Jb 1945 05 06 How Jack Hired Don Wilson (afrs)

# The Jack Benny Program: "How Jack Hired Don Wilson"

Picture yourself gathered around the radio on a May evening in 1945, as Jack Benny and his mischievous band of characters spin an hilarious yarn about the mysteries of show business. In this particular installment, listeners are treated to the backstory of how Jack came to hire his booming-voiced announcer, Don Wilson—and naturally, nothing goes quite as you'd expect. With Jack's trademark stinginess colliding head-on with Don's relentless charm, and Rochester's dry commentary punctuating every absurdity, the episode unfolds like a perfectly crafted practical joke. The chemistry between cast members crackles with an energy that only comes from years of performing together, and every interruption, every carefully timed pause, every non-sequitur lands exactly where it should. You'll find yourself laughing at situations that feel both wildly improbable and oddly familiar—the essence of Benny's genius.

By 1945, *The Jack Benny Program* had become the gold standard of American radio comedy, a show that influenced everything from situation comedies to stand-up routines. Jack's ability to build a character around himself—perpetually vain, famously cheap, forever thirty-nine years old—while surrounding himself with gifted performers created a template for comedy that still resonates today. This particular episode, preserved through the Armed Forces Radio Service recordings that entertained troops overseas, captures the show at its peak, when radio was America's living room and Benny was the nation's trusted friend and jester.

Settle in, tune out the outside world, and let yourself be transported to Jack's universe of comic invention. Don't miss this charming piece of entertainment history that reminds us why families once gathered around their sets, eager to laugh together at the antics of show business's most gloriously misguided perfectionist.