What happens
Jack Benny celebrates his birthday on the Lucky Strike program, broadcast on February 13, 1949, on NBC and CBS Radio, with Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Dennis Day, Rochester and Don Wilson. The audience sings Happy Birthday to Jack, but one listener, Mr. Fink, refuses to join in and complains about the show and a missing refrigerator. Jack's age becomes a running joke, first from a telegram from his sister Florence, who says he is turning 39 rather than 40. Jack turns to Rochester to check his birth certificate, while Mary and Phil trade jokes and Dennis Day sings a song.
A radio studio during a live broadcast of the Jack Benny program, with Jack's home and other locations visited by phone and by sketch.
Characters: Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Dennis Day, Rochester, Don Wilson, Mr. Fink
Listen for: Jack's birthday celebration, Mr. Fink's refusal to sing, and the telegram from Jack's sister about his age.
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.