THE LUCILLE BALL SHOW

“The Jack Benny Program” (S15;E2) ~ October 2, 1964

Produced
and Directed by Norman Abbott

Written
by Sam Perrin, Al Gordon, Hal Goldman, and George Balzer

CAST

Jack
Benny (Himself
/ Paul Revere) was
born on Valentine’s day 1894. He had a successful vaudeville
career, and an even greater career on radio with “The Jack Benny
Program” which also became a successful television show. His screen
persona was known for being a penny-pincher and playing the violin.
Benny was a Beverly Hills neighbor of Lucille Ball’s and the two
were off-screen friends. Benny appeared on “The Lucy Show” as
Harry Tuttle (a Jack Benny doppelganger) in “Lucy
and the Plumber” (TLS S3;E2),
later did a voice over cameo as himself in “Lucy
With George Burns” (TLS S5;E1),
and played himself in “Lucy
Gets Jack Benny’s Account” (TLS S6;E6).
He was seen in four episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” Benny and Ball
appeared on many TV variety and award shows together. He died in
1974, a few weeks after taping “An All-Star Party for Lucille
Ball.”

Lucille
Ball (Herself
/ Rachel Revere) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York.
She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as
‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’
movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled
“My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I
Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred
with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program
was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was
once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960
(in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so
did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu
financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The
Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a
similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life
children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined
the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death
in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With
Lucy,” also with Gordon, which was not a success and was canceled
after just 13 episodes.

Don
Wilson
(Announcer / George Washington) was Jack Benny’s announcer on radio
and (later) on television; a relationship that spanned over 30 years.
A portly man, he was usual the target of jokes about his weight. He
died in 1982 at age 81. 

Arte
Johnson
(Charlie, Boom Mic Operator) won a 1969 Emmy Award for the characters
he created on “Laugh-In,” including a German soldier who
popularized the catch-phrase
“Very interesting…but stupid.”

In 1974 he appeared as an eccentric ornithologist on “Here’s Lucy.”

The uncredited man below Johnson may be the actual boom operator for “The Jack Benny Program.”

Elisabeth
Fraser
(Betsy Ross) was a character actor best
remembered as Shelley
Winters’s
pal in the 1965 film A
Patch of Blue
and as Sgt. Bilko’s long-suffering girlfriend, Sgt. Joan Hogan, in
“The
Phil Silvers Show” (1955).
This is her only time working with Ball and Benny. She died in 2005
at age 85.

Hoke
Howell (The
Man) was a character actor best known as Ben on “Here Come The
Brides” (1968-70). He would do two more episodes of “The Jack
Benny Program.”  

The
Man alerts Paul Revere that it is
time for him to go on his famous midnight ride. 

Ned
Miller
(The Town Crier) was a regular cast member of “The Jack Benny
Program” who generally played small parts from 1961 to 1965.  

Mary
Young (Old
Woman) was born in New York City in 1879. This is her third an final
appearance on “The Jack Benny Program,” having previously played
Mildred Holmquist. Young appeared
in three Best Picture Academy Award winners: The
Lost Weekend
(1945), An
American in Paris
(1951), and Around
the World in 80 Days
(1956).

Although
credited, there is no Old Woman character in the syndicated print of
the program.

---

Writer
Sam Perrin also wrote four episodes of “Here’s Lucy” between 1969
and 1971. George Balzer co-wrote 5 episodes of “Here’s Lucy,” two
with Perrin.  

This
was Lucille Ball’s way of repaying Benny for his appearance on “The
Lucy Show” on September 28, 1964. “Lucy and the Plumber” (TLS
S3;E2) featured Benny as a plumber named Harry Tuttle, who also
happened to be a Jack Benny doppelganger.

NBC’s
lead in for this show was “Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theatre”
(S2;E1) which featured one of Lucille Ball’s favorite character
actors Reta Shaw. It aired opposite “Gomer Pyle USMC” on CBS,
which was filmed on the Desilu lot. The Monday (October 5) after this
Friday broadcast, “The Lucy Show” aired “Lucy and the Winter
Sports” (TLS S3;E3, above). The syndicated rebroadcast
date for this Jack Benny Program was on September 2, 1976.

The half-hour program was shot and aired in black and white, although color promotional photos exist. 

The
orchestra plays “Love
In Bloom”
(Benny’s signature song) and Jack makes his entrance dressed in
formal white tie and tails to introduce his guest,  Lucille Ball. To
Jack’s chagrin, Lucy comes out dressed as her hobo ‘professor’
character from 1951’s “The Audition” (ILL S1;E6), even getting on
her knees pretending to be a trained seal (something she also did in
“The Audition”) – quite the opposite of Jack’s dignified presence and introduction.

While
Lucy goes to change into something more appropriate, Jack tells a
joke told to him by Charlie, the boom mic operator (Arte Johnson).
When Jack continually gets the joke wrong, Charlie keeps interrupting
Benny until he finally tells the complete joke himself while Benny
stands helpless.

The
orchestra plays “A Pretty Girl is Like A Melody” and Lucy
re-emerges wearing a sleek blue and silver outfit, her elegance only
marred by the fact she has forgotten she still has her teeth black
out!  Jack praises Lucy’s skills as an executive, leading to the
sketch about a famous woman from history: Rachel Revere, wife of
patriot Paul Revere.

---

Historical Context

Paul
Revere
(1734-1818) was a silversmith,
engraver,
early industrialist, and Patriot
in
the American Revolution.
He is best known for his midnight ride to alert the colonial militia
in April 1775 to the approach of British
forces
before
the battles
of Lexington and Concord.

Rachel
Walker Revere
(1745-1813) was the second wife of Paul Revere. When
Rachel Walker married Paul Revere on October 10, 1773, she took on
the care of the six children from his first marriage. Rachel gave
birth to eight children, three of whom did not reach maturity.

Elizabeth
Griscom
“Betsy”
Ross
(1752–1836)
is
widely credited with making the first American
flag.

George
Washington
(1732–99)
was an American statesman and soldier who served as the first
President
of the United States
from
1789 to 1797 and was one of the Founding
Fathers of the United States.
He served as Commander-in-Chief
of
the Continental
Army
during
the American
Revolutionary War. As
a driving force behind the nation’s establishment he came to be known
as the “father
of the country,”
both during his lifetime and to this day. 

Lucille
Ball often said that there was some Ball blood in George Washington
since his mother’s maiden name was Mary Ball.
On
a 1973 episode of “Here’s Lucy” an antique chair is
said to have belonged to George Washington at his Mount Vernon home.
Earlier in 1964, Lucy Carmichael dressed up as George Washington in
“Lucy and Viv Open a Restaurant” (TLS S2;E20).  

---

[In the promotional photo above the time on the grandfather clock has been set to midnight, the time that Longfellow’s poem says that Revere made his legendary ride!]

In
1775, a jealous Rachel Revere (Lucille Ball) is waiting up for her
husband Paul (Jack Benny) to come home when Betsy Ross (Elisabeth
Fraser) drops by to show off the new dress she’s made from a fabric
of stars and stripes. 

Betsy:
“I
even have a piece of material left over. I hope I can think of
something to do with it!”

Lucy
suggests she give it to one of the three men in the parade they saw
yesterday.

Rachel:
“The
one with the fife and drum were alright, but the one in the middle
just looked ridiculous waving that empty pole.”

The joke is a somewhat inaccurate reference to the 1875 painting “Spirit of ‘76″ (aka “Yankee Doodle”) by Archibald Willard. It was painted to commemorate the nation’s centennial. Willard later painted variations on his original work, but most all feature two drummers, a fife player, and a flag in the background.

When
Betsy wonders where Paul is, she says that a few weeks ago he told
her he was at a tea party in Boston, but she found out he was on a
wild wing-ding on a boat.

The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. In defiance of the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India company to sell tea from China in American colonies without paying any taxes, the demonstrators destroyed an entire shipment of tea by dumping it into the bay.

Paul
arrives home from a meeting at town hall about the British invasion
but Rachel is doubtful he’s being truthful.

Adding to her suspicions, Rachel finds a long white hair on his jacket!

Paul says his best
friend can attest to his whereabouts. Lucy concedes that maybe she should be more
trusting.

Rachel:
“After
all, who can you trust if you can’t trust Benedict Arnold?”
Paul:
“Benny
never did a dishonest thing in his life.”

Benedict
Arnold
(1741-1801)
was a general
during
the American
Revolutionary War,
who fought for the American Continental
Army,
and later famously defected
to
the British
Army.
The name Benedict Arnold quickly became a byword
for treason
or
betrayal. On a 1952 episode of “I Love Lucy” Mrs. Littlefield
(Edith
Meiser)
calls Lucy Ricardo “a Benedict Arnold” when she finds out she
allowed Ricky to put her on a time schedule. She’s betrayed all
housewives!  

Paul
sings a few notes of “Hello Dolly” and Rachel automatically
assumes he’s carrying on with Dolley Madison.

Paul:
“It’s
not Dolley Madison!  This is a song that hasn’t even been written
yet!”

“Hello
Dolly” is
the title song of the Broadway musical of the same name by Jerry
Herman. It opened in January 1964, ten months earlier, and was an
immediate hit. A year later, Lucy Carmichael would go undercover as
Carol Channing wearing her Hello
Dolly
costume (above), even singing the title song.

Dorothea
“Dolley” Madison
(1768-1849)
was the wife of James
Madison,
President of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for
her social graces, which boosted her husband’s popularity as
President.

George
Washington (Don Wilson) drops by. While he’s there, Lucy tries to
match the stray hair she found on Paul’s jacket that he claimed
belonged to Washington. In doing so, she removes his entire wig.  

Paul:
“George!
What happened?”
George:
“I
cannot tell a lie. I’m bald.”

When
Paul gets word that the British are coming, he tries to sneak out
without Rachel knowing.

Paul:
“Rachel,
I must go!  There’s a light burning in the steeple of the old North
Church.”
Rachel:
“Well,
let it burn.  You’re not paying the bill!”

To
keep him home, Rachel knocks him out cold. She then realizes he is telling the truth. She has no choice but to make his famous ride for
him. But first, she leaves him a note:

“Paul, darling.
I’ve gone to warn the people the British are coming. If I’m not back
by tomorrow night, cancel my beauty shop appointment.” 

Paul
revives just as Rachel goes off shouting “The British are coming!
The British are coming!” 

Paul:
“Well
how do you like that. My wife is making the trip! Well, I hope
Longfellow doesn’t find out.”

“Paul
Revere’s Ride“
(1860) is a poem
by
Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow
that
commemorates the actions of  Paul
Revere
on
April 18, 1775, although with significant inaccuracies. It was first
published in the January 1861 issue of The
Atlantic Monthly.
It was later re titled "The Landlord’s Tale” in the
collection Tales
of a Wayside Inn.

Lucy
and Jack come out in front of the curtain to say goodnight, still in
their colonial costumes. Lucy’s teeth are still blacked out!  

---

Oops!
Rachel
Revere attaches a thick rope to Paul’s ankle. When he tries to go on
his famous ride, Rachel reels him back into the house by pulling on
the rope and Paul comes sliding back through the door flat on his
back. In the first shot, the rope has bunched up under his back. In
the next shot, the bunched up rope is no longer underneath him.  

When Jack Benny comes flying back through the front door, it is apparent that a stunt performer is standing in for Benny as he does not turn his face to the camera.  

When
Lucy ‘reels in’ Paul on the rope, outside the open door the floor has
been taped for the set placement.

---

This
Date in Lucy History
–  October
2nd

“Lucy
and the Starmaker” (TLS S6;E4) – October 2, 1967

“A
Home Is Not an Office”
(HL S5;E4) – October 2, 1972