 Benny had been a minor vaudeville performer before becoming a national figure with "The Jack Benny Program", a weekly radio show that ran from 1932 to 1948 on NBC and from 1949 to 1955 on CBS.It was among the most highly rated programs during its run.Benny's long radio career began on April 6, 1932, when the NBC Commercial Program Department auditioned him for the N. W. Ayer & Son agency and their client, Canada Dry, after which Bertha Brainard, head of the division, said, "We think Mr. Benny is excellent for radio and, while the audition was unassisted as far as orchestra was concerned, we believe he would make a great bet for an air program."