George Burns & Gracie Allen
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I am writing this blog earlier than usual as I am taking some time this week to help and enjoy the marriage of my first born son. But before I do, it made me think of some classic marriages on and off the stage, screen, and radio: George Burns and Gracie Allen.
Burns and Allen were one of the top comedic duos in the country going back to the 1920's, when they started in vaudeville. When vaudeville died, they moved to motion pictures and appeared in a number of films for Paramount Pictures. One of their most successful movies was The Big Broadcast (1932) that featured the nation's hottest radio personalities (of which they were one of them with a show on CBS). Their radio career started in 1929 on the BBC but when Guy Lombardo left for NBC, Burns and Allen took his slot on CBS. Their radio career lasted nearly 18 years before they made the move to CBS Television in 1950.
As with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz for I Love Lucy, CBS wanted Burns and Allen to do the show live from New York. But Burns recognized that a filmed show had more lasting value in syndicated reruns. In the eight years they were on CBS, 291 episodes were filmed. Their opening theme was "Love Nest" by Louis A. Hirsch and Otto Harbach.
In essence, the show, as Jerry Seinfeld used to say about his show, was about nothing....except one thing: what was Gracie up to and what was she going to say and do? Most shows opened with George standing in front of the camera talking to the audience about Gracie's antics. The punchline came when George puffed on his cigar. But for the most part he was the straight man with Gracie having all the funny lines.
The sets were designed to look like the couple's real life house. One of the funniest running gags on the show was a closet in the house where Gracie stored hats from visitors but when they got tired of being around her they left without it! So the closet was stuffed with hats!
Other cast members included announcer Harry Von Zell and Bea Benaderet (who later starred in Petticoat Junction), Fred Clark, and Larry Keating. Later the couple's two children made appearance on the show: Ronnie and Sandra.
Take a look at this great comedic routine:
During its run the show always in the top 30 network TV shows as determined by Nielsen. But by 1957, Allen was getting tired of performing. Burns signed with CBS for one more year and their last show aired on September 15, 1958. After Allen retired, she had to deal with a number of health problems. She died on August 27, 1964.
In real life, George & Gracie were happily married and therefore it is my hope that our son and his fiance' will enjoy that same happiness that the Burns did.
See you next time.