One of the first things I read last night had this quote (from here):
Tenuta had claimed her birthdate as Nov. 7, 1965, but she was born in 1949, Neal [her publicist] said. “She was old school so she would never tell her real age, but now that she’s gone we can tell her real age,” he added.
I wonder why she didn’t just insist she was 39 for her whole career. That always works.
The “stuck on 39” running gag got started the year after Jack Benny celebrated his “first” 39th birthday on the air. It was so much fun he decided to do the same thing the next year, because “There’s nothing funny about 40.” Jack would celebrate his 39th birthday 41 times. Headlines just after Christmas, 1974, reported “Jack Benny Dies- At Age 39?”
Her jokes rarely work when transcribed on the page, but I loved her weird mix of hostility and daintiness on stage. And I love how she would end her set and announce, “You people mean nothing to me!”
Goddess of Love and Domestic Goddess?
She was pretty damn entertaining. That accordion was great.
This, however, is hilarious in print! 
Also on Dr. Katz, she went toe-to-toe with the doctor’s impossibly self-centered secretary, Laura Silverman. Judy pronounced her name in that falling falsetto: “LAU-AU-au-ruh”.
She accused Laura of having “a slight swelling of the attitudinal gland”.
She also introduced Comedy Central when it first came on the air.
I hadn’t known that they were married, either. It actually increases my respect for Tenuta, because Philips, as annoying as his adopted persona may be, is a brilliant guy. (Very high IQ, I would guess.)
Some good stuff in this Cracked article:
There’s a Jack Benny Middle School in his home town whose sports teams are the 39ers.
Thank you for this!
After singing a minute or so of one of her annoying novelty numbers (I think it was “Mountain Girl”):
“This song has nineteen verses. SUFFER!”
That’s what made her so popular; she pleased audiences without ever seeming ‘eager to please.’
We all enjoy a good solid FU attitude in our entertainers…
That’s funny. How did you even know that? I wonder how many kids get the joke without an explanation. I’m almost 60 and the 39 thing and Rochester are the only things I know about him.
Some kind of trivia contest with my family when I was young; we were playing Trivial Pursuit, or watching Jeopardy, something like that. I didn’t get the answer, but I think my mom and my brother both did. That’s when I first heard of Benny’s schtick of always claiming to be 39.
The internet being a magical place, I can confirm that this is true.
They also have a school song:
Not many. Benny was a often on talk shows and making guest appearances. His most well known gags were the 39 and being cheap. Saying he was 39 had long been at the point of absurdity as he aged. I watched Jack Benny Show reruns in the 70s, his routine was already well known from the radio when he began on TV. I don’t think my younger brother around your age knows anything about him.
I just looked up her first Letterman appearance (around 1984?). I couldn’t get through it.
Judy and the Pope
Mugger: “Your money or your life!”
[long pause, Jack looking pensive]
Mugger: “I said ‘Your money or your life!’”
Jack: "I’m thinking, I’m thinking…’
I am smiling at the recollection but those unfamiliar with that oft repeated joke are missing Benny’s exquisite delivery. Comedy had to be simpler back then for several reasons, requiring precision to get the punchline across. In the joke above much of the audience would already know the punchline, then Benny would deliver it, exceeding the mere memory of the words, and in his unique vocal style, and equally unique expression when in a visual medium. His post radio success was dependant on an appearance well matched to his already familiar voice. I’m sure his material would need to be more complex if he was doing now-a-days.