In his autobiography, Jack Benny describes Nora Bayes as one of his Ì¢âÂÒheroinesÌ¢âÂå: Ì¢âÂÒbeautifulÌ¢âÂå, Ì¢âÂÒtalentedÌ¢âÂå, a Ì¢âÂÒcrazy temperamental personÌ¢âÂå and a Ì¢âÂÒwonderful human beingÌ¢âÂå. He recalls working with her in vaudeville in 1927:
Ì¢âÂÒEven in middle age, she was a stunning woman with a dynamic personality. She just hypnotized an audience. She was a great song stylist, with a soft contralto voice. Some of her songs were romantic ballads and some were comedy songs. She was magical on stage, casting an unbelievable spell on her audience. She never stood still. In perpetual motion, she crossed, turned, smiled, swung her hips and did a recitative in the middle of a song.Ì¢âÂå
Benny goes on to describe a comedy bit he invented and performed with her at the end of her act (an Ì¢âÂÒafterpieceÌ¢âÂå). This revolved around his pretending to be about to leave the theatre and walking on stage holding his overcoat: Ì¢âÂÒI was just getting ready to go home, but you wanted to see me about something, Miss Bayes?Ì¢âÂå Nora persuades him to sit next to her on the sofa where she had just been performing her songs. She asks him to tell her the punch-line of a joke that Benny had refused to allow his comedy partner to deliver in their own act, earlier on the bill, because it was (supposedly) off-color. Ì¢âÂÒÌ¢âÂã¢Whisper it in my earÌ¢âÂã¢, she said seductively. I did, moving closer and closerÌ¢âÂå_ she giggled and laughed. I was practically making love to her as the curtain came down. The audience went crazy.Ì¢âÂå (Sunday Nights at Seven, Jack Benny with Joan Benny, pp.19-21).
In his autobiography, Jack Benny describes Nora Bayes as one of his Ì¢âÂÒheroinesÌ¢âÂå: Ì¢âÂÒbeautifulÌ¢âÂå, Ì¢âÂÒtalentedÌ¢âÂå, a Ì¢âÂÒcrazy temperamental personÌ¢âÂå and a Ì¢âÂÒwonderful human beingÌ¢âÂå. He recalls working with her in vaudeville in 1927:
Ì¢âÂÒEven in middle age, she was a stunning woman with a dynamic personality. She just hypnotized an audience. She was a great song stylist, with a soft contralto voice. Some of her songs were romantic ballads and some were comedy songs. She was magical on stage, casting an unbelievable spell on her audience. She never stood still. In perpetual motion, she crossed, turned, smiled, swung her hips and did a recitative in the middle of a song.Ì¢âÂå
Benny goes on to describe a comedy bit he invented and performed with her at the end of her act (an Ì¢âÂÒafterpieceÌ¢âÂå). This revolved around his pretending to be about to leave the theatre and walking on stage holding his overcoat: Ì¢âÂÒI was just getting ready to go home, but you wanted to see me about something, Miss Bayes?Ì¢âÂå Nora persuades him to sit next to her on the sofa where she had just been performing her songs. She asks him to tell her the punch-line of a joke that Benny had refused to allow his comedy partner to deliver in their own act, earlier on the bill, because it was (supposedly) off-color. Ì¢âÂÒÌ¢âÂã¢Whisper it in my earÌ¢âÂã¢, she said seductively. I did, moving closer and closerÌ¢âÂå_ she giggled and laughed. I was practically making love to her as the curtain came down. The audience went crazy.Ì¢âÂå (Sunday Nights at Seven, Jack Benny with Joan Benny, pp.19-21).