What happens
Jack Benny, Rochester, Mary Livingston, Phil Harris and Don Wilson prepare for the opening program of the new Jell-O series. Jack drives Rochester around town to collect his cast, and the car ride brings out a string of jokes about Jack's old car, Mary's hair, and Phil's lack of rehearsal. The group reaches the studio, where Jack has arranged for a young singer, Dennis Day, to make his debut on the show. Dennis arrives with his mother, who keeps Jack busy with questions about schedules and pay. Jack gives Dennis a short introduction before he sings. The series is Jack Benny, the episode aired on October 8, 1939, and the cast is led by Jack Benny and Mary Livingston.
Hollywood, California, in 1939: a car ride around town, then the NBC studio for the first Jell-O broadcast of the season.
Characters: Jack Benny, Rochester, Mary Livingston, Phil Harris, Don Wilson, Dennis Day, Mrs. Day
Listen for: Jack's jokes about his 1920 Maxwell, Mary's teasing about Phil's hair and his lack of rehearsal, and Dennis Day's first song, Good Night My Beautiful.
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.