How Jack Benny Became Cheap: Burns and Allen (March 31, 1949)

Burns and Allen, old-time radio on Stupid Potato

“How Jack Benny Became Cheap” is an episode of Burns and Allen, the old-time radio show, first broadcast March 31, 1949. Listen free on Stupid Potato: no sign-up, no app.

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What happens

George and Gracie are at the Brown Derby, waiting to lunch with their old friend Jack Benny, whose stinginess they joke about. Over the meal the pair argue over who will pay, and Gracie recalls that Jack was once generous and charming. Gracie remembers a proposal from sixteen years ago, when Jack and George both courted her and a violin was swung in an argument. The episode is from the Burns and Allen series, first broadcast on March 31, 1949, on CBS and NBC Radio, with Gracie Allen among the leads.

The Brown Derby restaurant, and later Gracie's home

Characters: George Burns, Gracie Allen, Jack Benny

Listen for: Gracie's memories of Jack's generosity from sixteen years earlier, and the argument over who pays the check

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.