Celebration of A Running Gag: "Anaheim, Azusa and Cucamonga"
A popular running gag on the long-running radio comedy The Jack Benny Program involved a train caller, voiced by Mel Blanc, calling out, "Train leaving on Track Five for Anaheim, Azusa and Cucamonga." The gag, which also continued on Jack Benny's television program, brought national attention to the three cities. In 1966, a widely-publicized ceremony was held at the Azusa Civic Center, celebrating "Jack Benny Day." The celebration included a parade around Azusa's city hall with marching bands, drum majorettes and Benny seated on the tailgate of a small red wagon pulled by four Liliputian horses. Benny was given gold keys to the cities on Hawaiian leis presented by the queens of the three cities. Benny explained the origin of the gag as follows:
"About 25 years ago on radio, we were looking for the names of three suburban cities that would rhyme for a railroad scene featuring Mel Blanc. We didn't look for sustaining gags, you can't create them artificially. We used it once, twice, three times. Each time the audience laughed louder. We were not about to give up a good thing."
The gag was so popular that, when Benny died in 1974, the headline in the Los Angeles Times read: "Last Call for Anaheim, Azusa and Cucamonga ..."
Read more about this topic: Azusa Civic Center
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