TFTP Variety: "Jack Benny's Bag" from NBC (Nov. 16, 1968)

Posted to YouTube by user 'balsamwoods'
Length - 1:01:39

Jack Benny's long-running weekly sitcom (a continuation of his long-running radio program) ended in 1965, and for the remainder of his career until his death in 1974 Benny did occasional TV specials. The above program is one of the early such specials, with a theme lampooning youth counterculture of the late-1960s, entitled "Jack Benny's Bag".

Like a lot of old-line comedians, Benny was pretty clueless when it came to the counterculture he was lampooning. In most cases of mainstream TV treatment of counterculture, including here, some garish colors, some psychedelic imagery, some youth-oriented clothing, and some tossed-off slang was thought to do the job.

In "Jack Benny's Bag", though, the counterculture elements are mainly window-dressing. Benny himself wears either a tuxedo or a regular suit throughout most of the special, and there is little of substance regarding the counterculture. (The one sketch that does treat it is a groan-worthy parody of the film "The Graduate" where Benny-as-Benjamin-Braddock enters through an arch that is a large mock-up of Mrs. Robinson's famous leg.) A pair of hippies appears near the beginning to collect payment for painting Benny's house (he assumed given their values that they'd do for free); Benny's Maxwell car, in which he makes his first appearance, has been painted in psychedelic designs, as has the stage backdrop; and that's about it.

Guests abound, including Dick Clark, Lou Rawls, Phyllis Diller (who portrays Mrs. Robinson in the "Graduate" sketch), Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, Eddie Fisher, and Benny's own former supporting player Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. (Rochester appears with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon as their "Odd Couple" characters in the special's cold opening.) Sponsored by Texaco, the special includes a few filmed commercials for that product, and a group of young girls in Texaco "Fire Chief" costumes appear with Benny in a couple of segments.

TFTP On This Day: "Shower of Stars" w/ Jack Benny's 40th Birthday from CBS (Feb. 13, 1958)

Posted to YouTube by user 'What's My Line?'
Length - 59:20

It Was 60 Years Ago Today: For most of his career, comedian Jack Benny had an ongoing gag in which he was perpetually 39 years old. It was foundational to Benny's entire comic persona--as important as his supposed miserliness. On this day sixty years ago, February 13, 1958, CBS broadcast this all-star episode of the "Shower of Stars" variety show in which Benny finally celebrated his 40th birthday.

The program opens with an extended red carpet sequence in which a parade of guests arrives for the show. The rest of the first half of the program consists of a series of sketches and musical numbers in which various current and former Benny show cast members, including Benny himself, prepare for the evening's festivities. In the process, cast members genuflect at the stations of Benny's comic persona: his cheapness, his poor violin playing, and of course his longevity as a 39-year-old.

"Shower of Stars" was sponsored by the Chrysler Corporation, and a few extended Chrysler ads are presented during breaks in the program. In addition, Chrysler references are worked in at a few other points in the program itself--most memorably with Jack's bathrobe that has Chrysler's "The Forward Look" motto embroidered on its back and tail fins pasted onto its sides.

The second half of the show takes place at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub (actually a set). More musical numbers punctuate testimonials given by selected guests. Benny himself takes over as emcee of the proceedings, which culminate with the entire ensemble, joined by the studio audience, singing "Happy Birthday" to Jack.

For what it's worth, Jack Benny's actual birthday was on February 14, the day after this special aired. He turned 64.

TFTP's Monochrome Monday: Program Promos from CBS (Oct. 29, 1960)

Posted to YouTube by user 'Pannoni 9'
Length - 4:04

TFTP's Monochrome Monday brings you a classic black & white TV program or clip every Monday morning to kick off the week....

This block of black-and-white program promos is from Saturday, October 29, 1960, and includes promos for specials, regular programs, and broadcasts related to the presidential election (between Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard Nixon) that would take place about a week later.

The first promo is for CBS's election night coverage and touts the network's track record covering the past few elections dating back to 1952. This is followed by regular program promos for "Lassie", "Dennis the Menace", and "The Jack Benny Program". Another election-related promo features Walter Cronkite, who had not yet taken over as the network's evening news anchor but was already a top CBS news personality; he previews an interview program with past presidential nominee Thomas Dewey. Finally, Danny Kaye presents a comical promo for his first TV special, "An Hour with Danny Kaye", which aired the following evening on October 30.