Dennis Day (written by his mother)

It's Mary Livingstone (Oops, I mean, Joan Benny)

Yeah, I've been on a Mary Livingstone bashing kick as of late.  I thought I would present a few things to you, just to see how you feel about them.

First of all, it's noted in several places (including the almost all-encompassing On the Air OTR Encyclopedia) that Mary Livingstone had huge stage fright problems.  Here's what Dennis Day said about this:



And I skipped around yesterday and listen to the last Benny radio show and it's obvious that Mary isn't Mary at all but Joan Benny instead:



Any regular listener to the show can spot that's not Mary.  I wouldn't have known who it was if not for the OTR Encylopedia, which tells about Joan taking over.

But alas, here's proof that it was Joan, because here is Joan from a 1949 Benny program - and a newspaper article that goes with it:

In 1954, it appears as though Mary did her lines but they were pre-recorded and then played during the show.  If you listen to the show enough, you can spot that there is something wrong simply because of the acoustics and the fact that Mary is much more "lively" when she is on stage.  Her recorded voice is "flat" and "lifeless."

Judy Canova and Dennis Day

Judy and Dennis did a movie together in 1943, called "Sleepy Lagoon."  Here are a couple of photos and an article about them:

Dennis Day article - written BY HIS MOTHER!

click to enlarge

A few words about the post-1944 Jack Benny Program

I listen to a lot of OTR.  Probably too much.  I say "too much" because  I listen to so much that I miss out listening to some stuff I want to hear because I am listening to other stuff...

My point being that I have tried to listen to the Jack Benny Program in order.  I started in 1937 and got to 1940.  1937 were the first years of Phil Harris and then Dennis Day came along in the 1940's.  Interesting radio.  But not funny radio.

There was a system the show used during that time that changed by the time the mid 1940's came.  I've gone back to listening to the show (after a few month absence) and while Dennis is in the Navy and sorely missed, the show seems to have taken on a new life.  No longer hinged to the - what I've always thought - was a stupid, not-so-funny "play" put on by the cast of the show near the end of the broadcast.  I'm not sure when this stopped, but certainly, sometimes between 1940 and 1944.

Mel Blanc

At least by 1945, the show has new life and no longer slows down to a snail's pace when the 2nd half of the show comes up.  I look forward to listening to the show again, despite the absence of Day, who is currently in the Navy as I listen.  My current schedule has 3-4 Jack Benny episodes scheduled everyday, so I play on writing about these important episodes (yes, I do believe these episodes are important as far as the history of OTR.)

In Day's void is Mel Blanc, who was horrible on everything he ever did (in my opinion) except the Jack Benny radio and TV show and of course, the years of cartoon voicing, which will live forever.  And no once can convince me that the Jack Benny shows (at least post 1944) won't live forever either.

©Jimbo 2012

Dennis Day 1939

Some Dennis Day photos

A few Jack Benny Show photos

Stuff I'd buy if I was a millionaire [#50]

These below belong to the card set I posted yesterday...

Stuff I'd buy if I was a millionaire [#49]

Charlie Weaver

Verna Felton

Joseph Kerns

George Fenneman

William Conrad

Dennis Day

William Waterman

Gertrude Berg

Dennis Day: King of confusion

He's Dennis Day but he's not Dennis Day

Way back somewhere in this blog I noted that Dennis Day used to be a member of the Mickey Mouse Club.

I was right.  There was a Mouseketeer named Dennis Day - but he wasn't the same Dennis Day who was on the Jack Benny Show and had his own show for a few years:

Jack Benny/Jack Benny Show photo dump

Mr. Kitzel! (Artie Auerbach)

©Jimbo 2010/2011

BONUS: Dennis Day versus Ronald Colman

In honor of Laura Leff, today's interview guest, I have provided a clip where Dennis Day imitates Ronald Colman.

Colman's voice is first, followed by the Dennis impression.

Please allow a few seconds of silence before the audio clip begins.



©Jimbo 2010/2011

Say hello to Dennis Day's mother(s)

The next few funniest shows and why

Harold Peary

The Great Gildersleeve is an all-around great show.  If not for Gildy and the Jolly Boys singing every 3 episodes, this show may hold for me a solid place in the top 5.  (Add to this that Harold Peary was replaced roughly midway through the show's run with not-as-funny Willard Waterman, who "watered" down the show's fun index, in my estimation.)

But when Peary is on there (and not courting women) he's great and no one can beat the rapport that Peary has with pretend nephew - however-old-he-was Walter Tetley, who was just hilarious every step of the way. If there were a radio comedian Hall of Fame and I were voting, the first person I would vote for would be Tetley.

In the periphery, the show boasts wishy-washy (but funny) Peavy, who runs the drugstore, Birdie, the genial-yet-sparky-mouth maid who sometimes "gives it back" to Gildy on one of Gildy's "bad days" and the old goat, Judge Hooker; Hooker is sometimes friend, sometimes foil to Gildersleeve.

Aside from the Waterman years, a darn funny show.

The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show is generally a lot of fun but here's where the shows drop down a notch.  Harris, (born: Wonga Phil Harris!) the Southern corn pone singer/band leader of Jack Benny fame, got his own show along with movie star wife, Alice Faye.

Phil "Curly" Harris

While Harris has a bunch of snappy one-liners it's really radio superstar Elliott Lewis that drives the show as Remley, the wayward guitarist of his band.  Lewis packs a dynamite punch as a great character actor in this series.  He's not hilarious but he's worth listening to (especially over smart-alecky Harris.)

Elliott Lewis (Remley)

Walter Tetley shows up in this show too as Julius Abruzio, a dame-wanting 15 (or so ?) year old kid who makes with the Brooklyneese wise cracks.  His character on this show is a just a little "too much" but is still fine.

I didn't really mention Faye at all because she is just kind of there.  If I were to give her a school grade for her overall performance, I'd give her a 60.

William Bendix as Riley

The Life of Riley is very predictable show but has it's good moments, thanks to the sheer stupidity of Chester A. Riley and a few decent characters thrown in, here and there (Digby O'Dell, the friendly undertaker, for example.)

Honorable Mention:

The Jack Benny Show is not really all that funny but it lasted so long that there are a few high spots.

Dennis Day

To me, almost all of those high spots belong to Mel Blanc and his incredible voice characterisms and to Dennis Day, who had to be among the most-talented people in Hollywood back in the day (he could sing, was a master of dialects and could imitate quite a few people.)

Benny, Mary Livingstone, Harris etc. were not particularly funny at all to me.  As I've said before: I still listen - I just don't laugh.