George Burns and Gracie Allen arrive for a personal appearance in 1933.

Burns and Allen, an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen, worked together as a comedy team in vaudeville, films, radio and television. George Burns[1], born Nathan Birnbaum (January 20, 1896 – March 9, 1996), was an American comedian and actor. ... Gracie Allen (July 26, 1895[1] – August 27, 1964) was an American comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns. ... A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic device in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin, and profession, but drastically different personalities. ... George Burns[1], born Nathan Birnbaum (January 20, 1896 – March 9, 1996), was an American comedian and actor. ... Gracie Allen (July 26, 1895[1] – August 27, 1964) was an American comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns. ...

Vaudeville

They met in 1922 and first performed together at the Hill Street Theatre in Newark, New Jersey, continued in small town vaudeville theaters, married January 27, 1926, and moved up a notch when they signed with the Keith circuit in 1927. Burns wrote most of the material, and played the straight man. Allen played a silly, addleheaded woman, a role often attributed to the "Dumb Dora" stereotype common in early 20th-century vaudeville comedy. To the ends of their lives each attributed their success to the other. Early on, the team had played the opposite roles until they noticed that the audience was laughing at Gracie's straight lines, so they made the change. Nickname: Map of Newark in Essex County County Essex Founded/Incorporated 1666/1836 Government  - Mayor Cory Booker, term of office 2006–2010 Area [1]  - City 67. ... January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A straight man is a role in a comedy double act where a performer works with a comedian by setting up the situations or feeding the lines that allow their partner to make a joke. ...

Radio

In 1929 they made their first radio appearance in London on the BBC. Back in America, they failed an audition with NBC in 1930. After a solo appearance by Gracie on Eddie Cantor's radio show, they were heard together on Rudy Vallee's The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour and in February 15, 1932 they became regulars on The Guy Lombardo Show on CBS. When Lombardo switched to NBC, Burns and Allen took over his CBS spot with The Adventures of Gracie, beginning September 19, 1934. NBC executive Bertha Brainard The Fleischmanns Yeast Hour (aka The Rudy Vallée Show, aka The Fleischmann Yeast Hour, aka The Fleischmann Hour) was a pioneering musical variety radio program broadcast on NBC from 1929 to 1936, when it became The Royal Gelatin Hour, continuing until 1939. ... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The title of their top-rated show changed to The Burns and Allen Show on September 26, 1936. When ratings began to slip in 1940-41, they moved from mere comedy dialogues into a successful sitcom format, continuing with shows on NBC and CBS until May 17, 1950. As in the early days of radio, the sponsor's name became the show title, such as Maxwell House Coffee Time (1945-49). is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Burns and Allen had several regulars on radio, including Toby Reed, Gale Gordon, Bea Benaderet, Mary "Bubbles" Kelly, Ray Noble, singers Jimmy Cash and Tony Martin, actor/writer/director Elliott Lewis, musicians Meredith Willson and Artie Shaw, and announcers Bill Goodwin and Harry Von Zell, who were usually made a part of the evening's doings, often as additional comic foils for the duo. For a long time they continued their "flirtation act" with Burns as Allen's most persistent suitor; they didn't have their real-life marriage written into the show until the 1940s. Gale Gordon (February 20, 1906 – June 30, 1995) was an American character actor. ... Bea Benaderet (IPA: ) (April 4, 1906—October 13, 1968) was an American actress, born in New York City and raised in San Francisco, California. ... Ray Noble is a common personal name that can refer to different people: Ray Noble: a baseball player Ray Noble: a musician This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Tony Martin (born December 25, 1912) is an American actor and traditional pop singer. ... Sir Neil Elliot Lewis (1858 - 1935), Australian politician, was Premier of Tasmania and a member of the first federal ministry. ... Robert Meredith Willson (18 May 1902 – 15 June 1984) was an American composer and playwright, best known as the writer of The Music Man. ... Artie Shaw (May 23, 1910, New York, New York – December 30, 2004, Thousand Oaks, California) was an accomplished American jazz clarinetist, composer, bandleader and author of both fiction and non-fiction. ... Bill Goodwin (July 28, 1910 - 9 May 1958) Goodwin was for many years the announcer and regular character of the Burns and Allen radio program (1950-1951). ... Harry von Zell (11 July, 1906 - 21 November 1981) was a U.S. radio announcer and a film and television actor, best remembered for a verbal slip made as a young announcer, when he referred to U.S. President Herbert Hoover as Hoobert Heever. ...

The couple's adopted son, Ronnie, turned up on the show from time to time. He became a near-regular on their television show, playing himself but cast as a young drama student who tended to look askance at his parents' comedy style. Their adopted daughter Sandy was somewhat shy and not too fond of show business. She declined efforts to get her on the show as a regular cast member, though she appeared in a few episodes as a classmate of Ronnie. She was on the television series as Ronnie's drama classmate.

Television

When The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, aka The Burns and Allen Show, began on CBS television October 12, 1950, it was an immediate success and had a long run, continuing until 1958. is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Historians of popular culture have often stated that Allen was a brilliant comedian, whose entire career consisted of engaging in dialogues of "illogical logic" that left her verbal opponents dazed and confused and her audiences in stitches. During a typical 23-minute episode of the Burns and Allen show, the vast majority of the dialogue and speaking parts were written for Allen, who was credited with having the genius to deliver her lengthy diatribes in a fashion that made it look as though she were making her arguments up on the spot.

One running gag on the TV show was the existence of a closet full of hats belonging to various visitors to the Burns household, where the guests would slip out the door unnoticed, leaving their hats behind, rather than face another round with Gracie. Another running gag showed George watching all the action (standing outside the proscenium arch in early live episodes; watching the show on TV in his study at the end of the series) and breaking the fourth wall by commenting upon it to the viewers. Still another running gag became George's weekly "firing" of announcer Harry Von Zell, after he turned up aiding, abetting or otherwise not stopping the mayhem into which Gracie's illogical logic got the household. The interior of the Auditorium Building in Chicago built in 1887. ... The fourth wall is the imaginary invisible wall at the front of the stage in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. ...

In one memorable episode, the Burns children, Ronnie and Sandy, delivered an impersonation of their famous parents and one of their classic routines: their drama school put on a vaudeville show to raise funds, with Gracie herself hosting the show. Since Ronnie played himself but Sandy played a classmate on the television show, the few times she did appear, it enabled Gracie to close their segment with a wisecrack: "The boy was produced by Burns and Allen."

Burns would always end the show with "Say goodnight, Gracie" to which Allen simply replied "Goodnight." She never said "Goodnight, Gracie," as legend has it. (This "false memory" may be caused by the Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ending: "Say goodnight, Dick." "Goodnight, Dick!") Burns was once asked this question and said it would've been a funny line. Asked why he didn't do it, Burns replied, "Incredibly enough, no one ever thought of it." For the novel, see False Memory (novel) It has been suggested that Synthetic memory be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

The show ended only when Gracie finally got her wish and retired after the 1957 season. George tried to continue the show without her, but it lasted only one season.

Listen to

• OTR Network Library: Burns and Allen (40 episodes)

References

• Blythe, Cheryl and Sackett, Susan (1986). Say Good Night, Gracie!: The Story of Burns and Allen. New York: E.P. Dutton. ISBN 0-525-24386-0. 
• Burns, George (1988). Gracie: A Love Story. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0-399-13384-4. 

External link

• Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs: The Burns and Allen Show