With the OTR stars like Jack Benny, they had a radio persona they built (and often carried over to TV and film). Even when Benny, Burns & Allen, Abbott & Costello and the like guest-starred on other programs, they often played themselves in those personalities, so separating the voice from that character is difficult.

That also goes for non-OTR stuff as well. When the MORLS podcast began, I had listened to “Shade’s Brigade” so many times that it took a while to hear Eric as Eric and not as Jack Shade talking about OTR.

Interesting! I find it easier to forget a famous persona when I’m not seeing the corresponding actor, but I get how it might be easier to do if you can see a character presented that is clearly different than the performer’s “typical” appearance. Or it may just be challenging to ignore an iconic personality no matter what the circumstances.