Jack Benny was one of the most popular and influential comedians of the twentieth century. He was known for his subtle sense of comic timing, which relied on a long pause and a frozen, pained expression in order to milk laughs. Benny's humor focused on the made-up persona of a wisecracking penny-pincher (one who is very conservative, often cheap, with his or her money). In one of his classic comic sketches, Benny is held up by a burglar who demands, "Your money or your life." After his characteristic lengthy pause, Benny responds, "I'm thinking about it." In another classic bit, when asked his age, Benny always said he was "thirty-nine," a line that grew funnier as the years passed and he was well into old age.

Benny was born Benjamin Kubelsky. Unlike other Jewish entertainers of his time, he did not adopt an ethnic...