Abstract
This case study traces the evolution of Jack Benny's comedy practices as he moved across entertainment systems from vaudeville to radio in the early 1930s. The core of his comic identity endured—his self-deprecating humor—but other facets of his comic identity shifted and changed in reaction to the new environment. Facing the daunting challenge of filling radio's unprecedented, ferocious demand for new content, Jack Benny struggled but ultimately thrived by developing new approaches to comedy. Benny and writer Harry Conn began to craft a personality-based radio variety program that moved from Benny's vaudeville monologues to expanding the narrative world of the show with dialogue and skits. They created characters out of the show's performers, put them in situations, and turned Benny into a “fall guy” character, the butt of his cast's insulting jokes.
