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Gracie Allen

Born Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen
July 26, 1895(1895-07-26)[1]
San Francisco, California, USA
Died August 27, 1964 (aged 69)
Los Angeles, California, USA
Occupation Actress, Comedian
Years active 1929–1958
Spouse(s) George Burns (1926–1964)

Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie 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. Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The United States of America —commonly referred to as the George Burns ( January 20 1896 &ndash March 9 1996; born Nathan Birnbaum) was an American comedian, Actor Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience primarily by making them laugh George Burns ( January 20 1896 &ndash March 9 1996; born Nathan Birnbaum) was an American comedian, Actor

Contents

Biography

Early life

Gracie Allen was born in San Francisco, California, to George Allen and Margaret Darragh. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city She was educated at the Star of the Sea Convent School and during that time became a talented dancer. She soon began performing Irish folk dances with her three sisters, who were billed as "The Four Colleens. Irish dances can broadly be divided into Social dance and Performance dances Irish social dancing can be divided further into céilí and set " In 1909 Allen joined her sister, Bessie, as a vaudeville performer. Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s At a performance in 1922 Allen met George Burns and the two formed a comedy act. George Burns ( January 20 1896 &ndash March 9 1996; born Nathan Birnbaum) was an American comedian, Actor The two were married on January 7, 1926 in Cleveland, Ohio. Events 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal. 1558 - France takes Calais, the last continental Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state

Birth date mystery

Depending on the source, Gracie Allen might have been born on July 26 in 1895, 1897, 1902, or 1906. Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus All public records held by the City and County of San Francisco were destroyed in the earthquake and great fire of April 1906. Her husband, George Burns, also professed not to know exactly how old she was, though it was presumably he who provided the date July 26, 1902, which appears on her death record. Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Her crypt marker also shows her year of birth as 1902. [2] Allen used to claim that she was born in 1906 but, when pressed for evidence, she would say that her birth certificate had been destroyed in the earthquake. When the person she was telling pointed out that she was born in July but the earthquake was three months earlier in April, she would simply smile and say, "Well, it was an awfully big earthquake. " The most reliable information comes from the U. S. Census data collected on June 1, 1900. Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar According to the information in the Census records for the State of California, City and County of San Francisco, enumeration district 38, family 217, page 11-A, one Grace Allen — daughter of George and Maggie Allen, and youngest sister of Bessie, Hazel and Pearl Allen — was born in California in July 1895. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. [1] It should be further noted, however, that census enumerators received their information by word of mouth.

Double act

The Burns and Allen act began with Allen as the straight man, setting up Burns to deliver the punchlines — and get the laughs. 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 In his book Gracie: A Love Story Burns later explained that he noticed Allen's straight lines were getting more laughs than his punchlines, so he cannily flipped the act over — he made himself the straight man and let her get the laughs. Gracie A Love Story (ISBN 0140126562 is a 368 page non-fiction book authored by George Burns and published on November 1, 1989 by Audiences immediately fell in love with Allen's character, who combined the traits of stupidity, zaniness, and total innocence. As is often the case with performers who play dumb, Gracie was, in real life, highly intelligent. The reformulated team, focusing on Allen, toured the country, eventually headlining in major vaudeville houses. Many of their famous routines, including "Lambchops" were preserved on early one- and two-reelers made while the couple was still performing on the stage. George Burns attributed all of the couple's early success to Allen, modestly ignoring his own brilliance as a straight man. He summed up their act in a classic quip: "All I had to do was say, 'Gracie, how's your brother?' and she talked for 38 years. And sometimes I didn't even have to remember to say 'Gracie, how's your brother?'"

Radio

In the early 1930s, like many vaudeville stars of their era, Burns and Allen graduated to radio. Their show was modestly successful, though the ratings began to decline. The show was originally a continuation of their original "flirtation act" (as their vaudeville and short film routines had been). Burns realized that they were simply too old for that material and changed the show's format into the situation comedy vehicle for which they are best remembered: a working show business married couple negotiating ordinary problems caused by Gracie's "illogical logic," usually with the help of neighbors Harry and Blanche Morton, and their announcer, Bill Goodwin (later replaced by Harry von Zell during the run of their television series). Harry von Zell ( July 11, 1906 - November 21, 1981) born in Indianapolis made his mark as an announcer of radio programs and an actor in One of the show's running gags (both in radio and television) had Burns firing the announcer at least once every other episode.

Publicity stunts

Burns and Allen frequently used running gags as publicity stunts. In 1932-33 they pulled off one of the most successful in the business: a year-long search for Allen's supposedly missing brother. They would make unannounced cameo appearances on other shows, asking if anyone had seen Allen's brother. Gracie Allen's real-life brother was apparently the only person who didn't find the gag funny, and he eventually asked them to stop.

In 1940 the team launched a similar stunt when Allen announced she was running for President of the United States on the Surprise Party ticket. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by Burns and Allen did a cross-country whistlestop campaign tour on a private train, performing their live radio show in different cities. Whistle Stop is a 1946 movie starring George Raft and Ava Gardner. In one of her campaign speeches Gracie said, "I don't know much about the Lend-Lease Bill, but if we owe it we should pay it. " Another typical Gracie-ism on the campaign trail went like this: "Everybody knows a woman is better than a man when it comes to introducing bills into the house. " The Surprise Party mascot was the kangaroo; the motto was "It's in the bag. " As part of the gag, Allen (in reality, the Burns and Allen writers) published a book, Gracie Allen for President, which included photographs from their nationwide campaign tour and the Surprise Party convention. She actually drew some votes in the November election.

Allen was also the subject of one of S. S. Van Dine's famous Philo Vance mystery novels, The Gracie Allen Murder Case. The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1938 is the eleventh of twelve detective novels by S Typically, she couldn't resist a classic Gracie Allen review: "S. S. Van Dine is silly to spend six months writing a novel when you can buy one for two dollars and ninety five cents. "

Another publicity stunt had her playing a piano concerto at the Hollywood Bowl (and later at Carnegie Hall). The Hollywood Bowl is a famous modern Amphitheatre in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles California, USA, that is used primarily for music Performances Carnegie Hall (generally ˌkɑrnɨgi ˈhɔːl is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east The Burns and Allen staff hired a composer to write the Concerto for Index Finger, a joke piece that had the orchestra playing madly, only to pause while Allen played a single (incorrect) note with one finger. On her final "solo," she would finally hit the right note, causing the entire orchestra to applaud. In fact, the actual index-finger playing was done off-stage by a professional pianist.

Television

Around 1948 Burns and Allen became part of the CBS talent raid. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. Their good friend (and frequent guest star) Jack Benny had decided to jump from NBC over to CBS. Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky February 14, 1894 - December 26, 1974) was an American Comedian, vaudevillian William S. Paley the mastermind of CBS, had recently made it openly clear that he believed talent and not the network made the difference, which was not the case at NBC. William Samuel Paley ( September 28, 1901 &ndash October 26, 1990) was the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS Benny convinced Burns and Allen (among others) to join him in the move to CBS. The Burns and Allen radio show became part of the CBS lineup and a year later they also brought their show to television. They continued to use the formula which had kept them longtime radio stars, playing themselves only now as television stars, still living next door to Harry and Blanche Morton. They concluded each show with a brief dialogue performance in the style of their classic vaudeville and earlier radio routines.

From the beginning, the television show blurred the traditional boundaries between the actors and the characters they played:

Allen retired in 1958, and Burns tried to soldier on without her. The show was re-named The George Burns Show with the cast intact except for Allen. The locale of the show was changed from the Burns home to George Burns' office, with Blanche Morton working as Burns' secretary so she could help Allen keep an eye on him. Allen's absence was only too obvious and impossible to overcome. The renamed show barely lasted a year.

Movies

In the early 1930s Burns and Allen made several short films, preserving several of their classic vaudeville routines on celluloid. They also made two films with W.C. Fields, and starred with Fred Astaire in A Damsel in Distress, a musical with an original score by George Gershwin which introduced the song "A Foggy Day". W C Fields ( January 29, 1880 &ndash December 25, 1946) was an American Juggler, Comedian, and Actor Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 &ndash June 22, 1987) was an American Academy Award George Gershwin (September 26 1898 &ndash July 11 1937 was an American Composer. It was Astaire's first film without dancing partner Ginger Rogers (they had decided to work apart for awhile, a career move only, they remained good friends). Ginger Rogers ( July 16, 1911 &ndash April 25, 1995) was an Academy Award -winning American film and stage actress Astaire was to star in the picture, but co-star Joan Fontaine was not a dancer and he was reluctant to dance on screen alone. Joan Fontaine (born October 22, 1917) is an Academy Award -winning British Actress in American films He also felt the script needed more comic relief to enhance the overall appeal of the film.

George Burns and Gracie Allen had each worked in vaudeville as dancers (aka "Hoofers") before they teamed up. When word of the project reached them, they called Astaire and were asked to audition. Burns then contacted an act he had once seen that performed a dance using brooms. For the next several weeks, he and Allen worked at home to learn the complicated routine. When they presented the "Whisk Broom Dance" to Astaire, he was so taken by it, that he had them teach it to him and it was added to the film. Throughout the picture Burns and Allen amazed audiences and critics (many did not know either of them could dance) as they "effortlessly" kept pace with the most famous dancer in the movies. Their talents were further highlighted as they matched Astaire step by step during the demanding "Funhouse Dance".

"Say goodnight, Gracie"

The legend was born of their vaudeville routine and carried over to both radio and television. As the show wrap-up Burns would look at Allen and state "Say Goodnight Gracie" to which she would simply reply "Good night. " Popular legend has it that Allen would say, "Good night, Gracie. " According to George Burns, recordings of their radio and television shows, and other references, that never happened. It is likely the confusion was caused by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. Here Comes The Judge redirects here for the 1968 song see Shorty Long. Stars Dan Rowan and Dick Martin used a similar sign off routine wherein Rowan would tell Martin to "Say goodnight, Dick. Daniel Hale “Dan” Rowan ( 22 July 1922  &ndash 22 September 1987) was an American comedian Dick Martin may refer to Dick Martin (artist, American illustrator particularly associated with the Land of Oz Dick Martin (comedian, co-host " Martin's reply was always "Goodnight, Dick. " In an interview years later, Burns said it was simply that no one ever thought of having Allen say "Good Night Gracie".

Private life

In the 1930s Burns and Allen adopted two children, Sandra Jean and Ronald John, who were raised nominally Catholic, though Sandra was expelled from Catholic school for her liberal views. Ronald Jon "Ronnie" Burns ( July 9 1935 &ndash November 14 2007) worked briefly as a television actor but is most remembered as the Ronnie eventually joined the cast of his parents' television show playing George and Gracie's son, a serious drama student who disdained comedy. Sandy, by contrast, made only occasional appearances on the show, and left show business to become a teacher.

As a child, Allen had been scalded badly on one arm, and she was extremely sensitive about the scarring. Throughout her life she wore either full or three-quarter length sleeves in order to hide the scars. The half-forearm style became as much a Gracie Allen trademark as her many aprons and her illogical logic. When the couple moved to Beverly Hills and acquired a swimming pool, Gracie put on a bathing suit and swam the length of the pool, to prove to her children that she could swim. (She fought a longtime fear of drowning, by privately taking swimming lessons. ) She never put on a bathing suit or entered the pool again.

Allen was said to be sensitive about having one green eye and one blue eye (heterochromia), and there was some speculation that plans to film the eighth season of The Burns & Allen Show in color prompted her retirement. In anatomy heterochromia refers to a difference in Coloration usually of the iris but also of Hair or Skin. However, this seems unlikely since a one-time-only color episode was filmed and broadcast in 1954 (a clip of which was seen on a recent CBS anniversary show). The reason she retired in 1958 was her health; George Burns noted more than once that she stayed with the television show as long as she did to please him, in spite of her health problems.

Death

Gracie Allen fought a long battle with heart disease, finally succumbing to a heart attack in Hollywood in 1964. Myocardial infarction ( MI or AMI for acute myocardial infarction) also known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply She was interred in a crypt at the Freedom Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California; Burns was interred at her side when he died thirty-two years later. Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately-owned Cemetery in Glendale, Los Angeles, in the United States. Glendale ( is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. ("Gracie Allen and George Burns — Together Again," reads the engraving on the marker. )

Trivia

Filmography

Radio series

See also

Gracie Allen Award

The Gracie Allen Award is presented by The Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television to recognize and encourage positive and realistic portrayals of women in entertainment, commercials, news, features, and other programs. Mr and Mrs North are fictional American Amateur Detectives Created by Frances and Richard Lockridge, the couple Burns and Allen, an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife Gracie Allen, worked together as a comedy team Gracie Allen has twice been nominated to the National Women's Hall of Fame which, has so far has chosen not to induct her.

References

  1. ^ a b c http://www.genealogy.com/famousfolks/gracie-allen/index.htm Ancestry of Gracie Allen [(from Genealogy. com)]
  2. ^ Photo of her crypt marker
Nichols, Thomas E. "Burns and Allen" (Original research)

Further reading

External links

Gracie A Love Story (ISBN 0140126562 is a 368 page non-fiction book authored by George Burns and published on November 1, 1989 by Find A Grave is a Website allowing its users to access maintain and expand an online Database of Burial records
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