Editing Waukegan, Illinois (section)

===Jack Benny===
Waukegan is the hometown of comedian [[Jack Benny]] (1894–1974), one of the 20th century's most notable and enduring entertainers. Although Benny claimed for decades on his radio and television shows to have been born in Waukegan, he was born at [[Mercy Hospital and Medical Center|Mercy Hospital]] in Chicago. Despite this, Benny's affection for the town where he grew up can be felt by this exchange with his wife and co-star [[Mary Livingstone]] during a conversation they had on ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]'' on [[Mother's Day (United States)|Mother's Day]] of 1950 while they were discussing the itinerary for his summer tour that year:

:'''Mary Livingstone:''' Aren't you going to bring your show to Waukegan?
:'''Jack Benny:''' Mary, I was ''born'' in Waukegan — how can you ''follow'' that?!.

On a 1959 episode of the television game show ''[[What's My Line?]]'', Benny quipped to host [[John Charles Daly]]
<blockquote>They say that I put Waukegan on the map. But it's not true. Waukegan really put me on the map. That's a fact.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LkVjd3v9mQ| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302073344/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LkVjd3v9mQ| archive-date=2013-03-02 |title=Jack Benny—What's My Line (HQ Version)|website=[[YouTube]]|date=June 21, 1959|access-date=April 17, 2012}}</ref></blockquote>

Nevertheless, Benny did put Waukegan on the map for millions of his listeners and, later, viewers over the years.  The community was proud of his success.  The Jack Benny Middle School in Waukegan is named in his honor, which Benny said holds as the greatest thrill he had ever experienced.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wolters |first=Larry  |title= Jack Benny at Best on Waukegan Show|journal=The Chicago Tribune|date= October 23, 1961|page=C9}}</ref>

A statue of Benny, dedicated in 2002, stands in downtown facing the Genesee Theater, which hosted the world premiere of his film ''Man about Town'' in 1939, with wife Mary, [[Dorothy Lamour]], [[Phil Harris]], [[Andy Devine]], [[Don Wilson (announcer)|Don Wilson]] and [[Eddie Anderson (comedian)|Eddie "Rochester" Anderson]]  appearing onstage.

Benny's family lived in several places in Waukegan during his formative years there, but the house at 518 West Clayton Street is the only one of them still standing. It was designated a landmark by the town on April 17, 2006.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waukeganhistorical.org/landmarks.html |title=Waukegan Landmarks: WHS |access-date=April 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722101712/http://www.waukeganhistorical.org/landmarks.html |archive-date=July 22, 2010 }} The Waukegan Historical Society – Waukegan Landmarks. Accessed April 16, 2010</ref>