Jack Benny

American comedian and actor, a film, stage, TV and radio superstar for years. Benny made many films from 1930-1945, and made a joke for years of his flop, "The Horn Blows at Midnight." In 1957, he was awarded a TV Emmy for "The Jack Benny Show." Married in 1927, his wife Sadie took the role of Mary Livingston and eventually became her persona, even taking the name. They had one adopted daughter, Joan. At his death, Joan said he was "the most generous man I ever knew, and the nicest." The son of a saloon keeper, he was given extensive violin lessons as a kid. By the time he was 15, he was working in the pit band at the local vaudeville theater. He teamed up with a pianist and they went on the road. His first hilarious act was playing with the little finger of his bow hand extended straight out, then staring at it as if it had a life of its own. His ability on the violin was legendary; he had none. Threatening to play the violin became the core of his act. He would raise the instrument, pause and tell a story. He made his first major radio appearance on Ed Sullivan's program and in 1932, got his own show. In his 22 years on the air, he changed radio. Much of his humor came from familiar characters and their relationships, and many of his jokes were self-depreciating, about being cheap, or vain. Actually, he was a sweet, unaffected man. On vacations, he enjoyed getting into his car and driving across country, stopping at ordinary cafes and small towns. He always had some charity activity in the works, and over the years, raised almost $6 million for the benefit of classical music. He was a diabetic. and always a bit of a hypochondriac. He began complaining of stomach pains but tests showed nothing. When the doctor told him he was imagining something, he told the doctor to imagine that he had paid his bill. He checked into L.A. Cedars of Lebanon hospital 10/20/1974 after his right hand felt numb. By the time the family learned that it was pancreatic cancer, it was too late. He never knew the diagnosis, and the day after Christmas in 1974, he lay down for a nap and simply died, at his home in Holmby Hills, CA. Link to Wikipedia biography