October
12, 1950
The Burns
and Allen Show
The George Burns and Gracie
Allen Show premiered on the CBS television network after the husband and wife
comedy team became the latest to make a transition from radio. The radio
program had run for 13 years as The Burns and Allen Show. Gracie Allen reportedly
was "petrified" during the initial live broadcast because she had
never had to memorize her lines before; on the radio, she was always able to
read from her script without being seen by the home audience.
Burns and Allen were
headliners in vaudeville in the 1920s, and radio stars in the 1930s and 1940s.
Their situation comedy TV series was an immediate success and received Emmy
Award nominations throughout its eight-year run.
One running gag of the TV
show involved a closet full of hats belonging to various visitors to the Burns
household, who would slip out the door unnoticed and leave their hats behind
rather than face another round with Gracie.
Another running gag was George's weekly firing" of announcer Harry
Von Zell after he turned up aiding, abetting or otherwise not stopping the
mayhem prompted by Gracie's illogical logic.
Born in 1950?
Then
congratulations for turning 65 and entering the world of Medicare. If you
would like to know more about the maze we call Medicare …
