Welles appeared on The Jack Benny show in 1940, playing himself, training Jack for the role of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. (Benny returned the favour the next week by appearing on June Moon for Campbell Playhouse).
Welles was a great success – he wasn’t always the best at comedy but could be hilarious in a well written piece for which he was appropriately cast (eg Twentieth Century). He fit into Benny land because (a) he was playing a funny version of himself, kidding his genius image, and (b) the Benny show had a strong ensemble that centred around an egotistical lead; it was a kind of mad house into which Welles slotted right in. (One can imagine most stars with a strong persona could, eg Errol Flynn, Bogart.) So in 1943 when Benny was ill, Welles was invited back as guest host and proved very successful.
There were some irritating things about the Benny ensemble – that slightly creepy boy tenor who always sang, the catch phrase “isn’t that a lu-lu” from the band leader. But there was a genuine warm family feeling despite the insults and it's not hard to see how it was so successful.
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