IN: Benny was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in nearby Waukegan, Illinois. He was the son of Meyer Kubelsky and Emma Sachs Kubelsky. His parents were Jewish. Meyer was a saloon owner and later a haberdasher who had emigrated to America from Poland.

Benny's comic persona changed over the course of his career. At some point he developed a miserly persona. This stage character was everything that Jack Benny was not: cheap, petty, vain and self-congratulatory. His comic rendering of these traits was the linchpin to the success of his show. Benny set himself up as comedic foil, allowing his supporting characters to draw laughs at the expense of his own flaws. With his humanism and vulnerability in an era where few male characters were allowed such character traits, Benny made what could have been unlikable into an everyman character.  Benny said: "I don't care who gets the laughs on my show, as long as the show is funny." Benny felt he got the credit or blame either way, not the actor saying the lines, so there was emphasis on the comedic bottom line. This attitude reached its apogee in a broadcast structured as a Hollywood bus tour of the stars' homes. Each "stop" on the tour was at a house belonging to one of the show's supporting cast, who would then have a scene which included jokes about the absent Benny. Not until the final moments of the program did the bus arrive at Jack Benny's house, at which point the listening audience heard Benny's only line of the episode: "Driver, here's where I get off." Few stars possessed the combination of daring, humility and comic timing to commit to such an extended payoff.  Mary Livingstone, his wife, was a supporting character, as his wisecracking and not especially deferential female friend. She was not quite his girlfriend, since Benny would often try to date movie stars like Barbara Stanwyck, and occasionally had stage girlfriends, such as "Gladys Zybisco". Don Wilson, the rotund announcer, also appeared on the show. He also announced for Fanny Brice's hit Baby Snooks. Bandleader Phil Harris appeared as a jive talking, alcoholic philanderer whose repartee was profoundly risque for its time. Boy tenor Dennis Day appeared as a sheltered, naive youth who often got the better of his boss. This character was originated by Kenny Baker whom Day replaced. Singer Larry Stevens replaced Dennis Day from November 5, 1944 to March 10, 1946, while the latter served in the Navy.

what characters did jack benny play

OUT: At some point he developed a miserly persona.


IN: Evita is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. It concentrates on the life of Argentine political leader Eva Peron, the second wife of Argentine president Juan Peron. The story follows Evita's early life, rise to power, charity work, and eventual death. The musical began as a rock opera concept album released in 1976.

In 1972, Robert Stigwood proposed that Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice develop a new musical version of Peter Pan, but they abandoned the project.  Travelling late to a meal one night in 1973, though, Rice heard the end of a radio show about Eva Peron which intrigued him. As a child stamp collector, he had been fascinated by her image on the Argentine stamps, but was unaware of her significance in Argentina's history. He began research and was introduced by a Cinema International Corporation executive to the Argentine film director Carlos Pasini Hansen who had produced the TV film Queen of Hearts, which had aired in the UK on 24 October 1972. The executive also arranged for Rice to see the film at Thames Television which he did "at least twenty times" saying also that "by that time I had seen Pasini's superbly researched film, I was hooked." The more Rice investigated Eva Peron, going so far as to travel to Buenos Aires to research her life with many documents and contacts that Pasini had supplied, the more fascinated he became by the woman; he even named his first daughter after her.  Rice suggested the idea of a musical based on the subject to Lloyd Webber, but although the idea of writing a score including tangos, pasos dobles, and similar Latin flavours intrigued him, Lloyd Webber ultimately rejected the idea. He decided instead to collaborate with Alan Ayckbourn on Jeeves, a traditional Rodgers and Hart-style musical based on the P. G. Wodehouse character, which proved to be a critical and commercial failure. After Jeeves, Lloyd Webber returned to Rice, and they began developing Rice's proposed musical.  The authors of the 1996 book Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron claim the musical was based on Mary Main's biography The Woman with the Whip, which was extremely critical of Eva Peron. Though Rice praised the Main biography, it was never officially credited as source material. Rice created a character, Che, to serve as a narrator and Greek chorus. Although he had recently discovered Che Guevara was Argentine, he did not necessarily intend that the character be based upon him, despite inserting specific biographical details into the lyrics that clearly apply to Guevara. When Harold Prince later became involved with the project, he insisted that the actors portraying Che should use Guevara as a role model. In the 1996 film adaptation, the character returned to his more anonymous roots. This was also the case for the 2006 London revival.  Lloyd Webber and the conductor Anthony Bowles presented the musical at the second Sydmonton Festival before making the recording with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

How did this come to Evita

OUT:
Travelling late to a meal one night in 1973, though, Rice heard the end of a radio show about Eva Peron which intrigued him.