In Jack's monologue, he reads critics' reviews of his first show of the season; he skips those who hated him. Don balks at Jack's idea for the commercial but does it anyway: singing while skipping rope. Jack hurries home for the weekly jam session at his house. His pals filter in: Tony Martin (clarinet), Fred MacMurray (saxophone), Dick Powell (trumpet), Dan Dailey (drums), and Kirk Douglas (banjo). They avail themselves of the coin-operated vending machines hidden throughout Jack's living room. The group plays a ragged version of "Basin Street" while Kirk keeps breaking into "Bye Bye Blues", the only song he knows. In the epilogue, Jack has the audience applaud for its favorite musician. The winner gets $5 of Jack's own cash. Jack keeps his five,<br /><br /> THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM appeared infrequently during its first two years on CBS-TV. In his first season (1950–1951), Jack only performed on four shows, but by the 1951-1952 season, he was ready to do one show approximately every six weeks. During the 1953-1954 season, The Jack Benny Program aired every three weeks. From 1954 to 1960, the program aired every other week, rotating with such shows as Private Secretary and Bachelor Father. <br /><br />After the radio show ended in 1955, Benny took on another biweekly series, becoming a regular on Shower of Stars, CBS's hourlong comedy/variety anthology series, effectively appearing almost every week on one of the two series; it was on Shower of Stars that Benny's character finally turned 40, throwing a large birthday party for the occasion. Beginning in the 1960–1961 season, The Jack Benny Program began airing every week. The show moved from CBS to NBC prior to the 1964-65 season. During the 1953-54 season, a handful of episodes were filmed during the summer and the others were live, a schedule which allowed Benny to continue doing his radio show. <br /><br />Directed by Frederick De Cordova, Ralph Levy, Norman Abbott, Seymour Berns<br />Starring Jack Benny, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Don Wilson<br /><br />Cast<br />Jack Benny as Jack Benny <br />Don Wilson as Don Wilson<br />Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson as Rochester Van Jones <br />Dennis Day as Dennis Day <br />Mary Livingstone as Mary Livingstone <br />Mel Blanc as Polly <br />Benny Rubin as Bandit<br />The Sportsmen Quartet as Themselves <br />Frank Nelson as Clerk <br />Ned Miller as 2nd Man <br />Herb Vigran as 2nd Policeman <br />Jeanette Eymann as Nurse <br />Dale White as Harlow Wilson <br />Charles Cantor as Lingerie Salesman <br />Lois Corbett as Lois Wilson
