Jack Benny and the Maxwell Collection

Starting with the October 24, 1937, radio show, when Jack proudly announced the purchase of his car, a running joke began that Benny drove an old Maxwell automobile, a brand that went out of business in 1925. Although some details such as the car's body style and its exact model year varied over the years, what remained constant was that Benny's old car was so worn out that it would barely run, but the miserly Benny insisted he could get a few more miles out of it.

Many of the sound effects for the car's clattering engine came from an actual old motor that the sound-effects shop had salvaged from a Los Angeles junkyard.

Jack Buys the Maxwell
10/24/1937

Jack Tries to Trade In the Maxwell
10/20/1940

Jack Rounds up the Gang in the Maxwell
10/4/1942

Jack Gives the Maxwell Up For Scrap
10/18/1942

Jack Decides to Trade in the Maxwell
4/24/1949

The Maxwell is Stolen
10/1/1950

Renting the Maxwell to a Movie Studio
4/24/1955

The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century American comedy.

Jack Benny – played himself. Protagonist of the show, Benny is a comic, vain, penny-pinching miser, insisting on remaining 39 years old on stage despite his actual age, and often playing the violin badly.

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 salary.

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

Gene McNulty – Dennis Day, a vocalist perpetually in his 20s (by the time of the last television series, McNulty was 49 years old). He was sweet but not very bright. When called upon, he could use a wide variety of accents, which was especially useful in plays. He usually sang a song about 10 minutes into the program. If the episode was a flashback to a previous time, a ruse would be used such as Dennis singing his song for Jack so he could hear it before the show. McNulty adopted the name "Dennis Day" as his stage name for the rest of his career.

Sadie Marks – Mary Livingstone, a sarcastic comic foil whose varying roles all served as, to use the description of Fred Allen, "a girl to insult (Jack)." Marks, who in real life was Benny's wife, later legally changed her name to "Mary Livingstone" in response to the character's popularity. Her role on the program was reduced in the 1950s due to increasing stage fright, and Livingstone finally retired from acting in 1958.

Phil Harris – Himself. A skirt-chasing, arrogant, hip-talking bandleader who constantly put Jack down (in a mostly friendly way, of course). He referred to Mary as "Livvy" or "Liv", and Jack as "Jackson". Harris explained this once by saying it's "as close as I can get to jackass and still be polite" Spun off into The Phil Harris–Alice Faye Show (1946–1954) with his wife, actress Alice Faye. Harris left the radio show in 1952 and his character did not make the transition to television.

Chesterton Radio
Podcasting the Classics! Works of G.K. Chesterton and Friends
Plus Drama, Comedy, Mystery, Science Fiction and more

Chuck the TV and discover a whole new world!
True - Good - Beautiful
The Soundtrack for your Chesterton Day!

Your support is the only thing that keeps Chesterton Radio on the Air!
https://www.patreon.com/ChestertonRadio
https://www.SubscribeStar.com/ChestertonRadio
http://BuyMeACoffee.com/ChestertonRadio

Discover G. K. Chesterton on our new Live Stream!
http://Gilbert.ChestertonRadio.com
All Chesterton - All the Time!
Plus classic literature and fun surprises

Our 24/7 Variety Live Stream is here:
http://Listen.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Patreon.com/ChestertonRadio
http://SubscribeStar.com/ChestertonRadio
http://Twitter.com/ChestertonRadio
http:///Twitch.tv/ChestertonRadio

Listen to our Podcasts including "Exploring Elfland" our Daily Variety Podcast:
https://chestertonradio.podbean.com/

Do you enjoy the variety on Chesterton Radio?
Like, Share and Subscribe to be notified of our new shows

All our shows in one Playlist!
http://Player.ChestertonRadio.com

Easy direct link to our Channel:
http://Listen.ChestertonRadio.com

Discover new Chesterton Radio shows in our other Playlists!
http://Plays.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Chesterton.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Orthodoxy.ChestertonRadio.com
http://EverlastingMan.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Eugenics.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Distributism.ChestertonRadio.com
http://FatherBrown.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Freedom.ChestertonRadio.com
http://1984.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Jukebox.ChestertonRadio.com

Follow us on Social Media
https://mstdn.social/@ChestertonRadio
https://www.gab.com/chestertonradio
https://mewe.com/i/chestertonradio