{"id":86452,"date":"2022-07-14T16:20:04","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T16:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/?p=86452"},"modified":"2023-02-14T20:13:02","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T20:13:02","slug":"cvs-dennis-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/cvs-dennis-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Dennis Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on ATVN with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The return of <\/span>The Jack Benny Program<\/i><\/a><\/strong> to the ATVN lineup also includes the reappearance of one of television\u2019s most beloved entertainers of the 1940s and 1950s.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dennis Day<\/a><\/strong> was born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty to Irish immigrants in The Bronx, New York on May 21, 1916.<\/span><\/p>\n

After graduating from Manhattanville College<\/a><\/strong>, Day entered and won a national competition orchestrated by bandleader Larry Clinton.\u00a0 Shortly thereafter, he recorded his first single, \u201cGoodnight, My Beautiful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, singer Kenny Baker had decided to leave The Jack Benny Radio Show\u2013which was the number-one ranked comedy program at that time.\u00a0 (Baker would resurface one year later on the radio show of Benny\u2019s on-air nemesis, Fred Allen<\/a><\/strong>.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Day was one of hundreds of tenors who auditioned, featuring singers from all around the world.\u00a0 What got Dennis the job?<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the book, <\/span>Sunday Nights at Seven<\/i><\/a><\/strong>, Day was so nervous when they called his name to audition, that his immediate response was to blurt out, \u201cYes, please.\u201d Benny and his writers were caught off guard by the unusual response (one they incorrectly thought was an attempt to interject some humor into the role) and gave the 23-year old the job.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unbeknownst to Benny and the writing staff, Day was also a great mimic and voice actor who would fill in for legendary voice man Mel Blanc<\/a><\/strong> when he missed time due to a serious car accident.\u00a0 Day would also impersonate other legendary film actors and famous people of the time in both the radio and television versions of the program (one of his best mimics was that of Winston Churchill on the TV episode guest-starring Raymond Burr).<\/span><\/p>\n

Day not only made a smooth transition to the cast of the nation’s most popular program, but his own fame spawned his very own radio show which ran for several seasons.\u00a0 Day would later host his own television show at the same time that Benny\u2019s show ran.\u00a0 There would be frequent jokes on the latter\u2019s program that the young tenor has \u201ctwo shows to Benny\u2019s one.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Day\u2019s youthful appearance was also utilized frequently as the target of many jokes\u2013his naive approach often frustrated Benny, culminating with the host yelling for \u201cthat crazy kid\u201d to get off his show.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, Day\u2019s attempts at a television show actually preceded Benny\u2019s. <\/span>A Day In The Life of Dennis Day<\/i><\/a> <\/strong>tried to transition his radio show to television, but the pilot was never picked up.<\/span><\/p>\n

A second pilot,<\/span> The Dennis Day Show<\/strong><\/span><\/i><\/a>, in which he hosted a variety program, also failed to get momentum on the CBS Network.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1952, a third attempt, <\/span>The RCA Victor Show (<\/span><\/i>later renamed <\/span>The Dennis Day Show<\/span><\/i>), succeeded on NBC and ran for three seasons.\u00a0 Unlike his first attempt, the newer version had Day portraying a more mature character without the naivete he exhibited on the CBS show.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even so, Day continued to appear on the Benny show posing as \u201cthat crazy kid\u201d even through its final year in 1965, when Dennis was nearly 50 years old.<\/span><\/p>\n

Day would continue singing and making appearances on popular television comedy and variety programs off-and-on over the next decade.<\/span><\/p>\n

Day\u2019s last two major on-air appearances were as voice animations for two popular annual cartoons.\u00a0 In 1976, he was the voice of “The Preacher” in the Rankin-Bass production, <\/span>Frosty’s Winter Wonderland<\/a><\/strong>,<\/span><\/i> and again worked with them in 1978, when he voiced Scrooge\u2019s nephew, Fred, in <\/span>The Stingiest Man in Town<\/i><\/a><\/strong>, which was their animated version of Charles Dickens’ novel, <\/span>A Christmas Carol<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

On June 22, 1978, Day died from ALS\/Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease.\u00a0 He was surrounded by his wife of 40 years, Peggy Almquist, and his 10 children.<\/span><\/p>\n

Be sure to set your DVRs and watch Dennis\u2019s original role on <\/span>The Jack Benny Program<\/span><\/i> on the Astound TV Network\u2019s programming lineup, every Wednesday at 12 noon.\u00a0 Also, you can binge-watch a number of great early \u201cBenny\u201d episodes as part of a mini-marathon this Monday starting at 8pm on ATVN.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on ATVN, check out the weekly listings here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The views expressed in this blog are<\/span><\/i> those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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