Mary Livingstone Collection

Mary Livingstone
(1905 – 1983)

Old Time Radio is absolutely peppered with love stories. These marriages were generally not the stuff of tabloids like modern day Brad and Angelina or the many husbands of Liz Taylor. For the most part, couples who worked together on the radio were veterans of the vaudeville circuits. If a marriage can survive the trials of vaudeville, perhaps it can survive anything.

In one of his autobiographies, Fred Allen relates an old vaudeville tradition that when a young man gets married, the first thing he should do is write his new bride into the act. Portland Hoffa became Fred's onstage foil after they were married. Jim and Marian Jordan (Fibber McGee and Molly) worked together in vaudeville before giving radio a go. George Burns worked with Gracie Allen for a few seasons before they became a couple (George said they had to get married, she was his act!)

In the eyes of their contemporaries, one of the least likely marriages in radio was that of Jack Benny and Mary Livingstone. After serving in the Navy during WWI, Benjamin Kubelsky worked his way up through the vaudeville circuits as a comedian and violin player. By 1921, he had adopted the name Jack Benny and had a pretty successful one-man act. While in Seattle, Benny was invited to a Passover seder by his good friend Zeppo Marx. At the dinner, he was introduced to 14-year-old Sadie Markowitz. Little Sadie was smitten, by dapper Jack didn't notice her, in fact, he tried to make an exit while Sadie was giving a violin performance. Sadie got some small revenge the next night when she showed up at the Orpheum Theatre with three friends. The girls sat stone-faced in the front row and nothing Jack could do got a laugh.

They met again several years later after she had changed her name to Sadie Marks and moved to Los Angeles. Jack was invited on a double date with Sadie's older sister, and this time he found Sadie, now in her early twenties, much more interesting. After being snubbed earlier, Sadie did not share Jack's enthusiasm at first (she was seeing another fellow) but he wore her down when he began visiting her at her job tending the lingerie counter at the May Company department store in downtown L.A. He also called her almost daily while on the road, and in 1927 they were married.

Following Fred Allen's example, Jack wrote Sadie into his act. Being a "twofer" actually increased Jack's standing on the circuit, but even though Sadie seemed like a natural female comedienne, she was never comfortable performing or considered herself a full-time performer. She was understandably relieved when Jack began his radio show in 1932 because she knew it meant she could settle into a housewife's routine and would not have to perform anymore.

One of the early routines Jack and the writers developed for the program called for Jack to meet the president of his fan club, a girl named Mary Livingstone. The actress hired for the part had to back out and rather than search for a new girl, Jack picked up the phone and called Sadie at home, asking her to play the part just the one time. Audience response was so great that the one-time appearance was bound to be extended. Sadie adopted the character's name as her stage name (Jack even got in the habit of calling her Mary off stage).

Mary Livingstone's character went from adoring fan to sharp-tongued secretary, and although she never got over being uncomfortable in front of the microphone or an audience, her comic timing was always impeccable. Over the many years that she was a part of Benny's company doing live broadcasts, there were bound to be a few bloopers getting by, and Mary's were often funnier than the original material. In one famous incident she ordered a sandwich with swiss cheese, but over the mic, it came out as chiss sweeze. Another time, Jack was describing an accident which occurred while his car was in the shop up on the grease rack. May asked, "How could you possibly hit a car when it was up on the grass reek?" Not only did the blooper tickle Jack's funny bone during that episode, but the writers worked it into the next script with Jack challenging Mary that there was no such word as grass reek. Finally, the chief of police, who was a guest in the episode, told of an interesting call the department received about two skunks fighting on a lawn. There was not much damage, but "Boy, did that grass reek!"

Jack's character on the radio remained a bachelor, although in real-life Benny was a dedicated family man. On the radio, he was also tightfisted and somewhat misanthropic, again, characteristics which were played for laughs rather than reflecting reality. He was well liked in showbiz circles and had many friends in Hollywood, for the most part, Mary was merely tolerated. Gracie Allen was probably Mary's best friend in Hollywood, but even a sweetheart like Gracie had little problem pointing out Mary's shortcomings. Mary was vain and jealous of other Hollywood wives. Whenever George bought a present for Gracie, Jack would have to buy a more expensive version of the same present.

As unpopular as she was among Hollywood wives, Jack was dedicated to Mary. There is a very sweet legend gets told in OTR circles around Valentine's Day (which is also Jack Benny's birthday). The story goes that when they were courting, Jack had a single red rose sent to his beloved Sadie every day. Sadie expected the roses would stop coming after they were married, but she still received one every day. Naturally, she was devastated when Jack passed away in 1974 at the age of 80, but she was surprised when her rose arrived the next morning and the next. Finally, she went into the flower shop where the roses were coming from and explained that while she appreciated the flowers, Mr. Benny was gone and no one was going to pay for them. The clerk explained that there had been no mistake, Jack Benny had made a provision in his will that Mary would receive a rose from Jack every day, and every day for the next eight years a single red rose arrived at her home until she joined Jack in in Culver City's Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery.

Mary Livingstone died of heart disease at her Holmby Hills home on June 30, 1983. A Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6707 Hollywood Blvd is dedicated honoring Mary's contributions to Radio, however, the name on the Star is misspelled as Mary Livingston.