Customer Reviews

Sunday Nights at Seven: The Jack Benny Story

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Jack Benny is the father of modern comedy, popularizing (and perhaps originating) the self-referential and self-conscious comedy practiced in the last 20 years by comedians such as Andy Kaufman, Steve Martin, and Bill Murray. He may have also begun the modern media-related "show within a show" concept, exemplified to some extent by "Seinfeld," and in the past by the shows of George Burns, Danny Thomas, and Lucy and Desi. Perhaps it is more accurate to describe him as the father of post-modern comedy, where every occurrence, sound effect, and the idea of comedy itself is the object of Benny's gentle yet piercingly funny humor. But enough intellectualizing, above all perhaps, he was an extraordinarily talented, funny, and well-loved man.

Mr. Benny's daughter found this unfinished biographical material and we are grateful for the insights to his character, his humor (beginning with his days in vaudeville), and his wide-ranging, generally liberal thoughts on celebrity, comedy, and race. These sections of the book justify its purchase and are the primary source of its enjoyment.

As others have noted, Joan's sections of the book can drag and one eagerly waits for the bolded font which is her father's own words. I do think she provides some valuable insights into Mr. Benny's domestic life and routine, as well as some humorous and interesting glimpse into growing up as the daughter of one of our most popular and well-respected entertainers. Unfortunately, some of this seems fairly generic to that culture, especially her early years. Her criticisms of her mother, however well founded, seem discordant with the prevailing tone of the book. The book would have been better with more pruning of Joan's autobiographical comments.

Still, the other material is a treasure for his millions of fans, and I recommend the book to fans. Joan's part does not detract from her father's; after all, the book was never finished and gives an incomplete picture anyway. Mr. Benny seems a modest man and I believe his biographies would complement the wonderful material here. If you're new to the subject, perhaps you should begin with the biographies and then proceed here, if you're a confirmed fan, the order won't matter, and you will want this in your collection.

Jack Benny wrote an autobiography entitled: "I Always Had Shoes." Though complete, it was never published, and when Jack's daughter Joan found it she decided to take excerpts from it and publish it with her own reflections on growing up in the Benny household.

Jack Benny's text is highlighted in bold type, while Joan's is in regular font. The average reader will no doubt very soon begin skipping Joan's writing and will read only Jack's text. Jack was apparently a surprisingly good writer.

Why not just publish Jack's autobiography? I'd give it five stars in a heartbeat.

i think that this book was written to highlight the memoirs of Jack Benny that were discovered. Joan added her own lifestory growing up as a child of a celebrity and how proper she had to behave in public. it's not right for me to say that Joan doesn't have a right to judge Mary based on HER experiences with her...afterall, Joan knew both her parents better than anyone outside of George Burns (that's the truth! no joke!). Joan's commentary or anecdotes in the early chapters aren't a problem. It's the later chapters where to me it seems that it becomes a problem. One reviewer on here made mention to the fact that Joan recounts her prom and her miserable marriage. i found nothing wrong with Joan interjecting stories about her child-hood and the "paternal" side of Jack...but when she starts to talk about HER personal life away from her father, it sticks out like a piece of watermelon on a steak sirloin because HER personal life isn't suppose to be a part of the book...it's suppose to be about Jack Benny first and if Joan makes commentary it should revolve around Jack {not her marriage or child-hood peer pressure}. Her opinions of Mary...like i said earlier...might be true because she knew Mary behind the scenes and we didn't. however, her opinions of Mary, coupled with her own personal man troubles are somewhat distractive to a "Jack Benny book" and that's why i give it 4 stars.

As another reviewer has stated, "I give Jack Benny 5 stars". And I too agree... However "Sunday Nights at Seven" was intended to be Jack's autobiography. Unfortunately he passes away at age 39 (!) and the draft was forgotten in a shoebox in his closet.

Luckily for we Jack fans, his daughter Joan found it and decided to publish it. Unluckily for we Jack fans, Joan decided to continue writing where dad left off. This is where the book goes down the drain. Basically it becomes "look at me! I'm Jack Benny's daugher and I had a wonderful childhood and I'm a wonderful person and you wonderful people want to know all about me"!!!

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad she had a wonderful childhood. Jack was a wonderful, caring, tender man. And I'm certain that he and Mary were great parents. But I am reading this book to hear about Jack, Mary and the gang - and not who his daughter took to the prom and what drama she went through in her first marriage and so on. Joan does relay some nice anacdotes, however it seems to be too much ego stroking on her part.

If you are a Jack fan this book IS interesting since Jack tells part of it so it's not a whole loss. Although the book by Irving Fein would give you a better picture (and it is written better than this book).

If Amazon can get a copy for you I do reccomend it - it is at least enjoyable.

Let me just say first of all, this book is wonderful.I have always looked up to Mr.Benny and this book just enhanced my adoration of him. I have read every book about him and the more I read the more of a saint he becomes. Jack's daughter, Joan does a wonderful job of upholding his legacy.After reading this book it almost made me glad I wasn't born until ten years after he died because I would have been heartbroken. Thank you Joan for writing this book

The sections from Jack Benny's draft of an autobiography, which make up a little less than half of this book, are well worth reading by any Benny fan.

Joan Benny, Jack's daughter, is to be commended for rescuing that draft from obscurity. Alas, the balance of this book suffers from Joan's poorly edited writing. Expecting to read about Jack, the reader discovers that "The Jack Benny Story" is mostly about Joan, though there are frequent references to "Daddy," as Jack is called throughout the book.

I really enjoyed this autobiography of Jack Benny. It is based on an unfinished manuscript that his daughter Joan found when she was going through her mother's house shortly after her death. Since it was incomplete, Joan contributes roughly half of the book's contents and Jack contributes the other half. There are also a few paragraphs written here and there by other people who knew Jack, including George Burns, his lifetime friend.

Jack gives quite a bit of the details of his personal life from his childhood up until the beginning of his radio career. At that point, most of his comments concentrate on his comedy, how he built his radio show, the transition to television, and various anecdotes on how people often mistook the personality they saw on TV or heard on the radio with the real Jack Benny. Jack was always a generous fellow, so there is much information about the other performers on his show and what went into making each performance.

Joan's half of the book fits nicely with Jack's since she gives many personal details of what it was like being Jack Benny's daughter and talks about the goings on in the Benny household in the years that Jack basically omits from his autobiography. The only thing that is a little off-track about the book is that Joan goes into considerable detail about the problems she had with her mother. From the book it appears she never talked to her father about these problems in much detail, so it really doesn't have much to do with Jack's story.

This is a very detailed portrait - not from the standpoint of retracing every step Jack took, but from the standpoint of getting a real feel for the man in his own words. He was truly one the great comedians of the twentieth century and a genuinely nice guy. Highly recommended.

Wonderful book. I usually don't read star biographies, but I coulding resist this one. Sunday Nights at Seven reveals what's only hinted at on Jack's programs - that he was the opposite of his radio persona - warm, generous and the first to laugh heartily at another's jokes. Although too young to ever hear Jack on the radio (taped recordings are my only recourse) the book allowed me to learn much more--without getting taudry--about the funniest comedian of all.

Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco, I have heard Joan Benny on various radio programs over the years and she truly was blessed to have Mr. Benny as a father. Unlike many of the Mommy & Daddy dearest books written by the children of celebrities this books tells of an enchanted childhood growing up in Hollywood's golden age, Many of Mr. Benny's insights on his contemporaries like Fred Allen & George Burns as well as his defense that the Rochester character was NOT explotive of African Americans are insightful. Eddie "Rochester" Anderson was one of the highest paid comedians of his generation and owned a large house with servants, numerous automobiles, & large chunks of California real estate. Eddie and Jack were great friends for many years and Eddie was very broken up at Jack's funeral. The numerous radio interviews Joan Benny did on Larry King and several other stations are usually found on Jack Benny radio show collection CDs sold on Ebay & elsewhere and make for a wonderful companion for this book.

Don't expect some exhaustive book on Benny (like the recent mega-biography of Bing Crosby) and you won't be disappointed. This book consists of light, amusing anecdotes - show biz fluff and recollections. It is great fun for Jack Benny fans and can be consumed in one afternoon. Enjoyable.