Holidailies: Oh, Mr. ROCHester ...

[entelein]

"Oh, Mr. ROCHester ..."

"Yes, Mr. Benny?"

"Krystyn's posted a new entry. You should go read it."

"Yes, Mr. Benny."

Comments

[firesign3000.livejournal.com]

jack benny never called him mr. rochester. it was always just rochester. just sayin'.

[entelein.livejournal.com]

You're so right. I plead sleep deprivation.

[(Anonymous)]

Did a couple of quick searches...here's all I got. I found it by looking up Mary Livingstone on Wikipedia--which says that Livingstone was sometimes spelled without the "e". Then, a quick Google on "jack benny" "babe livingston" got this. This is from a message on the Jack Benny forums at JackBenny.org.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that Babe was played by radio actress Betty Garde. (She's the actress who played the part of Thelma the tough maid on the episode of TV's "The Honeymooners" where Alice goes to work and hires a maid).

There's also a radio episode from around that same time where Jack and the cast do a spoof of "Sunset Boulevard" and Betty plays the "Norma Desmond" part....and Joe is right...she DOES sound JUST like Bea Arthur!

So--maybe this be what you be seekin'.

Wolf

[entelein.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I found that, too. But my friend Ben who's directing the shows sent me this:

From http://www.radiogoldindex.com/frame1.html

86321. The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny. December 15, 1946. NBC net. Sponsored by: Lucky Strike. Babe Marks (Mary's sister in real life) appears on the show, announced as being for the first time (she was actually on the show October 18, 1936). Mary does not appear, she was "sick" at the last minute. Babe does O. K., but she's no radio actress. She does manage to pull off another "Chiss Sweeze" gag. Don't miss the second "mousetrap" line. Pure Benny! The Sportsmen sing the commercial to the music of, "The Dance Of The Hours." Jack returns to the department store to exchange the metal-tipped shoe laces that he previously bought. Sara Berner sings a not-to-be missed chorus of, "Five Minutes More." Andy Devine is billboarded twice for next week's show (he did not appear). Rodney Dangerfield is mentioned twice. The program runs late and is cut off the air by NBC. Jack Benny, Don Wilson, Eddie Anderson, L. A. Speed Riggs (tobacco auctioneer), F. E. Boone (tobacco auctioneer), Babe Marks, Phil Harris, The Sportsmen, Mel Blanc, Sara Berner, Bea Benaderet, Basil Ruysdael (commercial spokesman). 29:28. Audio condition: Very good to excellent. Complete.

[(Anonymous)]

Seems like maybe there's not a single answer...

Are you sure it was Betty Garde? I thought it was actually the real Babe! At least in one of the shows I'm thinking of, "Babe" sounds totally unlike a professional actress, and Jack coaches her along with a couple of ad-libs referring to the fact that acting isn't her real forte.

Wolf