Jack Benny: An Intimate Biography [Hardcover]

Jack Benny is one of those comedians whose talent was timeless. Known for his excellent comic timing, his facial expressions, his frugality and the fact that he was always 39, he didn't just inhabit the stage, he dominated it. Now he dominates this biography as Irving Fein, Benny's friend, manager and producer lovingly recalls his experiences with the great comedian. It also gets behind the image of "the worst violin player in the world, or the stingiest man in show business" and shows him as a modest, generous and kind-hearted human being. With such appearences in the book as George Burns, Gracie Allen, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Eddie Cantor and Johnny Carson, this book shows how much of a giant Jack was in the world of radio and television.

During the golden age of comedy, Jack Benny was the dean of comedians. With a subtle wit and great timing, he delighted audiences in radio, films, television and live performances. With an introduction by Jack's best friend, George Burns, this biography by Benny's friend/manager/producer Irving A. Fein reaches behind the image of "the stingiest man in show business" and "The World's worst Violin player" and with great knowledge, insight and humour, shows Jack's life in vaudeville, radio and television. He also reveals Jack as a person. Devoted to his wife, Mary, Jack was a generous, warm, gentle man who loved show business. It gets sad towards the end when Fein reveals Jack's insecurity, depression, lonliness and also the illness that would kill him. For anyone who has ever laughed at Benny, this book is highly reccomended. A great biography on a man who could say "hmmm" or "well" or even say nothing at all and still make em laugh.

this book, which was issued in 1976, is still a wonderful look at the beloved comedian Jack Benny who entertained generations of comedy fans from radio in the '30s to TV from the '50s through the early '70s...and he's still entertaining us by way of repeats of his TV programs or through countless cassette and CD releases of his radio programs thanks to Old-Time radio dealers. The book was written by Irving Fein, Jack's manager. The thing you'll learn is that Jack was "real". He went through all the things that any one of us face: anger, happiness, insecurity, longing for friendship, etc. after reading parts of the book, i was surprised that Jack, in real life, was prone to bouts of lonliness. he felt awful or useless if someone wasn't around him {according to the author, who sort of resembles Jack himself; Fein's picture is on the back flap}. i also learned that Jack was "married" to show business {in truth, what successful entertainer isn't?}. The book turns sad near the last chapters recalling Jack's pancreatic cancer and how everyone around him assumed Jack's stomach pains were coming from anxiety (Jack was nervous about doing "The Sunshine Boys" movie with Walter Matthau because throughout his TV career he used cue cards or in radio, simply read the script literally but this movie required he had to learn his lines). It wasn't until after the doctor out of the blue wanted to examine Jack's pancreas that his cancer was discovered! a truly sad segment of the book. The book, i think, paints a picture of a comedian who was an optimist to a fault...which means that even though the business around him had changed and the comedy became more and more anti-establishment thanks or no-thanks to the late '60s Vietnam culture revolution, he still carried on and carried himself in his later years like it was the '30s or '40s. such optimism i think keeps an entertainer 'young' in the eyes of fans and peers. If Jack had become an angry "i hate my youthful competition" type in his later years like Milton Berle at times appeared to be; such devotion, respect, and love for Jack wouldn't be as abundant as it's been nearly 30 years AFTER his death {he died in December 1974}. Aside from the book from 1990 that Jack's daughter wrote { "Sunday Nights at Seven" }, this is the best biography of Jack Benny i've seen so far! i also recommend fans of Jack seeking out the book Robert Taylor wrote about Fred Allen in 1989 called "Fred Allen: His Life and Wit". That book and this Jack Benny book from Irving Fein are must-have collections for any classic comedy fan.