Pushkin.
The sounds of laughter.
There are people who study it.
People like Ben Glenn.
This extended sequence of laughs from the Jack Benny program is one of the all-time greats.
Jack Benny was the biggest comedian of his day.
His show ran on radio and TV for more than 30 years.
It's said that the Jack Benny show was the only program President John F.
Kennedy would watch religiously.
His jokes have probably generated more laughs than anyone in the history of comedy.
In this scene,
comedian Johnny Carson has just remarked that he has no idea how Jack Benny stays so young.
The gag that slain the audience is the reveal that Jack stays young because he's a robot,
and his staff are dismantling him bit by bit, putting him in storage for the night.
But the laughter you're hearing from this gag isn't pure.
It's sweetened.
Sweetening is augmenting the authentic reactions of a sitting audience with pre-recorded reactions.
augmenting authentic reactions.
That's the media industry trick you might know as canned laughter or a laugh track.
The man I'm talking to, Ben Glenn,