Jack Benny's not licked -- yet

Chicago Tribune: Timing of the delivery was everything in the comedic world of Jack Benny. He squeezed more laughs out of a pause, a deadpan comment or a perfectly paced "hmmm-m-m-m" than most funnymen get from a stable of wisecracks.
At the U.S. Postal Service, the delivery has sometimes been a little more hit or miss. It missed badly the other day when it left the late Waukegan, Ill., native off the list of honorees to adorn commemorative stamps next year.
Loyal fans lobbied for Benny because he's an American icon -- and because it would have made a perfect posthumous gag. The price of a first-class stamp goes up to 39 cents next year, and Benny is famously linked to that number. One of the most memorable comics from the Golden Age of radio and TV, his act was built around the persona of a violin-mangling tightwad who would forever claim to be 39 years old.
In real life, Benny was a very generous man. But his comic caricature agonized over any expense. The 2-cent price hike for a stamp that will go into effect Jan. 8 is exactly the kind of thing he would have exploited for laughs.
Batman
Curious George will get a stamp next year. So will Batman, Benjamin Franklin and a pair of Mickeys -- Mouse and Mantle.
In passing on Benny, the Postal Service missed an opportunity to start a marketing trend of price-themed stamps that could give customers a few smiles as they cope with inflation. Benny on a 39-cent stamp. Maybe Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers on a stamp when the price jumps another dime. A penny more and it could be time to honor the rapper 50 Cent.
One classic Benny cheapskate skit involved his confrontation with an armed robber who demands, "Your money or your life!" Long pause. "Look bud, I said your money or your life!" the robber grunts again in frustration.
"I'm thinking it over," Benny replies.
Benny may have been shut out for 2006, but if the price holds for a while he still might have a chance to find his way onto a 39-cent stamp. Here's hoping the Postal Service thinks it over.