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After a quick intro, and a classic clip of kjack’s famous line to the demand, ‘your money or your life,’ Joan Benny talks about her book, and how she first started writing it. Remembering Jack, she states that he was a man of his time he lived in, and always looked forward. Because of this, Joan was surprised to find his memoires that addressed his childhood. On Jack’s character, Joan claims he was egocentric, but in a positive way. He lived with blinders on, was happy go lucky, had simple tastes, enjoyed being a star, and being recognized. Joan also shines some light on growing up as a child of a celebrity.
Stories are shared of her childhood memories. In particular one of tour busses, and how one neighbor dealt with mistaken attention. Topics of living a sheltered life, and how security has changed over the years to protect kids of stars are discussed.
Callers ask questions about movies and preservation. . Joan talks about archived material and documents, and where they’re stored at. Also on her trouble in deciding what was valuable enough to keep. At the time her book was released, some contraversy existed around material that might have been left out. Joan explains her error in how the page count of her manuscript led to this misunderstanding. She also assures listeners that Jack’s life was free from scandal, also a little about Jack’s real life generosity.
More callers remember seeing Benny Kubelsky on the vaudeville stage, and ask about Jack’s violin playing. Joan confirms that he did quit it for years, but returned to it seriously, practicing for hours. A story of how Isaac Stern once toured with Jack to boost his ticket sales is told.
On a final note, links to the Johnny Carson show are made, and Joan is asked how much input Jack had in the scripts, or whether it all came from the writers.
