The Jack Benny Program (season 1)

The Jack Benny Program (season 1)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	4
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	October 28, 1950 – May 20, 1951
Season chronology

This is a list of episodes for the premiere season (1950–51) of the television version of The Jack Benny Program.

Because Jack Benny, the show's host, creator and star, was unwilling to commit to the still-new technology of television on a weekly basis, the first television "season" of The Jack Benny Program consisted only of a series of four sporadically scheduled special broadcasts. It was not until season 5 that the program would settle into a regular biweekly time slot. The Jack Benny Program would last until 1965, but Jack would still occasionally do one-hour specials. The program was broadcast on CBS (until its final season), and the theme song was Love in Bloom.^[1]

Episodes

• Nº = Overall episode number
• Ep = This season's episode number

Nº	Ep	Title	Original air date
1	1	"Premiere Show"	28 October 1950
Special guest: Dinah Shore. After The Sportsmen Quartet introduce Jack (to the tune of "There's No Business Like Show Business"), his monologue {"I'd give a million dollars to know how I look"} and sketch are about how he decided to make a TV show, and got Dinah Shore to appear on it (Ken Murray, whose program Jack pre-empted that evening, also makes a brief appearance). Mel Blanc appears as a technical director who interrupts Jack's monologue. After Dinah sings a few songs, Jack gets out his violin and starts playing, which causes the studio audience to get up and leave. Note: this was a 45-minute episode.
2	2	"Faye Emerson and Frank Sinatra Show"	28 January 1951
Special guests: Faye Emerson, Frank Sinatra, and Frank Fontaine. Jack and Sinatra do a skit about New York City, and Sinatra sings "Take My Love." Later, Jack tries to show Faye that he can play romantic roles; he does a dramatic scene with her that's supposed to end in a kiss, but Sinatra walks in and steals the kiss for himself. Frank Fontaine appears as John L.T. Savonie, who in a running gag keeps repeating his endless Social Security number. This was the first half-hour episode in what became Jack's regular Sunday night time period.
3	3	"Claudette Colbert and Basil Rathbone Show"	1 April 1951
Special guests: Claudette Colbert, Basil Rathbone, and Robert Montgomery. Jack wants a dramatic role on an episode of Robert Montgomery Presents, which is already set to star Colbert and Rathbone. After getting nowhere with the producer, Jack crashes a rehearsal at Colbert's apartment. He's given a small part just to be kept quiet, but he's such a disruptive pest that Rathbone calls him a "schlemiel" and storms out.
4	4	"Ben Hogan Show"	20 May 1951
Special guest: Ben Hogan. Jack, Mary, and Rochester (as a caddy) go to play golf with Bob Crosby. Not recognizing golfing legend Ben Hogan, Jack starts giving Ben unsolicited advice on how to play the game. Later, Jack hits a ball into the woods; rather than lose it, he takes Rochester into the woods to search for it. They give up two days later.

References

• List of The Jack Benny Program episodes at the Internet Movie Database
• List of The Jack Benny Program episodes at TV.com
• The Jack Benny Program at epguides.com

1. Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The complete directory to prime time network TV shows, 1946-present, Ballantine Books, 1979, page 294. ISBN 0-345-25525-9 pbk