What happens
Jack Benny hosts his radio comedy program, which airs on NBC and CBS Radio in 1948, with Mary Livingstone, Eddie Anderson and Phil Harris. Benny is preparing the next season's contracts, and his cast members each object to the terms, from Don Wilson and his weight pay to Phil Harris and his late-night hours. When Dennis Day fails to appear for the musical slot, Benny sends Mary Livingstone to ask Frank Sinatra, who is rehearsing down the hall, to sing on the show. Negotiations over Sinatra's fee become a running joke, and Benny soon turns to Sinatra with a request about an Oscar.
A radio studio in Hollywood during the broadcast of The Jack Benny Program, with side visits to the studio hallways.
Characters: Jack Benny, Don Wilson, Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Rochester, Dennis Day, Frank Sinatra, Mr. Kitzel
Listen for: The running argument over Frank Sinatra's fee and the mix-up over the Oscar statuette.
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.