Jack Benny, right, in his 1923 Maxwell at a 1947 Civic Progress Week celebration.
The Jack Benny Show ran on radio from 1932 to 1955 on the simple premise that vain Benny was the world's stingiest man, selecting shoelaces as gifts for cast members or thinking carefully about his answer while accosted by a crook who demands, "Your money or your life."
Benny's junk heap car fit the character to a T-- a 1923 Maxwell driven by chauffeur Rochester Van Jones, played by Eddie Anderson. The car was so decrepit that Rochester avoided rinsing dirt off it: "Don't you remember the last time I used the hose on it, boss?" asks Rochester. "The fender fell off."
The old Maxwell had the advantage of sound effects created by supporting cast member Mel Blanc, who produced a full range of sput-sput-coughing noises simulating the car's failing engine. Though it appeared in publicity photos, the car was later depicted on Benny's TV series. Fans of Saturday morning cartoon series will recognize Blanc's characterization re-in-car-nated as Speed Buggy.
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