Jack Benny

This week we asked you to tell us the real name of comic Jack Benny and why he picked that as his stage name. His real name, Benjamin Kubelsky, drew the attention of concert violinist Jan Kubelik, who felt a violin-playing vaudeville comic would damage his reputation. Kubelik threatened to sue unless Benjamin changed his name. So he did. To “Ben K Benny.” Unfortunately, another well known entertainer, Ben Bernie, also threatened to sue over the use of that name. So he decided to use “Jack Benny” and keep playing violin and, as they say, the rest is history.