DENNIS DAY

May 21, 1916

Dennis Day was born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty in New York City. He is best known for his professional relationship with Jack Benny, who he first teamed with on radio in 1939, and continued performing with until Benny’s death in 1974. His “Gee, Mr. Benny!” became a well-known catchphrase.

He was an Irish tenor, who never performed professionally until Benny gave him his big break at the age of 21. From 1948 until his passing he was married to Peggy Almquist who bore him ten children.

He had his own radio show “A Day in the Life of Dennis Day” from 1946 to 1952 with Bea Benadaret in the cast. “I Love Lucy” viewers will remember her as Miss Lewis, Lucy Ricardo’s spinster neighbor. There was an attempt to move the sitcom to television, but the 1949 pilot episode was never picked up for series and the show remained on radio. He was simultaneously appearing on “The Jack Benny Program.”

BENNY: “Dennis, why do you have two horns on your bicycle?”
DAY: “Why shouldn’t I? I’ve got two shows!”

On the “The Jack Benny Program” (1951-65), his character’s mother was a tyrant who intimidated Jack. Her name was Lucrezia Day and she was played by Verna Felton. His mother’s real name was Mary Grady. “I Love Lucy” viewers will remember that Felton played Lucy’s domineering maid, Mrs. Porter.

Felton also played Day’s TV mother on “The Dennis Day Show” (aka “The RCA Victor Show”; 1952-54). On that show, Day portrayed a bachelor who lives in a Hollywood apartment priced above his income level with hopes of succeeding in show business. In 1953, it was programmed opposite “I Love Lucy” on NBC. Hal March was seen on both series. Other “I Love Lucy” faces on the series included Ida Moore, George O’Hanlon, Hy Averback (who both played Charlie Appleby), Byron Foulger, and Parley Baer.  Day even prevailed upon his sister-in-law actress Ann Blythe, and Jack Benny himself to make an appearance but the show still struggled for viewers.

Dennis Day Is Called Brave to Buck ‘Lucy’ Show

HOLLYWOOD, Apr. 7 (AP) — Nominated for the bravest man in TV: Dennis Day. “I wouldn’t say I was the bravest,” says Dennis. “Maybe the unluckiest.”  The Dennis Day Show is on at the same time on Monday night as “I Love Lucy.”

This took real nerve, since “Lucy” has drawn the biggest audience in TV for the past two years. “Believe me, it wasn’t my idea to go opposite Lucy. I wanted to do my show on film. My sponsor, RCA, didn’t want me to. The only way I could get permission was to agree to take the spot opposite Lucy. So I did it. I took a chance and I failed. I think it was a mistake putting such a similar show opposite Lucy. We both have situation comedy. We had good mail from people who said they had switched over to watch us. Once they made the change, they seemed to like our show. But watching Lucy is too great a habit for the majority of viewers. We just couldn’t fight it. In Canada, where I don’t have to face Lucy, ours is the No. 1 show.” 

In 1967, Day appeared on “The Lucy Show” in “Little Old Lucy” (TLS S6;E7) in which he plays an amorous 90 year-old bank president named Cornelius Hetherington Jr. This was quite a departure for Day, who was perennially the boy singer on Benny’s shows, despite his age.

BENNY (in 1965): “That crazy kid drives me nuts!”

This is one of the rare times Day plays a character that is not connected to Jack Benny, although Lucille Ball certainly featured Benny on many of her shows. In fact, the previous episode “Lucy Gets Jack Benny’s Account” (TLS S6;E6) Benny mentions Day by name as Lucy admires photos of his radio and television show on his wall.  Did Day come as a ‘package deal’ for Benny’s appearance?

Day was just 41 at the time, so was nearly unrecognizable under layers of old age make-up.

To escort him to a fancy dress bank affair, Lucy Carmichael dons little old lady garb as Mrs. Abigail Vandermere. She spends most of their date avoiding his advances.

Dennis Day’s elderly banker character bears more than a passing resemblance to the elderly banker played by Dick Van Dyke (insert) in Mary Poppins (1964).

Two years later, in 1969, Lucille Ball appeared on “Jack Benny’s Birthday Special” which also brought together many Benny’s regulars, including Dennis Day, who surprises him with a gift.

Irish tenor Day sings “Cuando calienta de sol” (“Love Me With All Your Heart”) in Spanish (!) while Benny accompanies him on the violin. Day’s voice breaks Benny’s expensive Stradivarius violin just as a soprano’s high trill would a crystal goblet.

A year later, Lucille Ball and Dennis Day turned up again for “Jack Benny’s 20th Anniversary Special”. This time, Day and Ball did not share any scenes. Ball appears briefly as the Benny’s maid and Day makes a guest appearance in an airport sketch where he is met by his real-life wife Peggy and their ten children!

Day’s last TV appearance was less than a year before his death, in September, 1987, on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. With tears in his eyes, he spoke of his recent diagnosis of Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and pleaded with viewers to help support medical research for that and other neuromuscular diseases via their donations.  At the time of his passing he was 72 years old.