Jack Benny wanted to get the right things to the right people at the right time. Jack and Sayde Marks (better known as Mary Livingstone, the character she played on his radio show) had been married 48 years when he died on the day after Christmas 1974.


 Their marriage was far from ideal. According to one source, she was sharp-tongued, demanding and vain. He was a philanderer. After he died, she claimed that his signature gesture of holding one hand to the side of his face came from trying to hide scratches she inflicted after he took a phone call from a female admirer. But he loved her and was devoted to her. The day after Benny's funeral, a florist delivered a single long-stemmed red rose to her. She received another the next day. And the day after that and the day after that. Some stories say she called the florist and demanded to know where they were coming from. More likely is that she just read his will. In his will, Jack set aside money to get a rose to her every day for the rest of her life. She lived another 9 years with that daily reminder of her husband's love.(Link)