Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1960)

Drama anthologies were common television fare in the 1950s, many of them affiliated with well-known corporations, such as General Electric Theater, Goodyear Television Playhouse, and The United States Steel Hour. Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which ran for seven seasons on CBS, had the cachet of the Master of Suspense, and, as with The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, the title was key to understanding the gist of the series. Because, while the stories, or "plays" as Hitchcock often calls them, are interesting enough in and of themselves, the show's true character came from its host, though he directed only 17 of the series' 268 episodes in its half-hour format (it was expanded to The Alfred Hitchcock Hour for the 1962-63 season). Biographer Patrick McGilligan says that Hitchcock took a much more active role in story and personnel selection than his on-screen Executive Producer credit would indicate, but in the minds of his viewers it was his introductions and conclusions, his "presenting" before and after each "play" that gave the show its distinctive flavor. According to McGilligan, in the initial episode from 1955 Hitchcock makes only a brief and perfunctory introduction. But his role was soon expanded, aided and abetted by his personal script-writer James B. Allardice, to include sometimes thematically related props and droll observations about that night's story, general topics of the day, or savage criticisms of his sponsor. In the episodes that aired in calendar year 1960, Hitchcock lampooned such topics as political elections, the Olympics, and golf. 

The opening sequence begins with a caricature of himself that Hitchcock originally drew for a family Christmas card, followed by his unmistakable silhouette gliding across the screen and then obscuring the caricature, then cutting to Hitchcock's filmed monologue usually begun "Good evening." The critics agreed with the format: John Crosby of the New York Herald Tribune wrote, "The best thing about Alfred Hitchcock Presents is Alfred Hitchcock presenting." He filmed these vignettes in bunches--8 or 9 in a single day--and liked to have a season's worth completed in the fall before Christmas so that he could devote the new year to his film projects. Viewers agreed with the critics--by its second season Alfred Hitchcock Presents had risen to #6 in the ratings, and though its popularity waned slightly thereafter, it still stayed in the top 30 for the rest of the 1950s. Recognizing a good thing when they saw it, NBC tried to jump on the Hitchcock bandwagon by recruiting him to be executive producer for their own suspense-themed anthology Suspicion and had him direct the series' first episode. But with Dennis O'Keefe hosting the first season's episodes and Walter Abel taking over for Season 2, the show lacked the charm of being presented by Hitchcock himself and was canceled after its second season.

Perhaps the most significant contribution to popular culture by Alfred Hitchcock Presents was the way it reshaped the public's perception of Hitchcock, as others have suggested. Though Hitchcock was not only the Master of Suspense but also a master of publicity in drumming up interest in the press about his latest picture, the general public saw little of him other than the brief cameos he cleverly inserted into his films. His television series added another dimension to his personality as a droll deliverer of witty observances who wasn't afraid to poke fun not only at his sponsors but also at himself with the absurd props he employed for his opening monologue. The other significant effect of the series, as reported by McGilligan, was that Hitchcock approached the making of Psycho in 1959-60 as a long-form version of an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode. In fact, he told his staff the feature film would be "the ultimate Alfred Hitchcock Presents." It was shot in black-and-white on a quick, TV-like schedule and used some of the same crew as the television series. The formula yielded what is perhaps the most memorable film of his career.

The stories for the TV show, often hand-picked by Hitchcock, were also first-rate. Authors featured in calendar year 1960 included such heavyweights as John Cheever (twice), Roald Dahl (twice), Philip Roth, and British short-story icon Saki (H.H. Munro). Many of the stories had the Hitchcock signature ending twist, many did not detail grisly crimes such as murder but dealt with more mundane topics such as adultery and theft, and most illustrated the oft-quoted line from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream: Lord, what fools these mortals be. 

Mama's boys come in for harsh treatment in a couple of the year's episodes. In "Across the Threshold" (February 28, 1960) widow Sofie Winter has never gotten over the death of her husband 6 years hence, and she keeps her son Hubert under her thumb to compensate for her loss. When Hubert arranges for his theatrical girlfriend to impersonate a medium who tells Sofie that her husband is lonely on the other side of the threshold, Sofie decides that she will join him by taking an overdose of the medicine her husband used to take before his demise. Hubert is only too anxious for his mother to depart this world so that he can claim his inheritance and be out of her clutches, but he doesn't realize until it's too late that she has plans for him on the other side, too. And in "Mother, May I Go Out to Swim?" (April 10, 1960) John Crane still lives with his widowed mother and treats her with an affection that borders on the Oedipal. When he goes up to Vermont for a vacation while she visits other family but plans to join him later, he meets a pretty German emigre who runs the local giftshop and quickly falls in love with her but cannot free himself from his devotion to mother. When forced to choose between the two women, Crane falls back on the familiarity of mother with disastrous consequences for the new girlfriend.

Hitchcock was a known opponent of the death penalty. "Cell 227" (June 5, 1960) is set on death row in a federal penitentiary. The opening scene graphically portrays a convict named De Baca being given false hope by his cellmates that he will receive a stay of execution, only to be led off kicking and screaming to the gas chamber by prison guards led by the always cheerful Pops Lafferty, whom most of the inmates see as a kindly soul only there to help. But wrongly convicted English professor Herbert Morrison refuses to give De Baca any slack and clearly despises Lafferty, whom he sees as ghoulish, smiling while leading men to their deaths. He is determined not to hope for a stay and forbids his attorney to apply for one, saying that he will face his death like a man and that he will fight against the system his own way. In a conversation with the prison chaplain, Morrison points out the hypocrisy of a society that condemns murder and then commits it against those convicted of the crime. But even a man with Morrison's integrity is dealt an unexpected fate after strangling Lafferty to death just before entering the gas chamber only to learn that moments before he had been granted a stay because law enforcement had obtained a retraction from the witness who perjured himself to put Morrison away.

Following this grim, tragic episode, the next week's show featured a light-hearted romp titled "The Schatz-Metterklume Method" (June 12, 1960) in which upper crust Lady Charlotte is mistaken for a governess by a family of self-important provincials who are then taught a lesson themselves when the free-thinking Lady allows their children to splash in the mud and learn about animal reproductive systems. Hitchcock was very aware of American sense of morality, and most episodes, though not all, show the self-important, the greedy, and the cheaters getting their come-uppance by the story's close. But the year's final episode, "The Man Who Found the Money" (December 27, 1960) does not offer such a tidy resolution or comforting closure. School teacher William Benson is vacationing in Las Vegas when he finds a money clip with $92,000. He considers keeping the money but after a restless night, he puts the money in a safety deposit box, places an ad in the local paper, and on a newspaper man's advice, reports the incident to the police. Only the amount of money lost was actually $102,000, and it was lost by the owner of a casino. Despite his truthfulness, neither the police nor the casino owner believe his story, and doom awaits him by the time the final credits roll.

These edgy, twisty stories of human folly are similar in tone to a series that would debut in 1959 and become a cult classic, The Twilight Zone, though Hitchcock never enters the extra-terrestrial or the paranormal. It seems that there's more than enough fodder for irony and critique right here, right now, Hitchcock might say.

The easily recognizable opening and closing theme for Alfred Hitchcock was "Funeral March of a Marionette" composed by Charles Gounod, suggested to Hitchcock by his long-time soundtrack composer Bernard Herrmann.

The first six seasons have been released on DVD by Universal Studios.

The Actors

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Joseph Hitchock was born in London in 1899, the youngest of three children. His father was a grocer, and was raised a Catholic, attending the Jesuit-run St. Ignatius College. Though biographer Donald Spoto has described Hitchcock's childhood as dark, harsh, and somewhat Dickensian, Patrick McGilligan's more recent work, Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light, says that Hitchcock's youth was rather normal for a working family of that era. Though he was overweight his entire life, even as a child, and therefore subject to the sort of ostracism that comes with childhood cruelty, he was not friendless, nor a complete loner. In fact, McGilligan is not able to put his finger on exactly why Hitchcock developed a taste for horror, suspense, and the macabre. In 1914 he was hired by the Henley Telegraph Works, where he was initially assigned to calculate the size and voltage of cables. Though he was deemed physically unfit to serve in the British army in World War I, he still joined a cadet regiment of the Royal Engineers, which involved hearing talks and practicing marching rather than any real training in the art of fighting. After the war he continued working at Henley's, moving over to sales where he learned design and draftmanship. He also took art courses at Goldsmiths' College, training that would serve him well in the film industry. At Henley's he eventually moved into advertising and was a founding editor, business manager, and sometime contributor to the company magazine, in which several short early works of his fiction were published. These brief vignettes display Hitchcock's penchant for suspenseful plots and endings with a twist. During this period he also became fascinated with early silent films.

When Paramount Studios opened a British operation called Famous Players-Lasky, Hitchcock left Henley's to go work for the fledgling studio. Initially he designed and drew title cards for the studio's silent films but gradually worked his way up to art director by 1921, though he was also involved in reviewing scripts and working out camera angles for films in production. It was while working here that he met Alma Reville, whom he would marry five years later. In 1923 Hitchcock got his first crack at directing when he was assigned to take over and finish Always Tell Your Wife when the director fell ill. This led to being allowed to direct another film from the beginning, Number Thirteen, but the studio shut its doors before the film could be finished. When Famous Players-Lasky closed, Hitchcock moved over to Gainsborough Pictures, where he completed his first film, The Pleasure Garden, filmed in Germany. Though this picture did not fare well at the box office and he later described his next work, The Mountain Eagle, as a "bad movie," his third work for Gainsborough, The Lodger, released in 1927, was his first master work and established his reputation as a director of note. Hitchcock quickly became Britain's most famous and critically acclaimed director and was brought to America in 1939 by David Selznick to direct Rebecca. By the mid-1950s he was at the height of his career, the perfect time to become a household name through the medium of television, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents  was born.

Hitchcock continued his film career, of course, another 11 years after his television tenure ended, with his last feature, Family Plot, released in 1976. In 1979 he was made a Knight of the British Empire. He died of renal failure on April 29, 1980 at the age of 80. He was cremated and his ashes were spread over the Pacific Ocean.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 5, Episode 15, "Man From the South": Steve McQueen (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post for Wanted: Dead or Alive) plays an unnamed gambler. Neile Adams (McQueen's first wife) plays a woman he picks up at a bar. Peter Lorre (shown on th left, starred in M, Crime and Punishment, eight Mr. Moto movies, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Arsenic and Old Lace, and The Beast With Five Fingers) plays an older gambler Carlos. Tyler McVey (Gen. Maj. Norgath on Men Into Space) plays a middle-aged observer who is asked to referee the bet. Marc Cavell (Gray Hawk on Pistols 'n' Petticoats) plays a bellhop.

Season 5, Episode 16, "The Ikon of Elijah": Oskar Homolka (starred in The Dreyfus Case, Anna Lucasta, The Seven Year Itch, War and Peace, and A Farewell to Arms) plays greedy antiques dealer Carpius. Sam Jaffe (starred in Lost Horizon, Gunga Din, The Asphalt Jungle, and Ben-Hur and played Dr. David Zorba on Ben Casey) plays the monastery's Father Superior.

Season 5, Episode 17, "The Cure": Nehemiah Persoff (starred in The Wrong Man, Al Capone, and Some Like It Hot) plays jungle explorer Jeff Jensen. Cara Williams (shown on the right, starred in The Girl Next Door, The Helen Morgan Story, and The Defiant Ones and played Gladys Porter on Pete and Gladys and Cara Bridges on The Cara Williams Show) plays his wife Marie.  Mark Richman (Nicholas Cain on Cain's Hundred, Duke Paige on Longstreet, C.C. Capwell on Santa Barbara, and Andrew Laird on Dynasty) plays Jeff's partner Mike.

Season 5, Episode 18, "Backward, Turn Backward": Alan Baxter (appeared in Saboteur, Close-Up, and Paint Your Wagon) plays Sheriff Andy Willetts. Paul Maxwell (Steve Tanner on Coronation Street, Sam Webber on The Lotus Eaters, Hellman on The Aphrodite Inheritance and the voice of Col. Steve Zodiac on Fireball XL5) plays his assistant Saul.  Tom Tully (starred in Destination Tokyo, The Lady in the Lake, The Turning Point, The Jazz Singer (1952), and The Caine Mutiny and played Inspector Matt Grebb on The Lineup and Tom Starett on Shane) plays murder suspect Phil Canby. Raymond Bailey (Milburn Drysdale on The Beverly Hillbillies, Dean Magruder on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, D.A. John Carvell on The Untouchables, and Mr. Beaumont on My Sister Eileen) plays law official Mr. Harris.

Season 5, Episode 19, "Not the Running Type": Robert Bray (Simon Kane on Stagecoach West and Corey Stuart on Lassie) plays police Capt. Ernest Fisher. Herbert Ellis (Officer Frank Smith on Dragnet (1952-53), Frank LaValle on The D.A.'s Man, Wilbur on Peter Gunn, and Dr. Dan Wagner on Hennesey) plays police Lt. Hogan.  Paul Hartman (shown on the left, played Albie Morrison on The Pride of the Family, Charlie on Our Man Higgins, Emmett Clark on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D., and Bert Smedley on Petticoat Junction) plays embezzler Milton Potter. Bert Freed (appeared in The Atomic City, The Cobweb, and Paths of Glory and played Rufe Ryker on Shane) plays police Lt. Harvey Ellison.

Season 5, Episode 20, "The Day of the Bullet": Dennis Patrick (Paul Stoddard on Dark Shadows and Vaughn Leland on Dallas) plays mobster Mr. Rose. Harry Landers (Dr. Ted Hoffman on Ben Casey) plays his chauffeur Joe. Barry Gordon (Dennis Whitehead on The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Charlie Harrison on Fish, Gary Rabinowitz on Archie Bunker's Place, Roger Hightower on A Family for Joe, and the voice of Donatello on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) plays Ignace Kovacs as a boy. Glenn Walken (Steve Tucker on Leave It to Larry) plays his best friend Clete Vine. David Fresco (Albert Wysong on Murder One) plays a man Rose beats up. Sam Gilman (Sam Grafton on Shane) plays a police patrolman. Clegg Hoyt (Mac on Dr. Kildare) plays a police sergeant.

Season 5, Episode 21, "Hitch Hike": John McIntire (shown on the right, starred in Call Northside 777, The Street With No Name, Winchester '73, Psycho, and Elmer Gantry and played Lt. Dan Muldoon on Naked City, Christopher Hale on Wagon Train, Clay Grainger on The Virginian, and Dutch McHenry on Shirley) plays town alderman Charles Underhill. Suzanne Pleshette (shown on the left, starred in The Geisha Boy, The Birds, A Rage to Live, The Ugly Dachshund, Nevada Smith, and Support Your Local Gunfighter and played Emily Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show, Maggie Briggs on Suzanne Pleshette Is Maggie Briggs¸ Christine Broderick on Nightingales, Jackie Hansen on The Boys Are Back, and Claire Arnold on Good Morning Miami) plays his niece Anne. Robert Morse (shown in the middle, starred in The Matchmaker, The Loved One, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?, and A Guide for the Married Man and played Robert Dickson on That's Life, Edwin O'Malley on City of Angels, and Bertram Cooper on Mad Men) plays young hitchhiker Len. Read Morgan (Sgt. Hapgood Tasker on The Deputy) plays a motorcycle cop.

Season 5, Episode 22, "Across the Threshold": Patricia Collinge  appeared in The Little Foxes, Shadow of a Doubt, Tender Comrade, Teresa, Washington Story, and The Nun's Story) plays controlling widow Sofie Winter. George Grizzard (starred in Advise & Consent, Comes a Horseman, and Bachelor Party and played Arthur Gold on Law & Order) plays her son Hubert. Barbara Baxley (starred in Countdown, Nashville, Norma Rae, and The Exorcist III) plays George's girlfriend Irma Coulette.

Season 5, Episode 23, "Craig's Will": Dick Van Dyke (shown on the right, starred in Bye, Bye, Birdie, Mary Poppins, Lt. Robinson Crusoe, U.S.N., Fitzwilly, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and played Rob Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show, Dick Preston on The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Dick Burgess on The Van Dyke Show, and Dr. Mark Sloan on Diagnosis Murder) plays wealthy inheritor Thomas Craig. Stella Stevens (shown on the left, starred in Girls! Girls! Girls!, The Nutty Professor, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Silencers, Where Angels Go Trouble Follows, and The Poseidon Adventure and played Lute-Mae Sanders on Flamingo Road) plays his girlfriend Judy. Paul Stewart (starred in Citizen Kane, Kiss Me Deadly, Twelve O'Clock High, Champion, and In Cold Blood and was the host of Deadline) plays private investigator Vincent Noonan. Harry Tyler (Steve Rhodes on Black Saddle) plays the Craig's butler Sam Loomis. Red (Jasper the Second on Bachelor Father and Fang on Get Smart) plays the Craig's dog Casper.

Season 5, Episode 24, "Madame Mystery": Audrey Totter (shown on the right, starred in The Postman Always Rings Twice, Lady in the Lake, The Set-up, and Any Number Can Play and played Beth Purcell on Cimarron City, Alice MacRoberts on Our Man Higgins, Nurse Wilcox on Medical Center) plays over-the-hill actress Betsy Blake. Joby Baker (David Lewis on Good Morning, World) plays movie promoter Jimmy Dolan.

Season 5, Episode 25, "The Little Man Who Was There": Norman Lloyd (starred in Saboteur, Spellbound, A Walk in the Sun, and M, played Dr. Daniel Asuchlander on St. Elsewhere, Dr. Marcus on Home Fires, and Dr. Isaac Mentnor on Seven Days, and was assistant producer on Alfred Hitchcock Presents) plays a mysterious stranger in town. Arch Johnson (starred in Somebody Up There Likes Me, G.I. Blues, and The Cheyenne Social Club and played Cmdr. Wivenhoe on Camp Runamuck) plays positivity preacher Jamie. Read Morgan (see "Hitch Hike" above) plays his sidekick Ben. Clancy Cooper (Timmo McQueen on Lawman) plays barfly Swede.

Season 5, Episode 26, "Mother, May I Go Out to Swim?": William Shatner (shown on the left, starred in The Brothers Karamazov, Judgment at Nuremberg, Kingdom of the Spiders, and The Kidnapping of the President and played David Koster on For the People, Dr. Carl Noyes on Dr, Kildare, Capt. James T. Kirk on Star Trek, Jeff Cable on Barbary Coast, Sgt. T.J. Hooker on T.J. Hooker, Walter H. Bascom on TekWar, Denny Crane on The Practice and Boston Legal, and Dr. Edison Milford Goodson III on $#*! My Dad Says) plays over-mothered young man John Crane. Jessie Royce Landis (appeared in Mr. Belvedere Goes to College, To Catch a Thief, My Man Godfrey, and North by Northwest) plays his mother Claire. Robert Carson (Mr. Maddis on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show) plays the coroner board chairman.

Season 5, Episode 27, "The Cuckoo Clock": Beatrice Straight (starred in Network, Endless Love, and Poltergeist and played Louisa Beauchamp on King's Crossing) plays widow Ida Blythe. Patricia Hitchcock (daughter of Alfred Hitchcock, appeared in Stage Fright, Strangers on a Train, and Psycho) plays her daughter Dorothy. Fay Spain (starred in Dragstrip Girl, Al Capone, and The Gentle Rain) plays woman on the run Madeleine Hall.

Season 5, Episode 28, "Forty Detectives Later": James Franciscus (Det. Jimmy Halloran on Naked City, Russ Andrews on The Investigators, John Novak on Mr. Novak, Mike Longstreet on Longstreet, Benjamin Elliot on Doc Elliot, and James Hunter on Hunter) plays private detective William Tyre. Jack Weston (shown on the right, played Wilbur "Wormsey" Wormser on Red Brown of the Rocket Rangers, Chick Adams on My Sister Eileen, Walter Hathaway on The Hathaways, and Danny Zimmer on The Four Seasons) plays second-hand shop proprietor Otto. Arlene McQuade (Rosalie Goldberg on The Milton Berle Show and The Goldbergs) plays Otto's wife Gloria.

Season 5, Episode 29, "The Hero": Oskar Homolka (see "The Ikon of Elijah" above) plays one-time prospector Vander Klaue. Irene Tedrow (Mrs. Elkins on Dennis the Menace) plays Mrs. Musgrave, the wife of a wealthy British businessman. Bartlett Robinson (Frank Caldwell on Mona McCluskey) plays ship passenger Henry Caldwell.

Season 5, Episode 30, "Insomnia": Dennis Weaver (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Gunsmoke) plays insomniac Charles Cavender. John S. Ragin (Walter Cramer on Sons and Daughters and Dr. Robert Asten on Quincy, M.E.) plays his dead wife's brother Jack Fletcher. Al Hodge (Captain Video on The Secret Files of Captain Video and Captain Video and His Video Rangers) plays his boss Mr. Turney. Ken Clark (appeared in Love Me Tender, South Pacific, Attack of the Giant Leeches, and 12 to the Moon) plays a fire chief. Sam Gilman (see "The Day of the Bullet" above) plays a fireman.

Season 5, Episode 31, "I Can Take Care of Myself": Linda Lawson (shown on the right, played Renee on Adventures in Paradise, Pat Perry on Don't Call Me Charlie, and Laura Fremont on Ben Casey) plays nightclub singer Georgia. Myron McCormick (starred in No Time for Sergeants and The Hustler) plays her pianist Bert Haber. Will Kuluva (Charlie Kingman on Primus) plays nightclub owner Joey. Frankie Darro (starred in The Mayor of Hell, Wild Boys of the Road, Little Men, and played Robbie the Robot in Forbidden Planet) plays mobster Little Dandy Dorf. Lennie Weinrib (the voice of H.R. Pufnstuf on H.R. Pufnstuf, Moonrock on The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, and Scrappy-Doo on Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo amongst many others) plays replacement pianist Amos. Pat Harrington, Jr. (Pat Hannigan on Make Room for Daddy, DA Charlie Gianetta on Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, and Dwayne F. Schneider on One Day at a Time) plays Little Dandy's hitman.

Season 5, Episode 32, "One Grave Too Many": Jeremy Slate (starred in The Sons of Katie Elder, The Devil's Brigade, and True Grit and played Larry Lahr on The Aquanauts) plays unemployed Joe Helmer. Neile Adams (see "Man From the South" above) plays his wife Irene. Howard McNear (shown on the left, played Floyd Lawson on The Andy Griffith Show and Jansen the Plumber on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show) plays loan officer Mr. Pickett. Tyler McVey (see "Man From the South" above) plays a police desk sergeant.

Season 5, Episode 33, "Party Line": Judy Canova (shown on the right, starred in Artists and Models, Sleepytime Gal, Louisiana Hayride, and The WAC From Walla Walla) plays busybody Helen Parch. Ellen Corby (Henrietta Porter on Trackdown and Esther Walton on The Waltons) plays her neighbor Emma. Gertrude Flynn (appeared in War and Peace, Rome Adventure, and Funny Girl and played Anna Sawyer on Days of Our Lives) plays her neighbor Betty Nubbins. Royal Dano (appeared in The Far Country, Moby Dick, and The Outlaw Josey Wales) plays detective Mr. Atkins. Ted Knight (Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Roger Dennis on The Ted Knight Show, and Henry Rush on Too Close for Comfort) plays general store owner Mr. Maynard. Arch Johnson (see "The Little Man Who Was There" above) plays former neighbor Haywood Miller.

Season 5, Episode 34, "Cell 227": Brian Keith (shown on the left, starred in The Parent Trap, The Pleasure Seekers, With Six You Get Eggroll, and The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming and played Matt Anders on The Crusader, Dave Blassingame on The Westerner, Uncle Bill Davis on Family Affair, Steven Halliday on The Zoo Gang, Lew Archer on Archer, Milton C. Hardcastle on Hardcastle and McCormick, Professor Roland G. Duncan on Pursuit of Happiness, B.L. McCutcheon on Heartland, and Walter Collins on Walter & Emily) plays convicted English professor Herbert Morrison. James Best (Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard) plays convict Hennessy. James Westerfield (appeared in The Shaggy Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor, and The Love God? and played John Murrel on The Travels of Jamie McPheeters) plays head prison guard Pops Lafferty. Frank Maxwell (Duncan MacRoberts on Our Man Higgins and Col. Garraway on The Second Hundred Years) plays Morrison's lawyer Maury Berg. Liam Sullivan (Major Mapoy on The Monroes, Dr. Joseph Lerner on The Young and the Restless, and Mr. Willis on Knots Landing) plays prison chaplain Father McCann. Robert Carson (see "Mother, May I Go Out to Swim?" above) plays Warden Elvery. William Mims (Editor Dameron on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays a prison guard.

Season 5, Episode 35, "The Schatz-Metterklume Method": Hermoine Gingold (starred in The Pickwick Papers, Gigi, and The Music Man) plays aristocrat Lady Charlotte. Noel Drayton (Mr. Hardcastle on Family Affair) plays horse owner Huggins. Elspeth March (Mother on Let There Be Love) plays provincial socialite Mrs. Wellington. Patricia Hitchcock (see "The Cuckoo Clock" above) plays lady's maid Rose. Veronica Cartwright (starred in The Birds, The Children's Hour, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Alien, The Right Stuff, and The Witches of Eastwick and played Jemima Boone on Daniel Boone, Molly Hark on Tanner '88, A.D.A. Margaret Flanagan on L.A. Law, Cassandra Spender on The X-Files, Valerie Shenkman on Invasion, and Bun Waverly on Eastwick) plays one of the Wellington children.

Season 5, Episode 36, "Letter of Credit": Robert Bray (see "Not the Running Type" above) plays investigator Henry Taylor. Cyril Delevanti (Lucious Coin on Jefferson Drum) plays retired bank president Josiah Wingate. Bob Sweeney (Oliver Munsey on Our Miss Brooks, Fibber McGee on Fibber McGee and Molly, and Gilly Box on Brothers; also directed 80 episodes of The Andy Griffith Show and lesser numbers of many other series) plays his son-in-law William Spengler.

Season 5, Episode 37, "Escape to Sonoita": Burt Reynolds (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Riverboat) plays truck driver Bill Davis. Murray Hamilton (appeared in No Time for Sergeants, Anatomy of a Murder, and The Hustler and played Steve Baker on Love and Marriage  and Capt. Rutherford T. Grant on B.J. and the Bear) plays kidnapper Marsh. Harry Dean Stanton (appeared in Kelly's Heroes, Dillinger, Cool Hand Luke, Alien, etc.) plays his sidekick Lemon. Robert Karnes (Max Fields on The Lawless Years and Deputy D.A. Victor Chamberlin on Perry Mason) plays a police patrolman.

Season 5, Episode 38, "Hooked": Robert Horton (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Wagon Train) plays young husband of an older woman Ray Marchand. Anne Francis (shown on the right, starred in Bad Day at Black Rock, Forbidden Planet, Don't Go Near the Water, and The Love God? and played Honey West on Honey West and Arliss Cooper on Dallas) plays the object of his desire Nyla Foster. Vivienne Segal (star of Broadway musical comedies such as I Married an Angel, Pal Joey, and A Connecticut Yankee) plays his wife Gladys.

Season 6, Episode 1, "Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat": Audrey Meadows (shown on the right, played Alice Kramden on The Honeymooners and The Jackie Gleason Show, Iris Martin on Too Close for Comfort, and Maggie Hogoboom on Uncle Buck) plays dentist's wife Mrs. Bixby. Les Tremayne (starred in The War of the Worlds (1953), The Story of Ruth, The Slime People, and The Fortune Cookie and played Inspector Richard Queen in The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen) plays dentist Fred Bixby. Bernie Hamilton (Capt. Harold Dobey on Starsky and Hutch) plays the Colonel's butler Dawson. Greg Morris (Barney Collier on Mission: Impossible and Lt. David Nelson on Vega$) plays the Colonel's horseman John. Howard Caine (Schaab on The Californians and Maj. Wolfgang Hochstetter on Hogan's Heroes) plays a pawn clerk. Harry Cheshire (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Lawman) plays a dental patient.

Season 6, Episode 2, "The Doubtful Doctor": Dick York (Tom Colwell on Going My Way and Darrin Stephens on Bewitched) plays troubled ad executive Ralph Jones. Gena Rowlands (starred in The High Cost of Loving, Lonely Are the Brave, Faces, Gloria, Love Streams, Night on Earth, and The Notebook and played Adrienne Van Leyden on Peyton Place) plays his wife Lucille. John Zaremba (Special Agent Jerry Dressler on I Led 3 Lives, Dr. Harold Jensen on Ben Casey, Admiral Hardesy on McHale's Navy, Dr. Raymond Swain on The Time Tunnel, and Dr, Harlem Danvers on Dallas) plays his psychiatrist. Michael Burns (Howie Macauley on It's a Man's World and Barnaby West on Wagon Train) plays a boy named Sidney.

Season 6, Episode 3, "Very Moral Theft": Walter Matthau (shown on the left, starred in A Face in the Crowd, Charade, The Fortune Cookie, The Odd Couple, Hello, Dolly!, The Front Page, The Sunshine Boys, The Bad News Bears, and Grumpy Old Men and played Lex Rogers on Tallahassee 7000) plays contractor Harry Wade. Betty Field (starred in Of Mice and Men, Victory, The Great Gatsby (1949), Picnic, Bus Stop, Birdman of Alcatraz, and Coogan's Bluff) plays his girlfriend Helen. Karl Swanson (Lars Hanson on Little House on the Prairie) plays her brother John. David Fresco (see "The Day of the Bullet" above) plays bank employee Mr. Parker.

Season 6, Episode 4, "The Contest for Aaron Gold": Barry Gordon (see "The Day of the Bullet" above) plays artistic camper Aaron Gold. Sidney Pollock (shown on the right, directed They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, The Way We Were, Absence of Malice, Tootsie, and Out of Africa) plays camp ceramics instructor Bernie Samuleson. Frank Maxwell (see "Cell 227" above) plays camp owner Mr. Stern.

Season 6, Episode 5, "The Five Forty-Eight": Zachary Scott (starred in Mildred Pierce, Flamingo Road, The Southerner, and The Young One) plays business executive Mr. Blake. Phyllis Thaxter (starred in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, The Sea of Grass, The Breaking Point, and Superman) plays his former secretary Miss Dent. Raymond Bailey (see "Backward, Turn Backward" above) plays train passenger Mr. Watkins.

Season 6, Episode 6, "Pen Pal": Clu Gulager (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Tall Man) plays escaped convict Rod Collins. Stanley Adams (Lt. Morse on Not for Hire) plays police Lt. Det. Berger. Ray Montgomery (Prof. Howard Ogden on Ramar of the Jungle) plays a police doctor.

Season 6, Episode 7, "Outlaw in Town": Ricardo Montalban (starred in The Kissing Bandit, On an Island With You, The Singing Nun, and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and played David Valerio on Executive Suite, Mr. Roarke on Fantasy Island, and Zach Powers on The Colbys) plays con man Pepe Lorca. Patsy Kelly (Brigid Murphy on The Cop and the Kid) plays saloon owner Minnie Redwing. Constance Ford (starred in A Summer Place, Home From the Hill, All Fall Down, and The Caretakers and played Ada Lucas Davis Downs McGowan Hobson on Another World) plays saloon girl Shasta Cooney. Arch Johnson (see "The Little Man Who Was There" above) plays barfly Bart McCormick. Bernard Kates (Lalley on The Asphalt Jungle) plays another barfly. Addison Richards (starred in Boys Town, They Made Her a Spy, Flying Tigers, and The Deerslayer and played Doc Calhoun on Trackdown and Doc Landy on The Deputy) plays the local judge. Roscoe Ates (Soapy Jones in 15 westerns and Ike Jenkins on Lawman) plays barfly Zack Martin.

Season 6, Episode 8, "Oh Youth, Oh Beauty!": Gary Merrill (appeared in Twelve O'Clock High, All About Eve, and Mysterious Island and played Jason Tyler on Justice, Lou Sheldon on The Reporter, and Dr. Leonard Gillespie on Young Dr. Kildare) plays former hurdler Cash Bentley. Patricia Breslin (Amanda Peoples Miller on The People's Choice and Laura Brooks on Peyton Place) plays his wife Louise. David Lewis (Senator Ames on The Farmer's Daughter, Warden Crichton on Batman, and Edward L. Quartermaine on General Hospital) plays country club member Jim.

Season 6, Episode 9, "The Money": Robert Loggia (shown on the right, starred in The Greatest Story Ever Told, Revenge of the Pink Panther, Scarface, and Big and played T. Hewitt Edward Cat on T.H.E. Cat, Admiral Yuri Burkharin on Emerald Point, N.A.S., Nick Mancuso on Mancuso, FBI, Ben Benedict on Sunday Dinner, and Judge Thomas O'Neill on Queens Supreme) plays bookie employee Larry Chetnick. Doris Dowling (starred in The Lost Weekend, The Blue Dahlia, Bitter Rice, and Othello and played Irene Adams on My Living Doll) plays his girlfriend Angie. Will Kuluva (see "I Can Take Care of Myself" above) plays importer Mr. Bregornick.

Season 6, Episode 10, "Sybilla": Alexander Scourby (starred in The Big Heat, The Silver Chalice, Giant, and The Shaggy Dog) plays 40-year-old newlywed Horace Meade. Barbara Bel Geddes (shown on the left, starred in I Remember Mama, Blood on the Moon, and Vertigo and played Miss Ellie Ewing Farlow on Dallas) plays his wife Sybilla. Madge Kennedy (appeared in Bad Company, Lust for Life, Houseboat, and They Shoot Horses, Don't They? and played Aunt Martha Bronson on Leave It to Beaver) plays house maid Mrs. Carter. Bartlett Robinson (see "The Hero" above) plays Sybilla's lawyer.

Season 6, Episode 11, "The Man With Two Faces": Spring Byington (starred in Little Women, Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), Dragonwyck, Dodsworth, Heaven Can Wait (1943), and Angels in the Outfield and played Lily Ruskin on December Bride and Daisy Cooper on Laramie) plays purse-snatch victim Alice Wagner. Bethel Leslie (appeared in 15 episodes of The Richard Boone Show and played Claudia Conner on All My Children and Ethel Crawford on One Life to Live) plays her daughter Mabel. Stephen Dunne (Dr. Thomas Wilson on Professional Father and Mike Brannagan on The Brothers Brannagan) plays police Lt. Meade.

Season 6, Episode 12, "The Baby-Blue Expression": Richard Gaines (appeared in The Howard of Virginia, Double Indemnity, Unconquered, and Ace in the Hole and played the judge 14 times on Perry Mason) plays rich businessman James Barrett. Sarah Marshall (starred in The Long, Hot Summer, Lord Love a Duck, and Dave and played Evelyn Winslow on Miss Winslow and Son) plays his wife Poopsie. Lennie Weinrib (see "I Can Take Care of Myself" above) plays apartment building bellboy Harry.

Season 6, Episode 13, "The Man Who Found the Money": Arthur Hill (shown on the right, starred in The Deep Blue Sea, Harper, The Andromeda Strain, and A Bridge Too Far and played Owen Marshall on Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law and Charles Hardwick on Glitter) plays school teacher William Benson. Rod Cameron (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Coronado 9) plays casino owner Mr. Newsome. R.G. Armstrong (Police Capt. McAllister on T.H.E. Cat and Lewis Vendredi on Friday the 13th) plays police Capt. Bone. Clancy Cooper (see "The Little Man Who Was There" above) plays newspaper advertising manager A.J. Meecham. Mark Allen (Matt Kissel on The Travels of Jamie McPheeters and Sam Evans on Dark Shadows) plays Newsome's henchman.

The Jack Benny Program (1960)

Jack Benny has been called both the father of modern comedy and the father of post-modern comedy, and either title would be apt, though perhaps the latter is a better fit because without Benny there would be no Garry Shandling, Jerry Seinfeld, or Larry David, all comedians who exploit a self-referential, unflattering version of themselves for their popular TV series. But Benny had done all that decades before, both on his popular long-running radio show and the TV series that evolved from it and ran for 15 years from 1950-65. While Shandling's late 1980s series It's Garry Shandling's Show is considered innovative for "breaking the fourth wall," reveling in its artificiality, including the audience and show staff as participants and characters, and using crude sight gags chosen specifically for their phoniness, Benny had done all that, too. The show was all about the comedian Jack Benny and his show, serving up a riff on Shakespeare's "play within the play" for comic effect. Shandling joked about his hair and sexual prowess, or more often lack thereof, while Benny portrayed himself as vain, self-important, and excessively miserly, not unlike a certain George Costanza of Seinfeld whom Larry David has admitted was modeled after himself. The only difference is that Constanza is an unremitting failure, whereas Benny is and was a successful performer, though not irreplaceable, as demonstrated in the episode "Final Show of the Season" (May 1, 1960) in which Benny's sponsors haul out an animatronic dummy that mimics his mannerisms of folding his arms and turning his head for comic effect.

Speaking of sponsors, it's well known that they wielded considerable influence over television content during the 1950s and early 60s. As mentioned in other posts on this blog, they were the reason John Cassavetes quickly grew tired of the TV world and abandoned his series Johnny Staccato before completing even a single season. And they brought down Blake Edwards' promising and popular crime drama Mr. Lucky after one season because a few watchers complained about the title character's casino business. But Benny was fearless in poking fun at his sponsors and mucking up his in-show commercials. Shandling, in his talk show parody The Larry Sanders Show, may have mildly covered the same ground in having his character object to and then sabotage an in-show promotion for the Garden Weasel, but that was only a made-up product lampooned years after commercial sponsors had lost much of their clout. Benny would often avoid approving commercial jingles run by him by his long-time announcer Don Wilson, who frequently had to revert to subterfuge to squeeze the required commercials into the program. In "Easter Show" (April 17, 1960) Wilson dresses in drag, but without gloves, and gives an interview to a TV fashion reporter during the annual Hollywood Easter Parade to show off how Lux Pink Liquid Dishwashing Soap is mild on the hands. It would be interesting to know how Lux responded at the time to having a 300-pound man in women's clothing promoting their product.

The Jack Benny Program was also ahead of its time in dealing with racial stereotypes. Though the character of Benny's valet Eddie "Rochester" Anderson was originally drawn in the racial stereotypes of the era early in the radio show's tenure, after World War II those stereotypes were eliminated, at least for African-Americans, when the production re-ran a pre-War episode in 1948 and received many complaints from listeners about the racist depiction of Rochester. Thereafter Benny and his writers made every effort to show Rochester as his own character, not a type indicative of the race as a whole. As noted in the biographical section below, Anderson was the first African-American star in a nationwide program and by the 1950s was making the considerable salary of $100,000 per year. But during the TV era, the Program could lapse into stereotypical portrayals of other races, such as in the episode "Hong Kong Suit" (November 6, 1960) when Jack is quite proud of a suit he bought cheaply in Hong Kong but had to go to the section of town known only to locals and change his appearance by pulling at the edges of his eyes to make them slanted in order to fit in. And yet Benny skewered Asian stereotypes in the aforementioned "Final Show of the Season" when Wilson brings out the most famous announcer in Japan, Mr. Kyoto, to deliver the Lux in-show commercial. At first Kyoto reads the ad copy mispronouncing all the L's as R's, finishing with the tag line "Buy rots of Rux." Benny says that his sponsor would be very unhappy about this, so he and Wilson each recite the ad copy pronouncing the L's correctly, then invite Kyoto to give it another try. When he reads the copy flawlessly without a touch of accent, Benny asks why he did so poorly the first time. Kyoto replies that Benny's stupid writers wrote it that way, apparently unaware that some Japanese people can pronounce L's correctly.

Benny was also keenly aware of how his brand of comedy was different from the cornball jokes of Bob Hope or the over-the-top slapstick gags of Milton Berle. This is made evident in the "Milton Berle Show" episode (October 30, 1960) in which Berle offers his advice for how Benny can keep up with the rigors of doing a daily show by "socking it to" the audience with the physical brand of humor he had used a decade earlier. He persuades Benny to let him help Benny with that night's show and has Benny come out in a ridiculous clown outfit and tell painful jokes accompanied by gags like the top of his hat popping open and exploding. Benny complains repeatedly to Berle that this is not right for him, but Berle continues pushing him to do more of the same until Berle is the recipient of a pail of water over the head.

Benny was also very aware that people at that time saw him, like Berle, as members of the old guard of comedy, and when he decided to move the show from bi-weekly to weekly for the 11th season in the fall of 1960, he dedicated his first show, "Nightbeat Takeoff" (October 16, 1960), to having friends like George Burns advise him against going to a weekly format, particularly at his advanced age. He continues to insist that people love him, even after a terrifying nightmare in which he is grilled by Mike Douglas about why he thinks he can do a weekly show and having his adoring fans throw rocks through his windows.

But the rigors of a weekly show may have been one reason why the production recycled skits from previous broadcasts, as mentioned in the Rochester racist affair above. One favorite plot that got repeated airplay was the annual "Christmas Shopping" skit in which Jack goes Christmas shopping for various employees and causes all sorts of problems in the process. The "Christmas Shopping" episode for Season 11 (December 18, 1960) was one first aired on radio in 1948. In this version Benny is shopping for a wallet for Don Wilson and decides to repeatedly change the inscription on the accompanying greeting card, driving the beleaguered sales clerk, played by Mel Blanc, to suicide. Though suicide hardly seems like a comic subject, doing the skit even 12 years after its original performance cracks Benny up when he interacts with the increasingly frenzied Blanc.

But CBS eventually grew tired of Benny's brand of humor, canceling the series after its 14th season in 1964 as the TV comic landscape had shifted to zany-premised sitcoms like Bewitched, Mr. Ed, and My Favorite Martian. Benny was able to move the series to NBC for one final season but says that he, not the network, chose to end the show in 1965 because he had grown tired of the chase for ratings. He remained a fixture on television with various specials and appearances on shows like The Tonight Show and Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, but one can't help but feel that he hasn't continued to be held in the high esteem he deserves, considering the blueprint he set for so many of today's most critically acclaimed comics. Likewise his recorded legacy has been not well preserved. Whereas consumers today can buy every single episode of I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners on DVD and soon on Blu-ray, there are scant few offerings of Benny's work available. What's currently available is a hodge podge of low-budget collections, a random assortment of episodes from the 256 he produced over the life of the series and a recently released 3-disc collection "The Lost Episodes" taken from his personal collection of kinescopes donated to UCLA after his death. The video quality for all of these is hardly top notch. It's a sad state of affairs that the work of such a comic icon and innovator has been so poorly preserved.

The music for the series was composed and conducted by Mahlon Merrick, who had joined Benny's radio program in 1937. He was born in 1900 in Farmington, Iowa and attended what later became Washington State University, graduating in 1923 (in the 1940s he would write the school's fight song). After teaching music for 3 years, he became a professional saxophone player, eventually moving to Los Angeles and working in radio orchestras. Besides working on a number of radio shows, sometimes under the pseudonym of Gene LaGrande, Merrick also provided music for The Abbott and Costello Show, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Bob Cummings Show, and Blondie. He also composed the "Look Sharp March" for the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports. When Benny's program ended in 1965, Merrick retired to Palm Springs and died of cancer on August 7, 1969 at the age of 69.

As mentioned above, there is a disorganized collection of various episodes from the show's 15 years issued by low-budget outfits like Alpha Video, Passport Video, and Echo Bridge, many containing the same episodes. Some of these episodes are also available on youtube.com. The aforementioned "Lost Episodes" released by Shout! Factory contains selected episodes from 1956-64 and includes bonus material such as a couple of Benny's later TV specials and newsreel footage from the 1940s. From calendar year 1960, there are a total of 11 episodes available--6 on youtube and 6 in the "Lost Episodes" set, with 1 episode (the "Milton Berle Show") appearing in both.

The Actors

Jack Benny

Benjamin Kubelsky was born in Chicago and grew up in Waukegan, Illinois. He began studying the violin from the age of 6, taking lessons at one time from Otto Graham, Sr., father of Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham, Jr. By age 14 he began playing with dance bands and by 17 was playing in local vaudeville theaters. Here he was seen by Minnie Marx, mother of the Marx Brothers, and asked to join their outfit, but his father refused to let him go on the road at age 17. He then formed a musical duo with pianist Cora Salisbury, during which time he was forced to change his name due to legal proceedings from another performer named Jan Kubelik and took the stage name of Ben K. Benny. When Salisbury left, Benny replaced her with Lyman Woods and the two began adding comedy bits into their routine. He joined the Navy during World War I and was forced to develop his comedic skills further when he was booed while trying to entertain the troops with his violin playing. After the war he began to get more work combining his newly developed comedic talents with music. In 1922 he met his future wife Sadye Marks while attending a Passover seder with Zeppo Marx, though at the time he was 27 while she was 14 and disliked him enough to go to his next performance and heckle him from the front row, according to one version of the story. After a couple more chance encounters over the next five years, they married, and she became a collaborator and performer from that point forward, taking the stage name Mary Livingstone, until her increasing stage fright caused her to give up performing. Jack first made his mark in radio after a brief unsuccessful stint in movies with MGM; he appeared on Ed Sullivan's radio show in 1932 and later that year began to host his own program on NBC. The popular show ran for 16 years and made Benny a national figure before moving over to CBS in 1949. That same year he made his first television appearance on the initial broadcast of Los Angeles station KTTV. The following fall The Jack Benny Program made its television debut, initially as a series of five specials. The next season it aired once every six weeks, going to once every four weeks in 1952-53, and once every three weeks in 1953-54. It then aired every other week starting in the fall of 1954 until the fall of 1960 when it became a weekly broadcast. For five years he was appearing both on radio and television, finally ending his radio show in May of 1955, though CBS ran reruns until 1958.

His television show was finally canceled by CBS in 1964 and he moved over to NBC for one last season, then decided to cancel the series himself, having grown weary of the chase for ratings. He continued to host occasional specials and appeared on shows hosted by his friends Bob Hope, Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, Joey Bishop, Dinah Shore, and many others. He also made multiple appearances as himself on shows such as Here's Lucy and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. His last appearances were as roaster and roastee on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast, In December 1974 he was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer, and he died at his home on December 26 of that year. His wife Mary Livingstone outlived him by 9 years, passing away June 30, 1983.

Eddie Anderson

Edmund Lincoln Anderson was born in Oakland, California, the son of a minstrel performer and a tightrope walker. His signature hoarse vocal tone was due to straining his vocal cords while hawking newspapers on the streets of Oakland as a boy. By age 14, he was part of a vaudeville act called The Three Black Aces with his brother Cornelius, eventually working his way to New York to perform at the Roxy and Apollo theaters. His success in the theater led to appearances at the Los Angeles Cotton Club and thereafter he began a film career, once established out west, beginning with various uncredited servant roles in 1932. His first credited roles came in Transient Lady in 1935, followed the next year by his most notable early role as Noah in The Green Pastures. His first appearance on Jack Benny's radio program came in 1937 when he played a railroad redcap. Anderson had a couple more appearances in other roles over the next few months and because of the positive audience response, Benny brought him on the show in the permanent role of his valet Rochester Van Jones, a name Anderson said that Benny invented. In his role as Rochester, Anderson became the first African-American to have a regular role on a national radio show. Though Rochester's early appearances were marked by the same stereotypical racial humor of the era, Benny made a concerted effort after World War II to remove black racist jokes about the character, particularly after the show reprised a 1941 script on a 1948 show and drew many complaints from listeners about the racial jokes recycled from the earlier program. While working on Benny's radio program and ensuing television show, Anderson continued taking film roles, appearing in such notable features as You Can't Take It With You, Gone With the Wind, Cabin in the Sky, and Brewster's Millions, though he stopped doing feature films after 1946.

Despite playing a servant for most of his career, Anderson became quite wealthy, making over $100,000 per year, such that he could afford to hire his own valet, and he owned a company that made parachutes during World War II and owned race horses, one of which ran in the Kentucky Derby. He returned to films in a small role in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World in 1963 (Benny had a cameo in the same film), and occasionally appeared on other TV programs, usually as Rochester, such as The Red Skelton Hour and Bachelor Father. After The Jack Benny Program went off the air, he appeared in single episodes of It Takes a Thief and Love American Style, the movie Watermelon Man, and provided the voice for Bobby Joe Mason on the animated Harlem Globe Trotters and The New Scooby Doo Movies. He died of heart failure on February 28, 1977 at the age of 71. After his death his son established the Eddie Rochester Anderson Foundation for assisting homeless substance abusers.

Don Wilson

Don Wilson was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1900 and played football for the University of Colorado in the 1920's. He was a radio singer at Denver radio station KFEL in 1923 and by 1929 had a similar role at KFI in Los Angeles. He then went on to work as a sportscaster, covering the opening of the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was working as a radio announcer two years later for George Gershwin's program Music by Gershwin when Jack Benny heard him and insisted that he be hired for his program. At 6 feet and 300 pounds, Wilson quickly became a constant target of Benny's jokes about his girth, though he also occasionally had acting roles on the show in addition to reading the commercials and forever trying to get Benny to approve commercial jingles sung by the vocal quartet The Sportsmen. Though Wilson continued working for Benny through the remainder of his radio career and his entire television career, he also took occasional outside work. He had actually made his first film appearance, though uncredited, before joining Benny in the 1932 feature Million Dollar Legs. He was the narrator for the 1938 Disney animated short Ferdinand the Bull and appeared in Du Barry Was a Lady, Sailor Beware, and Marilyn Monroe's Niagara, not to mention Benny's own Buck Benny Rides Again. He also made rare TV appearances, such as on The Red Skelton Hour, Death Valley Days, and as the TV announcer Walter Klondike on two episodes of Batman. He was a regular performer on the 1946 daytime comedy Glamour Manor. In the late 1960s and early 70s he was the spokesman and commercial voice of Western Union's Candygrams. He and his fourth wife Lois Corbet retired to the Palm Springs area in the late 1960s and together hosted a local TV talk show called Town Talk into the mid 1970s. He died of a stroke at his Cathedral City home on April 25, 1982 at the age of 81.

Dennis Day

Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty was born in the Bronx to an Irish Catholic family. Singing was his vocation from an early age, being a member of his high school glee club and while attending Manhattan College. Though he originally planned to study law and used his singing ability to earn money for tuition, his self-recorded "I Never Knew Heaven Could Speak," which he distributed to local New York radio producers, found its way to Mary Livingstone, wife of Jack Benny, who insisted that her husband hire Day for his show. When incumbent Irish tenor Kenny Baker objected to his role as dingbat singer and left the show, Day was brought in as his replacement and for nearly three decades both on radio and television played the naive comic foil to the constantly befuddled and exasperated Benny. After a stint in the Navy during World War II, Day's popularity was such that he was given his own radio show, A Day in the Life of Dennis Day, in which he played a naive soda jerk, which ran concurrently with Benny's own radio program for 5 years from 1946-51. After Benny made the move to television, Day also scored his own musical variety program The Dennis Day Show which ran for two seasons from 1952-54. Day made his first film appearance in Benny's Buck Benny Rides Again in 1940 but then began securing work on his own, usually including a vocal number or two, in films such as The Powers Girl, Sleepy Lagoon, and The Girl Next Door, though this last 1953 feature was his last. However, he did find occasional TV work during his long stint on Benny's various programs, including appearances on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Burke's Law, The Lucy Show, and Love American Style. At the end of his career he found voice work on animated TV fare such as Frosty's Winter Wonderland and The Stingiest Man in Town. He and his wife had 10 children and at one point ran an antique shop in Santa Monica. He died from ALS on June 22, 1988 at the age of 72.

Frank Nelson

Frank Brandon Nelson was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado and by age 15 was working as a radio announcer in the Denver area. At age 18 he moved to Hollywood and found work as a radio actor in dramas and comedies such as Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel, which also starred Groucho and Chico Marx. He began playing announcers in movies, often uncredited, in 1937 and first appeared on television on The Hank McCune Show in 1950. Nelson developed a comedic character with a distinctive catchphrase, a high-pitched, unctious, drawn-out "Yes?" that made him instantly recognizable, though he often was first shown with his back to the camera. On The Jack Benny Program he played a variety of department store floorwalkers, ticket agents, and other customer service roles, delivering sarcastic answers to Benny's questions. He performed a similar role playing Ralph Ramsey on I Love Lucy and had multiple appearances on a variety of shows through the decades from Our Miss Brooks to Sanford and Son. He also continued doing voicework on animated shows such as The Mister Magoo Show and The Flintstones with the last performance of his career coming on the 1994 series Garfield and Friends. He died from cancer on September 12, 1986 at the age of 75, but his legacy lives on in occasional parodies on shows such as The Simpsons and Jon Stewart's mannerisms on The Daily Show.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 10, Episode 11, "Jack Is Arrested for Disturbing the Peace": Mel Blanc (the voice of countless cartoon characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester the cat, and Barney Rubble on The Flintstones) plays a drunk in lockup. Frank Gerstle (Dick Gird on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp and voice of Raseem on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour) plays the lockup policeman. Herb Vigran (Judge Brooker on Gunsmoke) plays an investigating policeman. Olan Soule (Aristotle "Tut" Jones on Captain Midnight, Ray Pinker on Dragnet (1952-59), and Fred Springer on Arnie) plays the court clerk. Lewis Charles (Lou on The Feather and Father Gang) plays a criminal in lockup.

Season 10, Episode 12, "Natalie Wood/Robert Wagner": Natalie Wood (shown on the left, starred in Miracle on 34th Street, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Rebel Without a Cause, The Searchers, West Side Story, Splendor in the Grass, Gypsy, This Property Is Condemned, Inside Daisy Clover, and Love With the Proper Stranger and played Ann Morrison on The Pride of the Family) plays herself. Robert Wagner (shown on the right, starred in Titanic (1953), Prince Valiant, All the Fine Young Cannibals, The Pink Panther, and Curse of the Pink Panther and played Alexander Mundy on It Takes a Thief, Maj. Phil Carrington on Colditz, Peter T. Ryan on Switch, Jonathan Hart on Hart to Hart, James Greyson Culver on Lime Street, Jack Fairfield on Hope & Faith, Teddy Leopold on Two and a Half Men, and Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. on NCIS) plays himself.

Season 10, Episode 14, "Easter Show": Barbara Nichols (played Ginger on Love That Jill) plays Jack's girlfriend Mildred Meyerhouser. Madge Blake (see her biography in the post for The Real McCoys) plays Jack super-fan Clara.  Mel Blanc (see "Jack Is Arrested for Disturbing the Peace" above) plays Jack's violin teacher Prof. Pierre LeBlanc.

Season 10, Episode 15, "Final Show of the Season": Joyce Davidson (co-host with Mike Wallace of PM East/PM West and later wife of talk-show host David Susskind) is the commercial announcer. William Schallert (Justinian Tebbs on The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Mr. Leander Pomfritt on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Martin Lane on The Patty Duke Show, Admiral Hargrade on Get Smart, Teddy Futterman on The Nancy Walker Show, Carson Drew on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Russ Lawrence on The New Gidget, and Wesley Hodges on The Torkelsons) plays sponsor executive Mr. Lewis.  John Hoyt (shown on the left, starred in My Favorite Brunette, The Lady Gambles, and Blackboard Jungle and who played Grandpa Stanley Kanisky on Gimme a Break!) plays sponsor executive Mr. Hall.

Season 11, Episode 1, "Nightbeat Takeoff": Mike Wallace (co-host of PM East/PM West and host of Nightbeat, The Mike Wallace Interview, and 60 Minutes) plays himself. George Burns (starred in The Big Broadcast, Here Comes Cookie, A Damsel in Distress, The Sunshine Boys and the Oh God! trilogy and played himself on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The George Burns Show, and Wendy and Me) plays himself.  Tony Curtis (starred in Houdini, Sweet Smell of Success, Some Like It Hot, The Defiant Ones, The Great Race, and The Boston Strangler and played Danny Wilde on The Persuaders!, McCoy on McCoy, and Roth on Vega$) plays himself. Robert Wagner (see "Natalie Wood/Robert Wagner " above) plays himself.  Johnny Green (composer, arranger and pianist) plays himself.

Season 11, Episode 3, "Milton Berle Show": Milton Berle (shown on the right, starred in Sun Valley Serenade, Always Leave Them Laughing, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, The Loved One, and The Muppet Movie and played the host on The Milton Berle Show and Louie the Lilac on Batman) plays himself.

Season 11, Episode 4, "Hong Kong Suit": Rolfe Sedan (Mr. Beasley the Postman on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show and Mr. Briggs the Postman on The Addams Family) plays barbershop owner Andre. Richard Deacon (Sherman Hall on The Charles Farrell Show, Roger Finley on Date  With the Angels, Uncle Archie on Walt Disney Presents: Annette, Fred Rutherford on Leave It to Beaver, Mel Cooley on The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Roger Buell on The Mothers in Law) plays Harry the barber. Shirley Mitchell (Yvonne Sharp on Sixpenny Corner, Kitty Devereaux on Bachelor Father, Janet Colton on Pete and Gladys, and Clara Appleby on The Red Skelton Hour) plays Goldie the manicurist. Iris Adrian (Dottie on The Ted Knight Show) plays Mildred the manicurist. Gisele MacKenzie (singer and musician who played herself on The Gisele MacKenzie Show and Katherine Chancellor on The Young and the Restless) plays herself.

Season 11, Episode 5, "John Wayne Show": John Wayne (shown on the left, starred in Red River, Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Searchers, Rio Bravo, The Alamo, True Grit, and The Green Berets) plays himself. Jaye P. Morgan (popular singer) plays herself. Frank Fontaine (played Crazy Guggenheim on Jackie Gleason: American Scene Magazine and The Jackie Gleason Show) plays audience member John L.T. Savonie. Betty Furness (one-time spokesperson for Westinghouse and consumer affairs reporter for  the Today Show for 16 years) plays herself.

Season 11, Episode 7, "Lunch Counter Murder": Dan Duryea (starred in The Little Foxes, The Pride of the Yankees, Scarlet Street, and Winchester '73 and who played China Smith in China Smith and The New Adventures of China Smith and Eddie Jacks on Peyton Place) plays a murder gang leader. Verna Felton (the voice of the fairy godmother in Disney's Cinderella and played Hilda Crocker on December Bride and Pete and Gladys) plays Dennis Day's mother.

Season 11, Episode 8, "Jack Goes to a Concert": Jimmy Stewart (shown on the right, starred in You Can't Take It With You, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Shop Around the Corner, It's a Wonderful Life, Harvey, The Philadelphia Story, Destry Rides Again, Rope, Rear Window, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Anatomy of a Murder, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and played Prof. James K. Howard on The Jimmy Stewart Show and Billy Jim Hawkins on Hawkins) plays himself. Gloria Stewart (shown on the left, Jimmy Stewart's wife) plays herself. Barbara Nichols (see "Easter Show" above) returns as Mildred Meyerhouser. Damian O'Flynn (Dr. Goodfellow on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays a member of the concert audience.

Season 11, Episode 9, "Christmas Shopping": Mel Blanc (see "Jack Is Arrested for Disturbing the Peace" above) plays a sales clerk. Richard Deacon (shown on the left, see "Hong Kong Suit" above) plays a sales clerk. Maxine Semon (Honeybee Gillis on The Life of Riley and the voice of Mrs. Jillson on The Joey Bishop Show) plays a jewelry saleslady. Rolfe Sedan (see "Hong Kong Suit" above) plays a lingerie salesman.