The Walking Man Contest: Jack Benny (March 7, 1948)

“The Walking Man Contest” is an episode of Jack Benny, the old-time radio show, first broadcast March 7, 1948. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Jack Benny, playing himself, has spent eight weeks as the anonymous walking man in a guessing contest on Truth or Consequences, and the contest is now over. He complains about the monotony, the mysterious hideouts he was taken to, and a near miss with a lady who nearly guessed his identity. Mary Livingstone, Rochester, Dennis Day and Phil Harris join him, each with their own comic troubles, including Dennis's new used car and Phil's feud with Jack over a song about Dewy Diddy. The Jack Benny program aired on NBC and CBS Radio on 7 March 1948, with Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Eddie Anderson and Phil Harris in the lead roles.

Jack Benny's home and the broadcast studio in Los Angeles, after the Walking Man contest has ended

Characters: Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Rochester, Dennis Day, Phil Harris, Don Wilson

Listen for: Jack's account of the contest and the mysterious hideouts, Dennis Day's car-buying story, and the Dewy Diddy argument with Phil Harris

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.