It all started in 1946 when the ever-thrifty Jack Benny decided to buy shoelaces for Don.  Shoelaces for Christmas?  Well, that's just the Jack was!  Cheap! In the next episode, Jack was so cheap that he actually tries to return the shoelaces.

Hilarity ensued when Jack couldn't decide on plastic-tipped or metal-tipped shoelaces.  As soon as Jack would step away from the counter, he would change his mind.  Metal-tipped shoelaces tend to rust, but plastic-tipped shoelaces tend to crack.  The show would always end with the clerk (played by Mel Blanc) going insane.

In 1950, Jack bought golf tees for Don at Christmas time. His band-leader Phil Harris still had to stop by the lingerie counter to flirt with Veola Vonn and the jokes about Josephine the blond car-hop got recycled (as well as Jack meeting the Racetrack Tout at the elevators).

In 1951 Jack bought cuff links for the hefty Don Wilson, but made several trips back to the counter to change the engraving. The only recycled portion that year was Dennis Day's corset shopping for his mother which originally appeared in the 1946 show.

After that the scripts were all original. In 1952, Jack bought a gopher trap; in 1953 he bought a box of dates and in 1954 he bought a paint set.

So it just wouldn't be Christmas for me without these classic Jack Benny episodes.

Download the sample, which has parts from all six show and see it they are right for you.

And play them in Foobar 2000 for the full experience.

*****     *****     ***** THE CAST *****     *****     *****

Jack Benny - Protagonist of the show, Benny is a comic, vain, penny-pinching miser.

Eddie Anderson - Rochester Van Jones, Jack's valet and chauffeur. Early in the show's run, he often talked of gambling or going out with women. Later on, he generally complained about his lack of salary.

Don Wilson - Don generally opened the show and also did the commercials. He was the target of Jack's jokes, mostly about his weight.

Dennis Day - Dennis was always in his early 20s no matter how old he actually was. He was sweet but not very bright.

Sadie Marks - Mary Livingstone. Although Sadie Marks, in real life, was Jack Benny's wife, Mary Livingstone was a very sarcastic, but well-meaning friend to Jack. Sometimes she was presented as a date, sometimes as a love interest and sometimes she was just there. Her role changed from plot to plot and she was never a steady girlfriend for Jack. In one episode, Fred Allen summarized Mary's role as "a girl to insult (Jack)." Marks later legally changed her name to "Mary Livingstone" in response to the character's popularity.

Phil Harris - A skirt-chasing, arrogant, hip-talking bandleader who constantly put Jack down (in a mostly friendly way, of course).

Veola Vonn - The lingerie sales lady who interacts with Phil Harris. She could have easily been called an "Oomph Girl" of the airwaves in recognition of the way she used her seductive voice. In real life, she was married to 
Frank Nelson (see below) to the day he died.

Mel Blanc - Carmichael the Polar Bear, Professor Pierre LeBlanc, Sy the Mexican, Polly (Jack's parrot), and many other assorted voices. An occasional running gag went along the lines of how the various characters Mel portrayed all looked alike. He was also the sound effects of Jack's barely functional Maxwell automobileΓÇöa role he played again in the Warner Brothers cartoon "The Mouse that Jack Built."

Frank Nelson - The "Yeeee-essss?" man. He was always the person who waits on Jack wherever he was, from the railroad station, to the clerk in the store, to the doorman, to the waiter. Frank always delighted in aggravating Jack, as apparently, he was constantly aggravated by Jack's presence.

Benny Rubin - A racetrack tout who frequently offered unsolicited advice to Benny on a variety of non-racing-related subjects. Ironically, he never gave out information on horse racing, unless Jack demanded it. One excuse the tout gave was "Who knows about horses?" His catchphrase was "Hey, bud... c'mere a minute."

Artie Auerbach - Mr. Kitzel, who originally appeared on Al Pearce's radio show in the late 1930s, where his famous catch phrase was, "Hmmmm... eh, could be!" Kitzel was often heard to say, "Hoo-hoo-HOO!" in response to questions asked of him.

Elliot Lewis - Playing the Moolie Guy also known as the lingerie salesman, he was a valuable member of the Jack Benny cast. Elliot was able to play dozens of different comic characters on Jack's show.

Bob Crosby - In 1952, Crosby replaced Phil Harris as the bandleader, remaining until Benny retired the radio show in 1955. In joining the show, he became the leader of the same group of musicians who had played under Harris.

Beatrice "Bea" Benaderet - Her big break came when she was hired by Jack Benny for his radio show, on which she essayed numerous roles and, in fact, became something of the distaff answer to Mel Blanc, Benny's resident male vocal jack-of-all-trades. Bea and Mel would later go on to provide the voices of Betty and Barney Rubble for the animated cartoon "The Flintstones."