Jb 1940 03 17 Hunchback Of Notre Dame W Orson Welles

# The Jack Benny Program: March 17, 1940

Step into the NBC studios on this brisk March evening as Jack Benny prepares to tackle one of literature's most enduring tales—Victor Hugo's *The Hunchback of Notre Dame*—with none other than the brilliant and theatrical Orson Welles in tow. What unfolds is a masterclass in comedic ambition: Benny's trademark deadpan delivery clashing delightfully against Welles's Shakespearean gravitas, all while the full orchestra swells behind carefully timed pratfalls and wisecracks. Listeners can expect the usual parade of Benny's supporting cast—Rochester's sardonic commentary, Mary Livingstone's patient forbearance—but filtered through the lens of medieval Paris and Gothic drama. The result is an absurdist fever dream where high art meets vaudeville, and the joke is always on Jack's pretensions.

This episode captures the golden age of radio comedy at its zenith, when the medium commanded the nation's undivided attention every Sunday evening. By 1940, Benny had perfected the formula that made his program the most listened-to show in America: impeccable timing, genuine affection between cast members, and an willingness to bend any narrative—sacred or secular—toward comedy. Welles's participation marks the convergence of radio's two great titans, the comedian and the dramatist, each at the peak of their considerable powers.

Tune in for twenty-five minutes of inspired lunacy that somehow manages to be both respectfully absurd toward Hugo's masterpiece and genuinely funny. This is radio comedy at its most confident and inventive.