Early Career
At the age of 15 Benjamin was offered a job at Waukegan's Barrison Theater playing violin in the pit for vaudeville and stage shows. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), he was a poor student and an incorrigible clown, and in 1912 he was expelled from high school. Shortly thereafter Benjamin went on the vaudeville circuit with the leader of the Barrison Theater Orchestra, Cora Salisbury. Their act was billed as "Salisbury and Benny: From Grand Opera to Ragtime." He reluctantly had changed his name, which he felt was too similar to that of violinist Jan Kubelik, to Ben K. Benny. It was not until Salisbury was forced to return home after a year and he teamed up with Lyman Woods that the act was booked in large towns and Benny began to introduce humorous musical numbers into the repertoire.
During World War I Benny enlisted in the Navy and soon became a performer in camp shows at the Great Lakes Naval Station. In one early performance Benny's violin act bombed so he started telling jokes. He became an instant hit with enlisted men and joined The Great Lakes Revue, which toured most major cities in the Midwest.
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