January - April 2006 Volume XXI, Numbers 1-2 Jack Benny on a 39 stamp…it makes cents! Copyright 2003, Laura Leff 8 President’s Message Jell-O again folks…first of all, thanks to so many members who have continued to inquire about my health and recovery. I’m happy to say that I am pretty much fully recovered from my health challenges, and am incredibly busy with various things you will read about in this newsletter. Happy to say that I am between contracts right now, as I couldn’t fit all this into my life and an 8-to-5 job as well. It feels very good to be able to devote so much of my attention to things that inspire so much enthusiasm. On December 16, I attended the Hollywood premiere of the movie Angels with Angles, starring Frank Gorshin as George Burns. This was Frank’s last on-screen appearance, as well as Rodney Dangerfield’s. The story is probably best described as It’s A Wonderful Life with George Burns as the angel, Dangerfield as God, a Heaven full of vintage comedians, and two struggling earth-bound men getting mixed up with beguiling Cuban terrorists, a lot of cigars, and Fidel Castro’s personal kung fu master (also played by Gorshin). The Jack Benny cameo is played by Whitney Rydbeck. As luck would have it, I ended up sitting next to Irving and Marion Fein and trading Benny stories until the movie started. If you never got an opportunity to see Gorshin onstage in Say Goodnight, Gracie, this is your only opportunity to see his amazing Burns impersonation. My thanks to Scott Edmund Lane, the movie’s costar (at left above)/producer/director/writer/composer, for the invitation, and to Michelle Malik of the Eddie Cantor Appreciation Society for being my escort for the evening and helping point out/guess the various stars at the premiere party. As those on the most recent chat know, I am delighted to say that I recently signed a contract with the Jack Benny estate to be an official representative. My thanks to everyone on the Forum who has been sharing their ideas for how to get Jack back into the public eye. If you have other ideas, connections, referrals, etc., please contact me at [email protected]. I’m open to all suggestions. In fact, you may have recently seen that Jack was included in TV Guide and TV Land’s “100 Most Unexpected TV Moments”, airing December 5-9. Specifically, they included Jack and Joan’s appearance on Password when the secret word was “miser”, as well as an appearance on Here’s Lucy. Many thanks to TV Guide/Land for remembering Jack, and making this my first deal for the estate. One other housekeeping note…since the Tape Trading List is available online (www.jackbenny.org -> Programs -> Tape Trading List), it will no longer be printed in The Jack Benny Times. Anyone who does not have Internet access and would like a current copy, please send a SASE to me at the address at the end of this newsletter. Now on with the show! New Members **** Dave Osborne **** Mark Matus **** Mark Barclay **** Jim Grodnik **** Charlie Miller **** Ron Stewart **** Richard Reany **** Randy Black **** Tony Phillips **** Ken Mullen **** George Pender **** Adam Himmel **** Takeshi Sunada **** Nathan Schultz **** Casey White **** Susan Blackburn **** Mark Wuellner 2 **** Mickey Silver **** Ernest Barnes **** F. N. Vescera **** John Marsden **** Bill Roth **** William P. Howard **** Aaron Garbutt **** Steve Palmer **** Edward Hansen **** Jan-Christine Johnson **** Steve Kinder **** Rick Davis **** Frank N. Vescera **** Todd Lipton **** Arthur C. Nolasco **** Troy DeVolld **** David Zackon **** Celeste Picco **** Jimmy Congo **** James Loomis **** John Fotia **** Craig Soderberg **** RJ White **** Edye and Andy Thibodeau **** Jeff Shubert **** Steve Wannamaker **** Donald L. Perkins, Jr **** Darren Walkey **** Kenneth Smith **** John Egan **** Bob Wray **** Bonnie Myers **** Tom Zappulla **** Terry W. Ogletree **** Becky Alberts **** Don Gemelli **** Jodi lee Kaemingk **** John Lierenz **** Hugh Smith **** Christopher Turner **** Jamey Foshee **** Matt Marino **** Barb Signore **** Bob Berbenich **** Gareth Young **** Michael B. Dool **** Danny Rose **** Stevie Keith **** John D. Hall **** Carol Thomas **** Mrs. M. Miani **** Tim Smith **** Rob Haskins **** Michael Bankes **** Ted Armiger **** Chuck Mehno **** Paul Wildenberger **** Michael D Cowand **** Kurt Grossman **** William W. Rundle **** Bill Zeffiro **** Shaun Neff **** Teresa Matthews **** Ken Kopacki **** Judy Laucka **** Harry L Edwards **** Greg Brown **** Glenn Oates **** William Byron **** Dawn Kelm **** Howard Stern **** Christian A. Metcalf **** Stacie Whittier **** C.E. Morton **** Tony Gosmer **** Gloria Allen **** Dwight Waters **** Dan Gebhart **** Susannah Bailey **** Mark Coalter **** Shahab Moghadam **** Clay Hoff **** Richard Morris **** Thomas Racz **** Gerald Allan Penrose **** James Herrick **** Debbie Briggs **** Barb Bolin **** Rebecca Barker **** Richard Dates **** Eric Smulowitz **** Matthew Billy **** Carl M. Wetterling, Jr **** Andy Gillespie **** Tim Gammon **** David R. Blain, Jr. **** David Nicholls **** Kate Lenstet **** Gary Nieman **** Tim Lewis **** Frode Nilsen **** Jeff Rodman **** Dean Knudsen **** Erika Remmy **** Dan Trigg **** Timothy Simpson **** Jim Negri **** Michael Blakeslee **** Joseph Andolina **** Walter L. Moore **** Gary Nakashima **** Mark Staunch **** L. J. Lucky Cuoco **** James Spragens **** Thomas Labouve **** Philip L. Jacob **** John Navarro **** Chris Gray **** Kevin Feraday **** Rudy Lacoe **** Edward Johnson **** Tanya Soth **** Brian Cordova **** William Hanke **** Hyman Riebman **** Ed Foulkes **** Whipple D. Crossman, Jr. **** Sarkis Marashlian **** Barbara Baeckert **** Patrick Schipani **** Craig A. Whetstone **** Roger Deem **** Donald R. Beck **** Thomas L. Amos **** Harry Bird **** Phil Connolly **** Robert J. duPreez **** Carole Carter Mauss **** Bryce Hart **** Dennis Stephens **** Scott Palmer **** Jim Szalma **** Mahaira Fatima **** Dennis Alwood **** George Mathews **** Mel Berks **** John Lyrla **** Christine Stringfellow **** Ken Scott **** David L Kountz **** Stephen W. Schwalge **** Dianne Fox **** Jerry Larson **** Dave Heikkala **** Stan Finer **** Brian Greene **** Ken Cancelosi **** Karl Newyear **** David McCray **** Joe Michaels **** B. Kaput **** Roy E. Berglund **** John Flink **** Victor Sotny **** David Bossenberger **** David Fine **** Terry Holt **** Dianne Lee Gibson **** John Dewyze **** Mike Adams **** Kent Stevenson **** Larry Mon **** Derek Tague **** John Enrietto **** Karl Tiedemann **** James Buie **** Maxwell Stern **** Robert Haltom **** Jeff Taylor **** Robert Reicher **** Matthew Stueber **** William Wainer **** Shelly Burleson **** Bill Collins **** Joe Voigt **** Michael Schwark **** David Marsiano **** Jim Jarrett **** Ken Samen **** Barry Hoffman **** Kevin Diehl **** Becky Dietz **** Dr. Craig G. Adams **** Nicholas Coudsy **** Ken Trajanowski **** Benito A. Gutierrez **** George Lyons **** Michael Rachap **** Derek Shayne **** Eric Jordan **** Richard Koscierzynski **** Daniel Sabia **** David Clark **** Sterling Brooks **** Robert Olson **** Scott Piner **** Ray Penn **** Chris Clough **** Brent Johnson **** James D. Lamb **** Joe Blaumer **** Ron R. Newcomb The Jack Benny Stamp Campaign By now, most of you have heard about our campaign to get Jack on a 39 cent stamp. The rates go up on January 8th, and it is hitting the long-awaited magic number. The online petition, as of this writing, is fast approaching 2,500 signatures. The City of Waukegan has been mobilized, thanks in great part to support from Mayor Richard Hyde. Barb Bolin, a teacher at the Jack Benny Middle School, has spearheaded a schoolwide campaign to get students to write letters in favor of the stamp. We have also garnered support from luminaries such as Leonard Maltin, Phyllis Diller, Arte Johnson, author Neil Gaiman, plus Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Melissa Hart (R-PA). And the list of supporters keeps growing! 3 We have been on the front page of the Chicago Tribune and discussed on their editorial page, in the Los Angeles Times, covered by the Associated Press, broadcast on CNN Headline News, Jim Bohannon’s America in the Morning, and NPR, plus included in many, many other media outlets (go to www.jackbenny.org and click on the Jack Benny stamp campaign for a full list). So WHAT’S NEXT? The answer is: THE 39 MAN MARCH! On Tuesday, February 14 (Jack’s birthday, of course), a group of Jack Benny fans—including Waukegan’s Mayor Hyde--is going to march on Washington to publicly show their support for a Jack Benny 39-cent stamp. This march will start at 12:15PM at the Washington Monument, and proceed up the Washington Mall to the front of the U.S. Capitol Building. There we will have a rally to show why honoring Jack on a stamp is the right thing to do. The rally will be capped with private meetings with Congresspeople who support the stamp. Rally attendees will be invited to proceed to a special nearby event, which will be announced shortly. Additionally, a group dinner and preparations (e.g., sign-making, etc.) will be held on the evening of February 13. I want to be there! What now? Go to www.jackbenny.org and complete the RSVP form indicating that you will be attending the 39 Man March, and if you will need hotel accommodations. Once we have a better idea of the number of people coming from out of town, a group rate will be negotiated at a location near the march site. If you do not have online access, please drop a note to the address at the end of this newsletter