Who is gracie allen

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Add it to your IMDb page. Find out more at IMDbPro ». How Much Have You Seen? How much of Gracie Allen's work have you seen? Nominated for 6 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 wins. See more awards ». Known For. A Damsel in Distress Gracie. International House Nurse Allen. We called it illogical-logic. In , the team began working as a "disappointment act," which substituted on short notice if a regularly scheduled act could not perform.

For two years, Burns and Allen traveled, filling in for other acts. Burns fell in love with Allen, although she was planning to marry an entertainer named Benny Ryan. In , she almost married Ryan, but a last minute booking for a tour of the Orpheum circuit theaters took her out of town. On that trip, Burns proposed to Allen; but she said no.

Finally she chose Burns over Ryan, and the two were married in Cleveland, Ohio. They had hit the big time. In , they played on Broadway for 17 weeks, a vaudeville record.

In , the couple performed on radio for the first time. Over the next two years, they made a total of 14 short films. Their first of 12 full-length feature films was The Big Broadcast of and their last film was Two Girls and a Sailor, made in In , the pair joined bandleader Guy Lombardo's radio show. A publicity stunt turned the pair into major radio stars: Allen suddenly appeared on other radio shows asking if people had seen her missing brother.

This gimmick lasted quite a while and brought the couple much attention. Other stunts included Allen's mock run for president in and her exhibit of surrealist paintings.

Their radio show lasted 17 years. In , the couple adopted a baby girl, Sandra Jean, and bought a home in Beverly Hills, California. In , they adopted Ronald John. For a while, the couple did both their radio and television programs, until they were sure that television, a new medium, would succeed. Many of the shows that changed over from a radio format to television failed, but "The Burns and Allen Show" was a big hit. The TV show ran for eight years— episodes. Allen and Burns played themselves as television actors, and the show took place in their "home.

Burns moved in and out of character, sometimes addressing the audience directly and sometimes participating in the action of the show. The early shows combined sitcom and vaudeville, with guest singers and dancers. Commercials were worked in as part of the show.

The program ended with Burns saying, "Say good night, Gracie. Allen's acting ability came from the fact that she did not "act"—she simply "did. I just live what George and I are doing. It has to make some sort of sense to me or it won't ring true.

She had much more important things to do — like shopping and volunteer work. By the time Burns and Allen were becoming stars of the stage, vaudeville was dying. And by the time they made their first feature film, they were radio stars. Making the transition to radio was very easy for the duo because they continued doing the exact same act but without the dancing routines.

Gracie got as nervous before each radio broadcast as she did before each live performance. George was right. Burns and Allen got their big break on radio from Eddie Cantor who was one of the first radio superstars. Cantor invited Gracie to appear on his show. Without George. Encouraged by her husband, Gracie appeared for the first time on American radio and was a huge hit. Not surprisingly, Burns and Allen were a hit on the Vallee show and as was the usual case, Gracie got all the accolades.

And the medium now brought the duo to virtually every home in the country. Women understood her and men thought they were married to her or everyone knew someone like her. If you know any more, George, just name them.

The song would remain as their theme throughout the rest of their radio and subsequent television careers. Gracie was a certified nut who came from among nuts. She had stated when she appeared on the Cantor show that her brother was missing. The sponsors of every show Burns and Allen appeared on took full advantage of the stunt. Within two weeks Burns and Allen received , letters about the missing man.

Some of those were from kidnappers claiming to have her brother asking for ransom. Gracie had other very interesting relatives that were frequently mentioned on the show. The Gracie Americans knew and loved came from this lot.

And she made them proud. That is, instead of the earlier shows, which were made up of a collection of skits. One of my favorite episodes guest stars Marlene Dietrich. Many stars of radio were hesitant to venture forth to the new medium of television. But George Burns knew he and Gracie could make the transition easily. Or, their act could. Television was hard work. Well, George was. Gracie had no interest in moving forward to a new medium that was hard work.

She liked her life as it was — radio was easy. She worked only a few days a week, which left her time for shopping and to spend with her kids.

She was already talking about retiring from show business by and George had to talk her into starting a whole new career. Gracie would play Gracie. Everything else would fall into place. And it did. The plot of the show was similar to the Burns and Allen radio show during the previous few years.

One of their early shows opens with Gracie telling George about her day while shopping. She had a particularly good time at a shoe store helping one woman get over her insecurities.

It featured no outrageous situations or characters. Except for Gracie, who simply made ordinary things that people related to very funny. Hers was always a unique perspective. That illogical logic of a classy, stylish lady no one could emulate. Listening to her deliver her lines is just that entertaining. The television show was an immediate success. The show went off the air when Gracie retired.

But she always wanted to make him happy and never did anything but give it her all. She was the consummate professional. By the end of the eight seasons though, Gracie Allen was tired. The show was grueling for her as she had — by far — the most lines of dialogue to memorize each of thirty-nine weeks the show aired for eight years.

And she made it all look simple. She had perfect timing and never wavered from that carefully crafted character. She was the show. Then one day Gracie stopped the taping to ask for one of her lines.

At that moment George Burns knew she was at the end of her career. In fact, despite the fact that she had limited eyesight, suffered from debilitating migraines her entire life, Gracie missed only one performance in four decades. Gracie never ad-libbed. She followed the script as written very closely, which was key given the very confusing and precise dialogue she had to deliver during each show in every medium she performed in.

Gracie never considered herself a comedienne, instead she called herself an actress. She never told a joke in her life off stage. She remained quiet and shy, a very private person.

Forever the Irish Catholic girl who went to church as often as she could. Gracie was embarrassed by off-color jokes and never left the house unless she was dressed to a tee.

When she and George entertained at home, and they did so often, she rarely got up to perform. While she was the star on-stage and got all the rave reviews, she allowed George the spotlight amongst friends.

Entertaining was her job. When Gracie retired, she stayed retired. She spent time with her kids, played cards with friends and listen to gossip, which she got a dose of daily from her dear friend Orry-Kelly. She also shopped. A lot. It was her favorite activity. By the way, Gracie, was no push over in real life. She was a tough lady who had her standards. And she insisted on being treated like a lady. One time she and George were walking into the Brown Derby and he forgot to hold the door open for her.

In her fur coat and high heels she stepped behind him, lifted her dress and kicked him as hard as she could. Although no one could argue that a truly dumb person could not have made one dumb character into a career that lasted forty years, for Gracie there were moments when life imitated art. Once while driving in her car with her son next to her through darkened streets, she mentioned they should start a petition to have lights placed on those streets.

Her son then reached over and turned on the car lights. Gracie enjoyed her retirement until she died of a heart attack in Far too early. Gracie Allen was one of the most popular women in the country for four decades. So popular, in fact, that a New York beauty salon even offered a Gracie Allen facial in which the client would lie down on an incline board so the blood would rush to her head.

This increased circulation to the face, enhancing skin appearance. It was named after Gracie because it also caused extreme dizziness. She thought it was in very bad taste. A unique and bright talent she truly was. A pioneer of radio and television who paved the way for other funny ladies who followed. Yet, she was just Gracie. Recently I was stuck on a plane for three hours without moving an inch. While the other passengers squirmed, losing patience by the minute, I hardly noticed.

George tells Gracie not to because she has nothing in common with them. Gracie disagrees and feels she knows James Mason very well. Needless to say, the Masons come for dinner and Gracie, who now knows the couple are avid cat lovers and have written a book about raising the animals, tells them she and George have raised cats for years too.