The Jack Benny Program: Liberace Show

The Jack Benny Program: Liberace Show
CBS
January 17, 1954
Sitcom
DVD
C+

As with Burns & Allen, my library has just a handful of Jack Benny episodes, this one from Season Four and containing then topical references, like Beany & Cecil and Monroe & DiMaggio.  (In fact, Joe and Marilyn got married on Jan. 14th, so that's very topical!)  And of course Liberace was a big star then, still recognizable to my generation (X), so the jokes about his smile and candelabras haven't dated too badly.  I don't think you have to be too old to chuckle when Gertrude the Switchboard Operator (played by Bea Benaderet, moonlighting from B & A and still years away from becoming the voice of Betty Rubble) says she'd rather go out with Liberace than Jack Benny; the queer content feels really obvious watching this now, even if unintended.  And, yeah, be sure to catch the Lucky Strike cigarette commercials.

Sam Perrin and George Balzer, wrote over 200 more episodes, but Milt Josefsberg and John Tackaberry did "only" 37 more.