The Jack Benny Show - "Dennis' Surprise Party" - 07:30 am Tuesday, November 4 on WTIC Antenna TV

Verna Felton (Actor) .. Mrs. Day

Born: June 20, 1889
Died: December 14, 1966

Trivia: Actress Verna Felton had spent years honing her craft on the stage before she established her reputation on radio. Felton's contributions to the airwaves ranged from the part of Mme. DeFarge in a Lux Radio Theatre version of Tale of Two Cities to the recurring role of the Mean Widdle Kid's grandma on The Red Skelton Show. After the death of her actor/husband Lee Millar in 1941, Felton began her screen career. Her movie assignments consisted largely of voiceover work for Walt Disney's animated features: she can be heard as a gossiping elephant in Dumbo (1941), the Fairy Godmother who sings "Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo" in Cinderella (1950), the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland (1951), Flora the good fairy in Sleeping Beauty (1959), and still another elephant in The Jungle Book (1967). She carried her voiceover activities into television, supplying the voice of Fred Flintstone's eternally nagging mother-in-law in The Flintstones (1960-66). Verna Felton is best-known to TV fans as Hilda Crocker on the popular sitcoms December Bride (1954-58) and Pete and Gladys (1960-62).

Ann Doran (Actor) .. Mrs. Wilson

Born: July 28, 1911
Died: September 19, 2000
Birthplace: Amarillo, Texas

Trivia: A sadly neglected supporting actress, Ann Doran played everything from Charley Chase's foil in Columbia two-reelers of the late '30s to James Dean's mother in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and also guest starred in such television shows as Superman, Petticoat Junction, Bewitched, and The A Team. A former child model and the daughter of silent screen actress Rose Allen (1885-1977), Doran made her screen bow in Douglas Fairbanks' Robin Hood (1922) but then spent the next 12 years or so getting herself an education. She returned to films in 1934 and joined the Columbia short subject department two years later. While with Columbia, Doran worked on all of Frank Capra's films save Lost Horizon (1937) and she later toiled for both Paramount and Warner Bros., often receiving fine reviews but always missing out on the one role that may have made her a star. Appearing in more than 500 films and television shows (her own count), Doran worked well into the 1980s, often unbilled but always a noticeable presence.

Bill Walker (Actor) .. Henry

Born: January 01, 1896
Died: January 17, 1992

Trivia: In recalling his courtroom scene in To Kill a Mockingbird, Gregory Peck recalled the vital contribution of African American actor Bill Walker, who was cast as the Reverend Sikes. "All the black people in the balcony stood," Peck noted. "My two kids didn't. When Bill said to them 'Stand up, children, your father is passing,' he wrapped up the Academy Award for me." The son of a freed slave, Walker began his stage career at a time when black actors were largely confined to shuffling, eye-rolling "Yowzah boss" bit parts. While the harsh economic realities of show business dictated that Walker would occasionally have to take less than prestigious roles as butlers, cooks, valets, and African tribal chieftains, he lobbied long and hard to assure that other actors of his race would be permitted to portray characters with more than a modicum of dignity. He also was a tireless worker in the field of Civil Rights, frequently laying both his career and his life on the line. Walker's Broadway credits included Harlem, The Solid South and Golden Dawn; his film credits were legion. Bill Walker was married to actress Peggy Cartwright, who as a child was one of the stars of the Our Gang silent comedies.

Russell Trent (Actor) .. Caterer

The Jack Benny Show: Dennis' Surprise Party

07:30 am - 08:00 am, Tuesday, November 4 on WTIC Antenna TV (61.2)

Dennis' Surprise Party

Season 12, Episode 13