For those who may not be familiar with the era, Jack's line at ~4:19 of "Here's a handful of nickels; you KNOW where to eat" is a reference to automats which were popular. Individual servings of food were placed behind glass doors which could be opened by feeding coins into the slot. Behind the scenes, a small army of people made the automat look unmanned.
I remember going to an automat (we always thought of it as THE Automat, having no idea there were others) as a little kid growing up in Manhattan in the mid-/late-'60s... at the age of four or five, it was hard to wrap your head around the spectacle: wall after wall of little compartments, each containing a sumptuous offering: a ham sandwich or slice of pie, a hamburger or bowl of Jell-O (Jack Benny's original radio sponsor ;), etc... all available in the same way as a game of pinball -- a coin in a slot. Those were also the days of pay toilets, an idea that seems ridiculous even as you try to describe it to anyone under 40 lol
Some of my best friends 😊
Thanks for sharing so beautiful program!
Classic Benny. The whole crew there was icing !
For those who may not be familiar with the era, Jack's line at ~4:19 of "Here's a handful of nickels; you KNOW where to eat" is a reference to automats which were popular. Individual servings of food were placed behind glass doors which could be opened by feeding coins into the slot. Behind the scenes, a small army of people made the automat look unmanned.
I remember going to an automat (we always thought of it as THE Automat, having no idea there were others) as a little kid growing up in Manhattan in the mid-/late-'60s... at the age of four or five, it was hard to wrap your head around the spectacle: wall after wall of little compartments, each containing a sumptuous offering: a ham sandwich or slice of pie, a hamburger or bowl of Jell-O (Jack Benny's original radio sponsor ;), etc... all available in the same way as a game of pinball -- a coin in a slot. Those were also the days of pay toilets, an idea that seems ridiculous even as you try to describe it to anyone under 40 lol
I really appreciate this!
Jack: “21 of them are girls and you’re the only man? How can you call that a party?”
Rochester: “Oh Boss! Come now!”