Old Classics

I just watched two classic comedy shows on Cable - 1950's episodes of a Honeymooners and then a Jack Benny.

In the Honeymooners Ralph and Ed flip a coin to see who shoots first in a pool game then when that fails due to disagreements they go to Odds and Evens - sound familiar?

In Jack Benny - Jack is kidnapped - but not until he says ... "But I don't want to be kidnapped." just like Jerry's exclamations...

I don't see this as plagerism but could be results of studying the classic comedians in developing the show and Jerry's speach patterns. Benny was excellent with his speaking tone - in fact most of what he said was not funny except for how he said it.

It is clear Jerry studied the great comics he respected and he did pay homage to them in the show. It was interesting to see the roots of his comedy.

It is known that Johnny Carson got his style and technique from jack benny's(in part) . Johnny admired Benny and makde no secret of naming Benny as on of his idols. Benny was on Johnny's anniversary show one yearand it went like this: "you know Johnny, everybody knows that for years you've always idolized me and with your success i now find myself idoling you, but i have to tell you one thing......(pause)............i liked it better the other way". Jerry was lucky enough to grow up watching both Jack and Johnny. With Jerrys fondness of Johnny. It is no supprise that there is a little of Jack and Johnny in there.

lbb

Thanks to the internet, I have been able to listen to a lot of the old Jack Benny radio shows, and I too have found similarities between Benny's show and Seinfeld's show. Benny's show placed a premium on wordplay (although I know Seinfeld credits Abbott and Costelloas as his influence), and in both shows the (slightly zany) supporting characters, while willing to help each other out in a pinch, were not above tending to their own needs and concerns, sometimes at the expense of others. I believe that the Emmy that Jack Benny won in 1957 also shows the parallel between the two shows. He won in the category of (take a deep breath): "Best Continuing Performance (Male) in a Series by a Comedian, Singer, Host, Dancer, MC, Announcer, Narrator, Panelist, or Any Person Who Essentially Plays Himself".

Wow! Where can these comedy classics be found? It is sooo hard to find old comedy albums to buy here in the UK. If anyone can tell me websites where I can d/l old comedy shows/LPs, I would be absolutely thrilled and eternally grateful. :-)

The first place to start would be the alt.binaries.sounds.radio.oldtime newsgroup, where they post the old shows, usually in a MP3 file format which you download and then play back (see www.mp3.com for players, some free). Posters also list their personal websites in this group. If you have a Real Audio player (free at www.real.com), then try www.radiospirits.com, where they add a new show on a daily basis (and more on weekends). But be aware that Real Audio files usually can not be downloaded, but rather are "streamed" so that the player plays the sound as the data is sent to the computer. Another source for Real Audio is www.yesterdayusa.com, which plays a full day's output of old shows. The shows are then replayed (in a different order) on the following days for the next two weeks. After two weeks, a new line-up is introduced. (You can listen all you want, but to get the full schedule you have to be a member).

Hope this helps.

wrote in message news:7dm28f$8gd$[email]...

old

where I

eternally

full

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line-up

  I could be that something was down (it is an all-volunteer operation)
but it is up now.  But just in case I'll review and add a bit.
  The Yesterday USA web address is http://www.yesterdayusa.com.  Once
you successfully connect (hopefully) look for a box on the right side
that is titled "YUSA Quick Links".  Look for the link:
                           Listen To Old Time
                           Radio Shows Now!
and click on it.  You will be taken to a page which lets you choose
between a low capacity 14.4 connection, or a higher capacity (with
better sound) 28.8 connection.

An even more direct route bypasses the website entirely. Simply use Real Player to make a direct connection. Start up the Real Player right after you have logged on to your service provider. Click on Real Player's menu selection "File", and then "Open Location". A box opens up. Type in this address: pnm://206.190.42.52/yusa.ra (This is the address for the 14.4 connection)

One of these two methods should work.

wrote in message news:7egjhd$ij8$[email]...

Tried to connect to www.yesterdayusa.com but nothing on the other end. Are you sure about the

Howard, Was able to connect. Thanks for going the extra yard. John