Showing results by narrator "Jack Benny" in All Categories

Come back to the tradition and warmth of Christmas in the Golden Age of Radio, with the great performers and shows of yesteryear. Go shopping with Jack Benny. Go to the snow covered woods with Johnny Dollar. Go to Bethlehem with Family Theater. The voices of Vincent Price, George and Gracie, Bergen and McCarthy, Abbott and Costello, Red Skelton, Jimmy Durante, and more are lifted in story and song. They celebrate the yuletide with equal parts hope and hokum, silliness and sacrifice, merriment and mystery....

When you're the country's favorite radio comedian, you tend to have a lot of friends. And those friends can't wait to have you stop by for a visit, crack a joke or two, play a fiddle solo, or even step out of character for a rare dramatic turn. Such was the case with Jack Benny. Consistently near the top of the rating charts with his own program, Jack was a popular guest artist on dozens of different series.

Hilarious Hollywood spoofs were a beloved feature on many classic Jack Benny radio shows. Regular cast members and guest stars alike were recruited to send up cinema classics like Casablanca, High Noon, and Sunset Boulevard. Celebrities could count on large laughs - and, looking good next to Jack’s lovably vainglorious and miserly self - while poking fun at their most famous films. A treasure trove for both Benny-philes and film fans, this set includes 12 digitally restored and remastered episodes, performances by the likes of Bob Hope and Edward G. Robinson.

An orange glow peeks through the window on a crisp October night. Is it a jack-o'-lantern? Or, is it the radio dial? It's both! This collection of radio's happiest Halloween moments is replete with good old-fashioned haunted houses, costume parties, cemeteries, tricks and treats. Have fun with favorites like Jack Benny, Hal Peary, William Bendix, Ozzie & Harriet, Lucille Ball, Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy, and Boris Karloff.

A collection of the most famous comedy sketches of all time from actors and comedians, such as Peter Cook, Groucho Marx and Bob Hope.

Hit the road, Jack! Take a train, a plane, or even a ship! Wherever he goes, and however he gets there, Jack Benny is always good for a laugh. Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Dennis Day, and Don Wilson come along for the ride in 16 travel themed adventures in this collection. Climb aboard for coast to coast clowning, with special appearances by the infamous racetrack “tout” (Sheldon Leonard) and the reliable railway announcer (Mel Blanc). “Train leaving on track five for Anaheim, Azusa, and Cuc-amonga!”

Celebrate Christmas along with radio's greatest performers, characters and programs. These timeless holiday classics include moving and mirthful comedies, wholesome dramas, and adventurous missions of mercy. Laugh along with comedians like Jack Benny and Red Skelton (in a rare previously uncirculated performance), and with funny families on Fibber McGee & Molly, The Phil Harris - Alice Faye Show, Burns & Allen, The Great Gildersleeve, and The Life of Riley.

Bing Crosby hosts The Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers visits with Bergen & McCarthy, and Red Skelton heads to Dead Eye's dude ranch. Come kick up your heels with Bob Hope, "Buck Benny," Fred Allen, Fibber McGee and Molly, and more!

They've been called the most successful husband and wife comedy team in history, and you'll find no dissension in these ranks. George Burns and Gracie Allen had a chemistry and wit about them that had no parallel. In this sampling of programs from the 1940s, George and Gracie face new livelihoods (and livestock) and mad undertakings (and misunderstandings). They budget and blunder alongside Bill Goodwin, Meredith Willson, Mel Blanc, and special guest Jack Benny.

Here is radio situation comedy at its finest - from the cartoony fun of Fibber McGee and Molly to the well-drawn family humor of The Great Gildersleeve, from the broad gags of The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show to the subtle wit of The Couple Next Door, from the double-edged meta-comedy of The Jack Benny Program to the blue collar comedy of The Life of Riley. Spend time with Burns & Allen, Ozzie & Harriet, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Dennis Day, and all the rest of your favorites in 10 big hours of The Great Radio Sitcoms!

Do you relish the ridiculous? Get ready for realms of absurdity only possible with radio comedy! Here's a selection of some of Jack's best sketches, parodies, and far-fetched fables - with Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dennis Day, Don Wilson, and a few surprise guests (including Humphrey Bogart)! The play's the thing! Whether it's a lush romance, a leather-pounding Western drama, a hard-boiled detective thriller, or a tale of rip-roaring adventure, you can count on Jack Benny to turn it sideways and make it funny!

Any comedian can be funny in the studio, but domestic comedy is usually considered the province of actors who happen to do comedy. Jack Benny straddled the two roles for most of his career - the suave, witty master of ceremonies standing on stage in front of a curtain one moment; the put-upon householder tormented by a bumptious servant, eccentric friends, and troublesome neighbors the next.

Jack Benny's supporting cast - his "gang" - was the heart, soul, and success of his radio program. Mary Livingstone, Don Wilson, Phil Harris, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dennis Day, Frank Nelson, Mel Blanc, Artie Auerbach, and Ronald and Benita Colman delivered many of the best jokes - and earned biggest laughs - on the show. Many members of this talented ensemble went on to star in programs of their own - always with Jack's support. This collection includes some of the gang's best work - both on and off of Benny's program.

It was the decade of a World War and a Cold War. It was the decade of the Zoot Suit and FDR. But most of all, it was the decade of Jack Benny! Radio's favorite comedian truly came into his own during the 1940s.

Rough, rugged, and ready for anything, Jack Benny braves the howling winds atop an icy mountain peak…until he falls down and drags himself back to the ski lodge. Get ready for the comic adventures of radio's favorite comedian as you've never heard him before. He's the manliest of men, the conqueror of every wilderness, the very personification of virile vigor! Jack heads off for 16 rootin'-tootin' outdoor escapades, along with Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Bob Crosby, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Kenny Baker, Dennis Day, and Don Wilson.

Spend your yuletide with the greatest stars of radio's Golden Age! Trim the tree, wrap the presents, and deck the halls as festive broadcast favorites like Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, Abbott and Costello, and The Great Gildersleeve keep you entertained! Hark to the voices of Christmases past - including Frank Sinatra and Will Rogers, Jr. - as they bring you merry mysteries and endearing dramas.

It's the 1950s! And for all the decade's charm, petty racketeers, thugs of organized crime, and Communist spies were lurking in its dark alleys. Whether it was urban corruption or The Cold War splashed on the front page of the Sentinel, daring young publisher Britt Reid was keeping a close eye on the story.

Among radio comedy's most enduring features were its running gags - and few gags ran longer, or more hilariously, than the legendary feud between two of its great masters: Jack Benny and Fred Allen. For nearly 20 years the mere mention of Benny on an Allen program was guaranteed to produce an escalating laugh - just as bringing Allen up with Benny had listener in stitches at the mere anticipation of a response. This collection brings together the classic episodes that started it all, to the showdown that was supposed to end it once and for all.

Invite faith, hope, love, and laughter into your home this Christmas with classic holiday programs from the Golden Age of Radio. Ranging from the solemn to the slapstick, each of these heartwarming episodes celebrates the spirit of the season. This collection brings you yuletide tales from Jack Benny, Gunsmoke, Fibber & Molly, The Great Gildersleeve, The Whistler, and more. There are Christmas comedies, merry mysteries, wintry Westerns, and poignant dramas to lend meaning and merriment to your festivities this, and every, holiday season.

Who's laughing now? It's you! Why? Because you're settling back with a rib-tickling collection of great radio comedy! All of your favorites are here: Jack and Fred, Phil and Alice, Fibber and Molly, Edgar and Charlie, George and Gracie, Lum and Abner, Snooks and Daddy, and many more! Crack a smile as the kings and queens of comedy crack wise. Here are 24 digitally restored and remastered episodes of radio revelry from shows that have kept Americans in stitches for more than 50 years.