3. A rose by any other name
Comedian, vaudevillian, film star, radio and television personality, and self-deprecating violinist Jack Benny made his own penuriousness a significant portion of his act and his persona. Benny famously played a violin badly, claimed for decades to be 39 years of age, and developed a comic timing which was widely admired among his fellow performers. But of all of Benny’s many memorable roles and performances, he was probably best known for his projected image of being a miser of Dickensian proportions, able to squeeze a penny until Lincoln begged for mercy. His running gag of keeping his money in a guarded, alarm protected vault (the alarm rang even when Benny opened the vault) appeared on numerous television and radio broadcasts.
Although Benny built his career around specious images, including the appearance of being nearly totally self-absorbed and tight as a drum, his will revealed another aspect of his character which he had carefully kept from the public. At his death of pancreatic cancer on the day after Christmas in 1974, his will contained instructions that a single rose was to be delivered to his widow, Mary Livingstone (married 47 years) every day for the rest of her life. Mary received her single rose daily for nine years, until her own death in late June, 1983. After his death Benny’s skill on the violin and his well-hidden generosity in private were revealed, giving the lie to his carefully crafted public image.