What happens
Jack Benny prepares to leave for New York, where the Friars Club is holding a testimonial dinner in his honor marking twenty years in radio. Mary Livingstone, Rochester and Dennis Day come and go as Jack packs and fields calls, including one from Phil Harris. Then George Jessel drops by with a speech he has written, which traces Jack's life from his birth in Waukegan, Illinois, through his school years, his violin lessons and his time in vaudeville. The episode is part of the Jack Benny series, first broadcast on November 4, 1951 on NBC and CBS Radio, with Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Eddie Anderson and Phil Harris in the leading roles.
Jack Benny's home in Beverly Hills, shortly before he travels to New York for a testimonial dinner
Characters: Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Rochester, Dennis Day, Phil Harris, George Jessel
Listen for: George Jessel's mock biography of Jack Benny, delivered as a speech draft, which runs through his birth, schooling and vaudeville years
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.