(+1) 234 567 21

September 13, 1953…Marilyn Monroe’s First Network TV Appearance

•

Eyes Of A Generation.com


September 13, 1953…Marilyn Monroe’s First Television Appearance

In the Comment section below, you’ll see the gift Jack Benny gave Marilyn for appearing on his show. She was reluctant and didn’t really want to do it because on live television, to many things could go wrong, but the “gift” helped, as did the studio executives who saw this as a great promo for her new movie “Gentlemen Prefer Blonds” which went into general release in August of ’53.

This was the first show of Benny’s fourth season and having lost thirty percent of his audience in the third season, he was anxious to step up the guest star power. It worked and the ratings zoomed.  -Bobby Ellerbee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vhQqJXJz-o

On September 13, 1953 The Jack Benny Show episode with Marilyn Monroe aired on CBS. I really enjoy this episode! Marilyn is such a sweetheart and did a great…

Source

5 responses to “September 13, 1953…Marilyn Monroe’s First Network TV Appearance”

  1. Jim Palmer

    Classic. Still really funny 63 years later.

  2. David J. Roper

    Barbara Pepper was still pretty in 1953 but never quite as chubby as Maxine Gates, the actress credited by IMDB as the girl Jack imagines to be Marilyn.

  3. Fred Leonard

    Lucy’s first choice to play “Ethel,” was Bea Benaderet, who had played her sidekick on radio. Barbara Pepper went on to play Doris Ziffel on “Green Acres” (adapted from a radio series starring Bea Benaderet).

  4. Russell Ross

    Lucy’s friend does resemble Vivian Vance….(Ethel Mertz)

  5. Eyes Of A Generation.com

    Here is the gift Benny gave Marilyn for appearing on the show…a 1953 Cadillac convertible.

Leave a Reply