John Tackaberry was a radio writer for The Jack Benny Show.
Background
He was born in Adelaide, Australia and grew up in Oonadata, a small railroad stop in the Simpson Desert in the Australian State of South Australia. His father, Arthur Lee Tackaberry, a graduate of Tulane University Medical School in New Orleans, Louisiana, was, by birth, an East Texan and his mother, Myrtle Amelia Tackaberry (née Stace) was born and raised in Palmerston North, New Zealand. His father was the doctor for the Ghan Railroad which, at the time, ran from Adelaide to Alice Springs, Australia.
Career
He grew to manhood in Houston and was briefly a student at the University of Texas Law School. However, due to the financial considerations of The Great Depression, he dropped out of school and went to work in the Texas oil fields. About 1943 he was in Los Angeles writing briefly for Horace Heidt, Jack Carson and eventually landed a plum job with the Jack Benny radio show which, at the time, was the number one show on the air.
He wrote for Benny from about 1944 until approx 1958.
In 1946 he wrote the lyrics for a song called Pickle In The Middle With The Mustard On Top. This song was written as part of a comedy routine on the Benny show.
However, it became number one in the country for two weeks. He is also credited on the television series Shower of Stars (1954) and Ford Star Jubilee (1955).