Jack Benny

Perhaps no entertainer is better known than the beloved Jack Benny (1894-1974), who, as he loved to say, was born in Waukegan a “long, long, long time ago.”

Actually, Benny was born Benjamin Kubelsky in a Chicago hospital to Waukegan residents Emma Sachs and Meyer Kubelsky. He first performed as a violinist when he was only eight at the Waukegan Phoenix Opera House. His mother fretted that “without practicing, he’ll be a nothing.” Though Benny loved the violin, he hated to practice. He was a daydreamer and after only one year of high school was thrown out of Waukegan Central High.

In 1911, Benny left home to perform in a vaudeville act with pianist and composer, Cora Salisbury. He eventually gained recognition. 

After Benny became a star of radio, film, and television, he never forgot his hometown. Benny often mentioned Waukegan in his act and visited there frequently.

Jack Benny at the Waukegan Centennial celebration in 1959. Lake County Museum of History in Wauconda, IL. Dunn Museum Collection.

Benny is pictured celebrating Waukegan's centennial in this rare color photo (above). The event was held on June 25, 1959, at the Lake County Museum of History in Wadsworth (predecessor of the Bess Bower Dunn Museum). Benny judged a fiddling contest, and though he was an accomplished violinist, he no doubt mocked his skills.