. That's so cool about your granddad. I hope you get a chance to talk to him about Jack. Jack's a legend in comedy.

Cate said...

The time when he was born fascinates me, and the time when he died fascinates me.
Most of the artists I admire most have also already died before I was born, or died shortly after I was born [Kurt Cobain ;(]
I'm looking forward to your future posts about Jack Benny. I`d definitely like to know more about him.

Keith said...

Hey Cate. Thanks for the comments. It was nice hearing from you. I'm glad you enjoyed this post. I definitely plan to post more about him and many other legends in the future. Many of the people that I admire like this are dead by now. Many of them had died before I was born or when I was a kid.

this wheel's on fire said...

great photo!! legends :)
Happy Valentine's Day!

Keith said...

Hey there. Thanks. Glad you liked it. Cheers!

Always On Watch said...

Dean was friends with all the greats, wasn't he?

Keith said...

Hey Always. I definitely think so. It certainly seems that way.

Abe Lucas said...

I didn't know it was Jack Benny's birthday, which is a coincidence because I have him in today's entry...I regularly quote his scene with Virginia Wood in "Guide for the Married Man", one of my favorite films of all time...

Keith said...

Hey C.K. Thanks for the comments. It was until I was looking at celebrity birthdays that I realized his birthday was coming up. I had been wanting to post some about it. I decided this was the perfect time to start. That's cool about your post. I love "Guide for the Married Man" myself.

Ben Varkentine said...

Oh hey, I forgot to mention: Did you know that Benny's last TV appearance ever was on the Martin roast?

Keith said...

Hey Ben. I did not know that. Thanks for letting me know. Wow! That's so cool that his last appearance would be up there.

Melissa Hafting said...

Happy Bday ! he rocked!

Keith said...

Thanks Mel.