Frank Fontaine MC's the Mary Lee Tucker Benefit Show – 1957 – Part 1

The Morning Journal’s annual Mary Lee Tucker Clothe-a-Child program has been underway now for several weeks, so it’s a good time for this post.

Back in 1957, the Mary Lee Tucker program still included a big charity show at the Palace theater as the primary fundraiser. (I’ve written extensively about these shows, with multi-part series about the early days of the program, as well as a more thorough history of it through the decades.)

Anyway, for the 1957 benefit show, there was a very special Master of Ceremonies: Frank Fontaine. Of course, you might know him better from his role as lovable drunk Crazy Guggenheim (shown at right) on the Jackie Gleason Show. Gleason (as Joe the Bartender) would enjoy a comedic chat with Crazy, who would eventually be cajoled into singing a song with his beautiful voice.

But in 1957, Fontaine had not yet created his Guggenheim character. Instead, he was well known from The Jack Benny Program from his appearances as a bum named John L. C. Sivoney.

Here’s a portion of the front page Journal article announcing his upcoming appearance at the Mary Lee Tucker show on December 4, 1957.

The balance of the article reveals his family’s show biz heritage, noting that his parents were vaudeville performers and that his paternal grandparents were a well known Barnum and Bailey circus team. "His grandfather was a strong man and his grandmother, a trapeze artist."

“Frank and his brother Raymond toured with their parents, went to school all over the United States and Canada or had private tutors when truant officers caught up with them.

“Frank’s talent became apparent when he imitated his parents from the time he was five.

“Married at 17, he depended on amateur show prizes for subsistence until he was able to get nightclub bookings.”

Fontaine served his country during World War II, and after his discharge, “returned to the nightclub circuit, then joined up with Vaughn Monroe and toured with the bandleader’s orchestra as featured comedian for two years.”

Here’s the ad that appeared in the Journal on November 29, 1957, with Fontaine in character as John L. C. Sivoney.

The cover of this record album (below) showcasing Fontaine’s singing provides a better view of the photo used in the Journal ad.

Want to see Fontaine in action as John L. C. Sivoney on the Jack Benny show? He makes his appearance on the 1961 program below at the 16:22 mark in a police station sketch. It’s pretty funny, and nice to hear that inimitable laugh again. Fontaine also comes in at the end of the sketch for a final punchline, and even makes a curtain call as himself at the close of the show.