Guide Note

The Burns and Allen Show is a classic American television show about the lives of husband and wife comedy duo Gracie Allen and George Burns. The show originated on the radio.

Burns and Allen met on the vaudeville circuit in 1922. They first performed together at the Hill Street Theatre in Newark, New Jersey and married in 1926. In 1929, they made their first radio appearance for the BBC. They had failed a radio audition for NBC in 1930. It wasn't until 1934 that the duo had any radio success stateside with a show called The Adventures of Gracie. The title changed to The Burns and Allen Show in 1936, and when ratings began to drop for their comedy dialogues, they switched to a sitcom format. It was that sitcom that eventually became a CBS television show in 1950.

The show's running gags included a closet full of guests' hats that they left rather than have another run-in with Allen and Burns' stepping outside the stage's proscenium arch and commenting on the action.

At the end of the show, Burns would always say, "Say goodnight, Gracie" to which Allen always replied, "Goodnight." Despite popular misperception, she never said, "Goodnight, Gracie" in reply.

The show ended in 1957.

Fast Facts

1. Aired: 1950-1958
2. Episodes: 291
3. Network: CBS
4. First Aired: October 12, 1950
5. Starring: George Burns, Gracie Allen, Bea Benaderet, Harry von Zell, Hal March, Fred Clark
6. Nominated for 12 Emmy Awards
7. Originated as a radio show in 1936
8. AKA: The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show