John Dunning Quote
Far more important was the arrival of Phil Harris on the first show of the new year, Oct. 4, 1936. Harris was the fourth cog in the Benny formula, a swaggering blowhard whose demeanor might have been, in real life, as offensive as Benny’s, but on the air was touched with the Benny magic, making him one of the show’s most popular personalities. Harris drubbed Benny about being vain and cheap, but he shared the vanity and added a layer of riotous stupidity. He butchered English: he couldn’t spell the simplest words; he didn’t know Mongolia from Minneapolis. In reality, Harris was a comic genius whose sense of timing and showmanship was as fine-tuned as Benny’s. His greeting, Hiya, Jackson, brought the audience to ripples of laughter before the first jokes were said.
Far more important was the arrival of Phil Harris on the first show of the new year, Oct. 4, 1936. Harris was the fourth cog in the Benny formula, a swaggering blowhard whose demeanor might have been, in real life, as offensive as Benny’s, but on the air was touched with the Benny magic, making him one of the show’s most popular personalities. Harris drubbed Benny about being vain and cheap, but he shared the vanity and added a layer of riotous stupidity. He butchered English: he couldn’t spell the simplest words; he didn’t know Mongolia from Minneapolis. In reality, Harris was a comic genius whose sense of timing and showmanship was as fine-tuned as Benny’s. His greeting, Hiya, Jackson, brought the audience to ripples of laughter before the first jokes were said.
Related Quotes
About John Dunning
John Dunning (businessman) (born 1934), British businessman, founder of Westmorland Motorway Services
John Dunning (detective fiction author) (1942–2023), American writer of detective fiction
John Dunning (true crime author) (1918–1990), true crime author
John Dunning (snooker player) (1927–2009), English professional snooker player
John Harry Dunning (1927–2009), British economist
John Dunning (film editor) (1916–1991), American film editor
John Dunning (film producer) (1927–2011), Canadian film producer
John R. Dunning (1907–1975), American physicist
Jack Dunning (John Angus Dunning, 1903–1971), New Zealand Test cricketer
John Dunning, 1st Baron Ashburton (1731–1783), English lawyer and politician
John Dunning (volleyball) (born 1950), American volleyball coach