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Show tet teal tia inate tare ieee cn out ntoaoewa (Continued) | ing up on me. And who was mingling amongthe guests? Jack—who had made the call from the kitchen! This little gag of his should prove at least one point about Jack—he’s not stingy at all. Flying back and forth for that opening must have cost him several thousand dollars at least. In fact, he is probably the most generous guy in the world, although you'd never know it from him. He just doesn’t talk about it. I don’t know of any charity he teaatian pate sateen has ever turned down. He has collected over $2 million for musicians’ funds for symphony orchestras in numerous cities Seti and has flown back and forth to New York : ONLY 9 HOURS FROM NEW YORK WITH VARIG, FIRST AND ONLY NON-STOPJETS. ONLY $54 DOWN. THIS YEAR, look south to South America for new vacation pleasure! You'll fall in love with Rio, siren city of the world. And the fastest, finest way to jet there is on a Rolls-Royce powered BOEING 707 Intercontinental of Varig, with comfort and spectacular cuisine. You'll also save 30% with Varig’s 45-day excursion fare — only $542.70* or $54 down. Add Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Lima and Caracas for a few dollars more. See your travel agent. *Plus jet surcharge City six or seven times a year to play. charity concerts on the behalf of musicians. This takes about six or seven weeks a year out of his time, and at Jack’s salary that’s giving up a lot. HERE ARE many misconceptions about Jack—like the one that he is a hypochondriac who's constantly worried about the state of his health. This isn’t true at all. The idea is probably based on his yearly visits to the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital for a checkup. Actually he spends four days a year at the hospital just to get a rest. Mostly he watches TV. After his first night at the Cedars, Jack usually sneaks home for dinner and then returns to. the hospital. It’s expensive to eat at home and watch TV at Cedars of Lebanon for four days. Talking about eating, if you eat with Jack, he’s never happy with what he orders: he always wants what you order. Don’t ask me why—he’s just that way. If you order the same thing he has ordered, he’s heartbroken. IT'S SUMMER in December, January, February in Rio. Swim at bana Beach. Stroll on its SEE the towering statue of Christ, Sugar Loaf Mountain, and other sights. Splurge on bargains. Buy mosaic walk, Make one golden hour handmade leather bags at $3. Dine regally on steaks at 95c. outmeasure a long drab year. That “other-peoples’-pastures-aregreener” attitude even extends to the houses welive in. That was proved about 25 years ago whenI built an Early Americanstyle house for Gracie, our son Ronnie, our now-married daughter Sandra, and myself in Beverly Hills. When Jack saw our house, he liked it and got our architect to build one for him, Mary, and their daughter Joan. After his house was built, he said: “Would you like to sleep in my bedroom?” : I said: “No, then you’d wantto sleep in mine.” He likes what the other fellow eee eRe cece rceereseee Pe eeceerossserecercescesee VARIG AIRLINES Attn.: Carlos Pellerano 634 Fifth Avenue, New York 20, New York RIO SOUNDS WONDERFUL! SEND HELPFUL PLANNING FOLDERS TO: Address. City. State. Their shows find Georgesticking to a cigar; Jack is likely to be almost unrecognizable. orders, no matter what. Jack hasn’t really changed much since I first met him 38 years ago, before I married Gracie. By the way, it was Gracie who introduced us. She used to live with two other girls, one of whom was a friend of Jack. He was already doing well as a single, making $400 a week. Wehit it off as soon as we met. I laughed at him on stage, and he laughed at me off. He was eventelling stingy jokes then, and I rememberone of his favorites about taking his girl friend MyTrevel Agent is. out to dinner: he said something funny, and she laughed so hard at it that she dropped her tray. Other comedians have gotten rid of their old material. Jack is a courageous comedian. When he gets a gag rolling, he keeps it going for years—like gags about his Maxwell and his money vault. Our families have always been close. His daughter calls me “Uncle George,” and my children call him “Uncle Jack.” Our wives, Gracie and Mary, are very good friends, too. Mary’s a sharp businesswoman, and Jack talks over everything with her and has a high regard for her opinion. Of course, Jack himself has a keen mind for business and is a good judge of people. NLIKE MANYclose friends, we don’t play U cards together. @he reason? Simply because I don’t play gin, and Jack doesn’t play bridge, and this is one time he doesn’t want to sample my favorite. We always go to each other’s opening night, no matter what part of the country it’s in. Jack usually drives his car, and I fly. Jack likes to~drive—why, I'll never know.I drove with him about 10 years ago, and he smackedright into a wall. I looked at him and said: “Jack, you still drive better than you play the violin.” For the past 20 years, everything that has happened to Jack has been big, impor- tant things. So they ceased to be important, and the little things became important. Recently he was at his lawyer’s to sign a contract for probably a million dollars. Whenhe got home, ‘he was very excited— he had found out that if you drive down Wilshire Boulevard at 20 mph, you miss every red light! That’s my friend Jack Benny—he misses the lights but hits the walls. 2 18. Family Weekly, November 27, 1960 |