“First of all you’ve got to have talent. And then you’ve got to marry her.” – George Burns
Although not as well known to modern audiences as her husband, during the height of their popularity Gracie Allen was every bit as notorious and well loved as George Burns. It is predominantly George Burns’ longevity and second wind late in his career (at the blushing age of 79) that has relegated Gracie Allen, in the minds of many, to the status of “George Burns’ wife”.
Born into a showbiz family Gracie initially started on the Vaudeville stage with her sister Bessie. When a friend told her of a bright young performer who had just broken up with his comedy partner and was looking for a new foil, Gracie decided to meet with the comedian in question. However, in one of the great fateful accidents in comedy history, the comedian she met up with was not the one her friend suggested. Instead she met up with his ex partner, George Burns. They became not only one of the great comedic couplings of all time, but legendary for their enduring marriage. Who says you shouldn’t date inside the industry?
Starting on the Vaudeville stages George and Gracie built up a solid following, with George immediately realising that in this partnership he should play straight to Gracie’s obvious comedic talent. Gracie demonstrated a crafted dizziness which contrasted superbly with George’s deadpan, straight man demeanor and the couple found themselves propelled through radio and into the burgeoning medium of television. Gracie, known for using an ‘illogical logic’, developed a persona of ditzyness, underpinned by a keen intelligence. Burns and Allen became a favourite of American audiences, with the show running for seven years before ill health got the better of Gracie. George persisted with the endeavor for another year, but without the key ingredient of Gracie his attempts were largely futile.
In the years after Gracie’s death, George Burns often told a story which highlighted Gracie’s canny intelligence along with her incisively disarming wit. At a time in their lengthy marriage when George and Gracie were arguing a great deal, one of the main arguments revolved around a silver centerpiece for their dining table, which Gracie dearly desired but George deemed too expensive for them to buy. George admitted that it was this period of time which marked the one and only occasion on which he cheated on his wife. Wracked by guilt after the brief affair, George went out and bought Gracie the centerpiece she had been admiring, never speaking of his betrayal, happy in the knowledge that Gracie didn’t have to bear the pain of knowing what he had done. Years later, the couple well and truly reconciled, George overheard a phone conversation Gracie was having with one of her close friends, in which he heard her say “I wish George would cheat on me again, I really need a new centerpiece”.
After a long battle with heart disease, Gracie died of a heart attack in 1964. George Burns outlived his wife by 32 years, a widower for only six years fewer than their legendary marriage. Although disputed by some sources, the couple is popularly attributed with a famous sign off. George’s line was “say goodnight Gracie” to which Gracie would respond “goodnight Gracie”.
Goodnight Gracie.