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{{work|wppage=The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show}}
[[File:Burns allen 1955.JPG|thumb|350px|George and Gracie, in 1955]]
One of the defining series of the nascent medium of television, this [[
Burns and Allen had been a comedy team since 1922, in the waning days of vaudeville. Their act was fairly simple. George, the straight man, would ask Gracie a question. Gracie, who was one of the best practitioners of [[wikipedia:Irish bull|Irish bull]] in show business history, would give a rambling, mind-twisting answer that could only be described as "illogical logic." George would then calmly ask for clarification, and Gracie would go off on another riff.
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In a typical radio episode, Gracie sent George to the post office to mail a very heavy package. George got bumped out of line several times and ended up having to go to the back of the line each time. After a few hours, he finally mailed the package. When he got home, he found out that the package was actually a box of rocks. Gracie was sending them to a neighbor who was building a rock garden. A neighbor whom Gracie had talked to while George was at the post office.
In a famous stunt on their radio series, Gracie ran for president in 1940 on the "Surprise Party" ticket, predating by 28 years the run made by Pat Paulson of the ''[[Smothers Brothers Comedy
As popular and well-written as the radio series was, their comedy routines were improved by the addition of video. Although Burns and Allen were not physical comedians, there was something wonderful about seeing the placid, patient look on George's face as he listened to one of Gracie's spiels; Gracie's wide-eyed, full-throttle intensity; the worried expression on Blanche's face with regards to Gracie; Harry Morton's annoyance with everyone, especially Gracie; and Harry Von Zell's befuddlement in general.
And with the transition to TV came the leap from mere absurdist humor to the occasional all-out foray into [[
The series ended in 1958 when Gracie was weakened after having a couple of mild heart attacks. She died six years later at the age of 69. (In a footnote that seems typical of this couple, Gracie's birth certificate had been lost in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. People thought she was younger than George, but the 1900 U.S. Census data showed that she was actually six months older.)
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{{tropelist}}
* [[After Show]]: After Gracie retired from show business following a minor heart attack, George tried to go it alone (with the supporting cast intact) in ''The George Burns Show''; but it wasn't the same and only lasted one season.
* [[Aren't You Forgetting Someone?]]: One episode ends with [[George
{{quote|'''[[George
'''Actor''': Why,no...no I'm not.
'''[[George
* [[Beam Me Up,
* [[Big
{{quote|'''Von Zell''': Oh, I'm sorry...I seem to always arrive just as Mr Morton is sitting down to eat.
'''Blanche''': Mr Von Zell, if you came in at 4 in the morning you could make that very same statement. }}
* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]: And then some! George Burns did some crazy things on this show that have rarely (if ever) been replicated.
** Not only does George speak to the audience, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXIW3kjWpu0 he has a TV in his
** In the first two seasons of the series, the show looked like an odd hybrid of a radio show and a stage play. Because TV was still new and experimental -- not to mention live -- Burns and his production partners decided to broadcast the show from an actual theater where a mock-up of a house had been built on stage. The house set looked like an artillery shell had hit it, wiping out the fourth wall and one corner of the house. Rather than watch scenes of the show on the TV set in his office -- that wouldn't start until the show was shot on film starting in the 1952-53 season -- George would lean against the proscenium arch and comment directly to the theater audience about the goings-on inside the house. See for yourself. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-QFnNxkgnU Here's a sample episode titled "Rumba Lessons" that aired on December 28, 1950.]
** In the first episode of the 1953-54 season -- in what may have been the most extreme breaking of the fourth wall in history -- Fred Clark (who played Harry Morton) left the series in part because he had demanded a higher salary. Literally! He left the series about twenty minutes into the episode. As Blanche was about to express her displeasure with a gift Harry had given her by hitting him with a vase, George stopped the action, turned to the audience and told them that Clark was leaving the series. Clark exited, replacement actor Harry Keating entered, and the action resumed.
** In the episode "Appearances Are Deceiving" the story takes place upstairs as George is downstairs answering fan mail for his book. He says, "I don't mind the writers writing me out of tonight's story so much, I just wish they'd send someone to let me know what's going on." Cue Harry Morton storming in to talk to George. However once Harry [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness|starts throwing around his trademark three dollar
* [[Closet
{{quote|'''Gracie''': That's a shame, Harry. Had you come only a minute sooner you could have had a nice spacious closet, now you'll have to make do with the bedroom upstairs.
'''George''': Make a reservation next time! }}
* [[
* [[
* [[The
* [[The Ditz]]: Gracie could be the poster girl for the trope.
* [[End-of-Episode
* [[Game Show
* [[Genre
{{quote|'''Man #1''': I can't wait to get home and sit by the fireplace. My dog at my feet, smoking a pipe, reading the paper.
'''Man #2''': (After a pause) Mrs Allen....aren't you going to ask him why he lets his dog smoke a pipe?
'''Gracie Allen''': Heavens, no! (The men nod and go back to what they were doing) After all, if his dog is smart enough to read the paper, why shouldn't he be allowed to smoke a pipe? }}
* [[George Jetson Job
{{quote|'''Harry Morton''': You seem to understand George's psychological make up.
'''Harry Von Zell''': Well you don't get fired 3 or 4 times a day without getting to know the man. }}
* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]: [[Chico and The Man|The
** [[Dennis the Menace (TV series)|George
** In one episode [[The Andy Griffith Show|Floyd the
** [[The Patty Duke Show|Patty Lane's Dad]] is a General's Assistant.
** [[I Dream of Jeannie|Dr
* [[Hypno Fool]]: In one two part episode, Gracie bumps into a Hypnotist who later hypnotizes her into being the smartest woman alive. Later, as George tries to reverse the situation, Blanche is accidentally [[Freaky Friday Flip|turned into 'the old Gracie Allen']].
* [[Jury
* [[Light Is Not Good]]: The one time in her career that Gracie froze on stage came during a dress rehearsal of the pilot episode. She happened to be looking at one of the cameras when the red [[wikipedia:Tally light|tally
* [[Marathon
* [[One-Hour Work Week]]: George
* [[One Steve
** Of course this helps Gracie mistake someone talking about one Harry for the other Harry.
* [[Only Sane
* [[The Other
* [[Product
** In one episode Blanche says she should use A1 Sauce instead of perfume behind her ears to get Harry's attention. Not likely a paid placement, but still odd that she didn't just say 'steak sauce' instead of the brand name.
** In the episode "Harry Morton's Cocktail Party", Gracie becomes a bookstore salesclerk to help sales of George's real life book ''I Love Her, That's Why!''. As with everything else this is lampshaded by George.
{{quote|'''George Burns''': (to the audience) Remember last week when my publisher Simon and Schuster suggested I show a copy of my book ''I Love Her, That's Why!'' on the show to help sales, and I thought it was a bad idea? (He holds up a copy of the book) I still do. }}
* [[Real Life
** William Burns was one of the show's writers. In one episode after George has a Gracie-like conversation on the phone with an unnamed show writer, he hangs up and says to the audience "I'd fire him, but he's my brother."
* [[Running
** Gracie's loopy logic and even loopier relatives.
** George's singing ability (or lack of same).
** George more or less riding Gracie's coattails in their act and tv/radio shows.
* [[Self-
{{quote|'''George''': I don't need a financial adviser. 20 years ago I took $2 and made an investment that's paid out a million times over since. (Pause, puff on cigar) I bought a marriage licence.}}
* [[Sheldon Leonard]]: Guest starred in one episode Gangster Silky Thompson.
{{quote|'''Silky Thompson''': I came all this way to blow a Dame's brains out and someone's beaten me to it!}}
* [[Spiritual
* [[Story Arc]]: The Mortons and Burns' go to [[New York]] to promote George's (real life) book ''I Love Her, That's Why.''. While there, a few of the episodes deal with Ronnie wanting to be a dramatic actor instead of a comic following in his parent's footsteps.
* [[Sesquipedalian
* [[Too Dumb to Fool]]: Gracie, who could confuse the sharpest con artist.
* [[TV
* [[TV
* [[Uncanny Family
{{quote|'''[[George
* [[You Look
** In the episode "Gracie Gives Wedding in Payment of a Favor", Robbie Burns guest stars as a groom before appearing in his later regular role as ... Robbie Burns.
** As noted above Howard McNair (aka [[The Andy Griffith Show|Floyd the
----
''"Say Goodnight, Gracie."
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