The Critical Lesson I Learned From Jack Benny

Early in his career Fox News Channel President Roger Ailes was a producer for a daytime talk show, The Mike Douglas Show. Here's excerpt from his book You Are The Message about a time when Jack Benny appeared on the show:

One of Americas greatest comedians, Jack Benny, taught me about energy. Benny was one of my heroes because he was able to get a laugh just by walking on stage. His timing was perfect. His facial expression was unsurpassed. He was not just a comedian, but also a great comic actor. His strength was not so much in telling jokes as in getting laughs within the parameters of the script, such as a comedy sketch. In over fifty years in show business, he never did anything that was off-color, but he always entertained his audience. Late in his career, when he was quite old, Jack was a guest on The Mike Douglas Show.

When my assistant told me he was waiting in my office, I rushed in to meet the great man. I found instead a frail little old man hunched over in a corner of he couch.

"How do you do, sir. I'm Roger Ailes. I'm the executive producer." He looked up weakly, shook my hand, and softly said, "Jack Benny." He went on, "Tell me ahout your show." But he was talking in a monotone -- very quietly -- and I thought, “Oh my God, he’s going to pass away right on the air today." I explained the show and where his segment would come. He asked, "Do you have a dollar bill?" I said yes. He said, "I’m going to do this thing with Mike using this dollar bill, where I end up getting the dollar." I said fine. We worked it all out, but I was terrified. I thought, "Maybe I shouldn’t present him because it will be so disillusioning to the American people.”

We went down to the studio just before airtime. He was to be on first. We rehearsed his theme song, "Love in Bloom," with the band, and I showed him where he would enter. All the time he was shuffling along, with the weary steps of an old man.

Moments later, it was airtime. Mike Douglas said, "We've got a great thrill for you today. Ladies and gentlemen, our special guest, the great Jack Benny."

I held my breath. The band hit "Love In Bloom". Benny inhaled and energy seemed to enter his body. He looked sideways into the full-length backstage mirror and straightened up. I swear he grew an entire foot. He looked twenty-five years younger. He looked at me, smiled, and winked, and as the doors opened for his entrance, he broke into his famous arm-swinging stride and walked on stage. The real Jack Benny had suddenly appeared right before our eyes. On the show, he was the delightful, brilliant Jack Benny that we knew -- age thirty-nine, as he always said -- and that we all remember.

Benny's use of energy was a great lesson for me. He had been saving it for the performance, and he knew exactly when to turn it on. And I remember thinking something then that I still teach today. Know when you have to do a good job. Know when you're on. And anytime you perform, if your energy rises to the occasion, you'll carry the day.

I used this exact passage when I went in for a job interview in the months before my heart surgery four years ago. I had about as much energy as Jack Benny, maybe less. But I really needed to switch jobs. So I kept this image of Jack Benny in mind, saved my energy, and only turned it on when I got right to the interview. I was able to keep a high level of energy throughout the interview, then left, walked out to the privacy of my car in the parking lot, and pretty much collapsed therein. But I got the job.

Comments

[Mikey]

This is a great message.

[Tom McMahon]

Thanks!

[Woody]

It's taken me over two years to get the energy to comment on this, but thanks for sharing that. Now I have to rest.