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Goodbye 1938 (Aired January 1, 1939)
Benny had been only a minor vaudeville performer, but he became a national figure with The Jack Benny Program, a weekly radio show which ran from 1932 to 1948 on NBC and from 1949 to 1955 on CBS, and was consistently among the most highly rated programs during most of that run. With Canada Dry Ginger Ale as a sponsor, Benny came to radio on The Canada Dry Program, beginning May 2, 1932, on the NBC Blue Network and continuing there for six months until October 26, moving the show to CBS on October 30. With Ted Weems leading the band, Benny stayed on CBS until January 26, 1933. Arriving at NBC on March 17, Benny did The Chevrolet Program until April 1, 1934. He continued with sponsors General Tires, Jell-O and Grape Nuts. Lucky Strike was the radio sponsor from 1944 to the mid-1950s. The show returned to CBS on January 2, 1949, as part of CBS president William S. Paley's notorious "raid" of NBC talent in 1948-49. There it stayed for the remainder of its radio run, which ended on May 22, 1955. CBS aired reruns of old radio episodes from 1956 to 1958 as The Best of Benny. THIS EPISODE: January 1, 1939. "Goodbye 1938" - Red network. Sponsored by: Jell-O. Jack blows his lines six minutes into the program and stops the show. Mary reads a New Year's poem. The show features the first performance of, "The New Tenant," which was to become an annual New Year's fantasy. Andy Devine, Don Wilson, Jack Benny, Kenny Baker, Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris and His Orchestra, Eddie Anderson, Billy Gray (?), Harry Baldwin, Ed Beloin (writer, performer), Bill Morrow (writer). 29:10.