Jack Benny Goes Christmas Shopping 1950
- Thread starter Meanderer
- Start date
layful:FAQ about Jack Benny http://www.jackbenny.org/faq.htm#A18
Q: Why did Jack Benny always claim he was 39?
A: Jack claimed on one of the radio shows to be 36. It got a laugh, so they continued using it. Later he became 37, then 38, then 39. There were plans to have a big production for Jack's 40th birthday show, but people started contacting him that he shouldn't turn 40, as it was too big of a milestone. Thus on the 2-14-54 program, they celebrate Jack's 40th birthday. Toward the end of the show, Jack gets a telegram from his sister, Florence, saying that Jack was actually born a year later than originally thought, making him...39. Jack phones home to Rochester, and asks him to get out his birth certificate. He asks him what is written in the spot that says "Date of Birth." Rochester replies, "A hole." "A hole?" exclaims Jack. "Yeah Boss, we erased it once too often!"
Jack also put it more simply in later years, saying that they stopped at 39 because it's a funny number--40 isn't.
Q: Why did Jack Benny always claim he was 39?
A: Jack claimed on one of the radio shows to be 36. It got a laugh, so they continued using it. Later he became 37, then 38, then 39. There were plans to have a big production for Jack's 40th birthday show, but people started contacting him that he shouldn't turn 40, as it was too big of a milestone. Thus on the 2-14-54 program, they celebrate Jack's 40th birthday. Toward the end of the show, Jack gets a telegram from his sister, Florence, saying that Jack was actually born a year later than originally thought, making him...39. Jack phones home to Rochester, and asks him to get out his birth certificate. He asks him what is written in the spot that says "Date of Birth." Rochester replies, "A hole." "A hole?" exclaims Jack. "Yeah Boss, we erased it once too often!"
Jack also put it more simply in later years, saying that they stopped at 39 because it's a funny number--40 isn't.
jujube
SF VIP
Classic!
Portrait of Jack Benny, a Norman Rockwell painting
Norman Rockwell and Jack Benny were both nervous about meeting each other. Each had called the same mutual acquaintance, the Saturday Evening Post's Bill Davidson for help in meeting the other. Both were shy about meeting the other famous person.
I remember Jack Benny from when I was younger. He was a funny man who was perpetually 39 years old. He was, or at least pretended to be, miserly with his fortune.
His most famous joke was telling about when he was robbed at gunpoint. When the robber demanded "Your money or your life", Benny's response was "I'm thinking, I'm thinking."
The Post cover also features a headline about a story about Jack Benny inside this issue. The story is about life beginning at 39, with the sub-headline reading "Back On Broadway After 32 Years."
Maybe he really did feel 39 years old after all.
Norman Rockwell and Jack Benny were both nervous about meeting each other. Each had called the same mutual acquaintance, the Saturday Evening Post's Bill Davidson for help in meeting the other. Both were shy about meeting the other famous person.
I remember Jack Benny from when I was younger. He was a funny man who was perpetually 39 years old. He was, or at least pretended to be, miserly with his fortune.
His most famous joke was telling about when he was robbed at gunpoint. When the robber demanded "Your money or your life", Benny's response was "I'm thinking, I'm thinking."
The Post cover also features a headline about a story about Jack Benny inside this issue. The story is about life beginning at 39, with the sub-headline reading "Back On Broadway After 32 Years."
Maybe he really did feel 39 years old after all.
Last edited:
Falcon
DV8
- Location
- So. California
His timing was always spot on.