If anyone ever asks you to explain what "timing" means in comedy, don't waste your time with words. Just show them this clip of Jack Benny and Mel Blanc. The other day, I sat for a video interview that will appear on the fifth DVD volume of The Golden Age of Looney Tunes and I made the point that Mel wasn't just a guy with a lot of voices. He was a very gifted, skilled comic actor. You had to be to play opposite Benny, Abbott and Costello, Bob Hope and all the other people he worked with on radio.
Even the bit in which he played the little Mexican guy opposite Benny, of which this is an abridged version, demonstrates superior acting. He doesn't have a wide variety of dialogue but what makes the bit work is not just Benny's expressions but Blanc's lack of any. He is perfectly deadpan throughout, making his character (the pun is unavoidable) an absolute blank and directing all attention to Mr. Benny. The routine wouldn't have been funny if you saw the slightest smirk or sign of life on Mel's part. As you'll see, Blanc knew how to do that. He didn't know how to play the bass but he knew how to get a laugh…
