DENNIS DAY, 71, THE IRISH TENOR AND COMIC FOIL FOR JACK BENNY
Published: June 24, 1988
Dennis Day, an Irish tenor from New York City who made his name and fortune as the perennial adolescent and comic foil on Jack Benny's radio and television shows, died after a long illness late Wednesday at his California home. He was 71 years old and lived in Bel Air, in suburban Los Angeles.
Mr. Day had undergone brain surgery in April to control internal bleeding that occurred after he fell at his home. In 1987 he had been diagnosed as having Lou Gehrig's disease, the common name for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a crippling nerve disorder.
A native of the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx, he auditioned for Jack Benny in 1939, a year after his graduation from Manhattan College, where he was president of the glee club. Mr. Day was chosen over scores of other aspiring singers to become a member of the Benny troupe, joining the show on NBC radio that year. 25 Years With Jack Benny Their association endured 25 years, one of the longest in broadcasting. It covered a network switch to CBS in 1948 and the move from radio to television in 1950.
Mr. Day was also admired for his mastery of many dialects and accents. In his years with Benny he mimicked people as diverse as Adolf Hitler, Jerry Colonna and W. C. Fields.
For his principal personality on radio, that of the addlebrained 18-year-old, he raised the pitch of his voice. Aware that television viewers might not have accepted him as a teen-ager, he aged his character until his voice was down to its near-normal level. 'I'm Well Satisfied'
Jack Benny's stinginess toward the naive Mr. Day and the others in his company was savored by audiences, but Mr. Day reported that it had no basis in fact. ''He's always been very fair and generous,'' he said of his mentor. ''I'm well satisfied.'' The two men remained friends until Benny's death at 80 in 1974.
Beginning in 1946, Mr. Day produced a musical variety show of his own on nationwide radio. He was one of the country's most popular Irish tenors and had just spent two years in the Navy singing for servicemen in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
Mr. Day was known for his renditions of such songs as ''Danny Boy,'' ''Clancy Lowered the Boom'' and ''Peg o' My Heart.'' He also made guest appearances on television variety shows and acted in several films, including ''Music in Manhattan'' and ''The Girl Next Door.'' Invested in Oil and Stocks
Off screen, Mr. Day was a shrewd businessman who built a prosperous television production company bearing his name, operated a restaurant chain and invested in oil wells and stocks.
Mr. Day, whose name originally was Eugene Denis McNulty, was born the son of a city engineer, on May 21, 1917 and attended St. Benedict's Parochial School in the Bronx. He sang in the choir of St. Benedict's Church on Bruckner Boulevard and later became a member of the choir at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
His family, friends and neighbors were taken with his voice, and he entertained them by singing popular songs, playing the accordion and dancing. At Manhattan College, he graduated second in his class. Worked at WYNC Radio
After winning Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia's vocational scholarship, he got a job at WNYC, the municipal radio station.
Rudolph Friml Jr., who heard him sing at a party, persuaded Mr. Day to try for a show-business career. He borrowed his grandmother's maiden name for the more professional ring of Dennis Day and made the rounds of auditions. His first job was as a tenor on Ray Bloch's ''Varieties'' program on CBS radio. He earned $21, of which 10 percent went to his agent.
Jack Benny was auditioning tenors in 1939, and Mr. Day's name was added to the list of candidates by Mary Livingston, who was married to Benny and was a member of his cast, and who happened to hear Mr. Day sing on the radio. He was chosen over 100 other singers.
He appeared with other members of the Benny troupe - among them Miss Livingston, Eddie (Rochester) Anderson, Phil Harris and Andy Devine - in a 1940 film, ''Buck Benny Rides Again.'' He also appeared in other films on his own, including ''Music in Manhattan'' and ''I'll Get By.''
Mr. Day married Margaret Ellen Almquist, a radio and film singer, in 1948.
He is survived by his wife, a brother, 10 children and 13 grandchildren.
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