Posted on 04/05/2009 6:58:54 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
I guess he really was cheap. C’mon, Benny and Burns didn’t want to pay the duty on the jewelry and tried to pull a fast one- which was kinda sleazy considering it was right before the war and everything. Anyway, Jeb Bush’s wife got caught doing the same thing.
He deserved the electric chair for being utterly tedious.
From http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm ,
$1.00 in 1937 had about the same buying power as $15.02 in 2009.
$1,200 x $15.02 = $18,02400.
Benny’s $10,000 fine was $150,200.00
(Note: inflation calculator web site formulas can vary.)
He should have asked Rochester do the gig. That way there would be no penalty at all for it would be considered racist and ..........oh wait this was back in the days where the law actually meant something.
One of his other lawyers, Walter Thayer was on the legal staff of the Lend-Lease Administration, the War Shipping Administration and the Foreign Economic Administration during WWII. later purchased the NY Herald Tribune.
Carl Newton was one of Donovan’s law partners and was the Deputy Coal Administrator in the Roosevelt administration during WWII.
Lloyd Wright was also a member of the Roosevelt administration but I can’t find any info on him, either in association with Donovan or Jack Benny. All I can find is a reference to a letter written to him regarding the internment of the Japanese in WWII.
It looks like Jack Benny had a first class legal team. They probably cost him more than the fine.
I saw George Burns in Vegas in ‘85, he was still funny.
Jack Benny, to a skunk: “Kitty, have you tried Sen-Sen?”
wow, thats steep.
STORE CLERK: “That’ll be $1.99 including tax. I’m afraid I’m out of pennies right now. I’ll have to go five blocks down the street to the bank to get your one cent in change.”
JACK BENNY: “I’ll wait.”
Thats why he runs the ping list.
LOL. The funny thing is, I could actually see this as a skit on the old Jack Benny Show. Benny would try to make Rochester take the jewelry through customs, but Rochester would tell him where to go. I can see Mel Blanc as a baggage handler carrying Benny’s luggage and Frank Nelson (the guy who always turns around and says, “Yessssssssssssssssss”) as the custom’s agent.
A new book names Donovan as involved in the conspiracy to kill Patton. Haven’t read the book, don’t know how credible it is, but the death is definitely suspicious.
He should have made Rochester take the rap for him!
LaSalle was the entry level Cadillac and had the same V8 engine. It was a little more than a Buick and a little less than a full Caddy. Thay stopped making them as a separate nameplate in 1940. Restored models today usually trade in the $25,000 to $75,000 range depending on body style.
Hillarious.
Ah, I long for the “good old days” when the illegal alien maids were from Germany!
Marilyn Monroe on Jack Benny Show 1953:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_IzdZDyT0w
Other clips of Jack Benny:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=%22jack+benny%22&aq=f
"Throughout the 1940s Benny's popularity continued to grow. During World War II he contributed tirelessly to the war effort by selling war bonds and by entertaining the troops both at home and abroad. His experiences performing on the Armed Forces Radio System led him to quicken his delivery, and after the war Benny, who was a perfectionist in preparing his routines and an excellent editor of his own material, developed a slicker program with greater emphasis on comic situations."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.