The Burns and Allen Show

In 1929 George and Gracie made their radio debut in London on the BBC. A year later they failed an audition with NBC.

After Gracie made an appearance, sans George, on The Eddie Cantor Show, the two were heard together on The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour with host Rudy Vallee.

The success of that earned them a booking as regulars on The Guy Lombardo Show on CBS. When Lombardo moved over to NBC, George and Gracie took over his spot on CBS. The Adventures of Gracie launched on September 19, 1934.

Their top-rated show got a new name: The Burns and Allen Show on September 26, 1936.

In 1941 the show moved away from its vaudeville roots and transformed itself into a sitcom.  That show continued until 1950, alternating between NBC and CBS.

In the first years the show's scripts centered on a single George persistently pursuing a single Gracie. Their real-life marriage was not written into the show until 1941, when George acknowledged their ratings were steadily slipping.

In a moment of clarity it hit him that both he and Gracie "were too old for our jokes", and decided then and there to revise the format of the show. Without any fanfare he one night announced to the audience that he and Gracie were married in real life, had been for years, had children, and from that point forward the show would revolve around them as a married couple.

His assessment was spot-on and The Burns and Allen Show went on to capture newer and larger audiences.

Come along and enjoy the antics of Gracie Allen and her loving, tolerant and long-suffering husband, George.