Possible caricature in a Donald Duck cartoon

[Cartman]

I'm just curious, but is the hotel manager in Bellboy Donald supposed to be a caricature of actor Frank Nelson in the "Jack Benny Program?" Although his face is never shown, his voice bears a striking resemblance. Although this is before the Jack Benny TV show, Jack Benny's show was broadcast on radio at the time.

[rodney]

What year was that short made? Nelson didn't start on the Benny show in that role until the mid-40's.

[Cartman]

Originally posted by rodney
What year was that short made? Nelson didn't start on the Benny show in that role until the mid-40's.

The short was released on December 18, 1942.

[rodney]

I'd be inclined to say that it wasn't a Frank Nelson bit, but I could be wrong. It's possible that it was Nelson himself who did the voice and just used the same thing for another character on the Benny show.

[Pilmedium]

Since classic cartoons usually spoofed other things and not the other way around, it probably was not a Frank Nelson caricature.

[Jon Cooke]

Originally posted by Cartman
The short was released on December 18, 1942.

According to this site (http://www.dannythestreet.com/franknelson/credits.html), Frank Nelson's first performance on the Jack Benny radio program was on June 1, 1934.


-Jon