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Comedy itself is based upon very old principles of which I can readily name seven. They are, in short: the joke, exaggeration, ridicule, ignorance, surprise, the pun, and finally, the comic situation.

Jack Benny

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Jack Benny
Age: 80 †
Born: 1894
Born: February 14
Died: 1974
Died: December 26
Comedian
Film Actor
Film Producer
Military Officer
Radio Personality
Television Actor
Television Presenter
Violinist
Chicago
Illinois
Short
Joke
Principles
Comic
Comedy
Finally
Name
Surprise
Situation
Jokes
Pun
Names
Seven
Readily
Upon
Based
Exaggeration
Ignorance
Ridicule

More quotes by Jack Benny

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As you may or may not know, in keeping with the high-class tone of Beverly Hills, our police force is probably the most snobbish group of gendarmes in the world. It is said that the Beverly Hills Police Department is so fancy that it has an unlisted number.
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I was born in Waukegan a long, long time ago. As a matter of fact, our rabbi was an Indian.
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There's only five real people in Hollywood. Everyone else is Mel Blanc.
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Gags die, humor doesn't.
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I began my show business career playing violin in San Francisco at the corner of Market and Taylor. I understand that there is a theater there now.
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I'm an old newspaper-man myself, but I quit because I found there was no money in old newspapers.
Jack Benny
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I was going to buy my girl a Packard car for Christmas, but it took too long to deliver, so I bought her some handkerchiefs.
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Any man who would walk five miles through the snow, barefoot, just to return a library book so he could save three cents - that's my kind of guy.
Jack Benny
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No matter how often I tell people I'm thirty-nine some of them refuse to believe I'm that old.
Jack Benny
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I'm living in a very modest place. I have a room over-looking beautiful Claridge's Hotel. I thought it was better than paying Claridge's prices and overlooking the dump I'm living in.
Jack Benny
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A rich man is one who isn't afraid to ask the salesperson to show him something cheaper.
Jack Benny
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Hors D'oeuvre: A ham sandwich cut into forty pieces.
Jack Benny
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I must be cheaper now than I was ten years ago in order to get a laugh. It's not funny now if I leave the table and give the waiter a nickel tip, which was a laugh years ago. Today I must maneuver it so that somehow I get the waiter to give me a nickel tip.
Jack Benny
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It's not so much knowing when to speak, when to pause.
Jack Benny
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I practice three hours daily on my violin so I won't get worse.
Jack Benny
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I don't want to tell you how much insurance I carry with the Prudential, but all I can say is: when I go, they go too.
Jack Benny
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When another comedian has a lousy show, I'm the first one to admit it.
Jack Benny
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How do I get to Carnegie Hall? Practice. Practice. Practice.
Jack Benny
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I feel responsible for Johnny Ray's success. See many years ago I asked him to be on my show and he asked for a lot of money and I cried. And he stole that from me.
Jack Benny
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I gambled at the crap table all night and finally lost $8, but during that time the house gave me four drinks and two cigars, so it was still a lot cheaper than renting a room.
Jack Benny