DYNAMIC DUOS PART 13: THE ORIGINAL FEUD.

Radio comedians Jack Benny and Fred Allen were the best of friends but they instituted a comedic feud which lasted a couple decades. Legend has it that it all started when Jack Benny (a notoriously bad violin player) heard a quip made by Fred Allen on his radio show. Allen had a young boy violinist play "The Flight of the Bumblebee" and he was phenomenal. Allen joked: "After hearing this young boy play, Jack Benny ought to be ashamed of himself." A harmless, throwaway line. But Jack Benny responded to it on his own radio show and got a big laugh. Then Allen responded to Benny's response and got a bigger laugh. The feud was up and running for a couple months before Benny and Allen even discussed it with each other. Then, throughout the 30's, 40's and 50's (until Fred Allen's untimely death) the two comedians ran with it; guest starring on each other's programs as well as making several films together in which they extended their feud (Love Thy Neighbor, It's In the Bag, etc.)

On one occasion, Allen made a particularly hilarious put-down at Benny's expense; Jack paused for a moment and ad-libbed "Hmmmm. You wouldn't have said that if my writers were here!" Another famous instance occurred when Fred Allen was doing a comedy sketch called "King For A Day" in which he was hosting a fake game show. Jack Benny, being so cheap, decided to sneak on under an assumed name (Myron Proudfoot) so he could win some prizes for nothing (even tho Allen had previously warned Benny that professionals couldn't participate). By the end of the broadcast, while demonstrated a prize called the Hoffman Pressing Machine, Allen actually managed to removed Jack Benny's pants live onstage (with the help of some burly stagehands) and the uproarious laughter of the audience was deafening. Jack Benny was a comedy giant and Fred Allen was called the wittiest man in the country. But together they made comedy heaven!