The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

There is something which has baffled me for years...why didn't this get into the syndication game from the start? We might never know for sure. But I am emphatically sure of is that THE GEORGE BURNS AND GRACIE ALLEN SHOW was and still is: the Best Comedy of All Time!

Yes, and it is all about Gracie. George Burns was a genius to impart the most wonderfully funny lines to Gracie. Gracie brought the most wonderful rendition of the "Dumb Dora" characterization to its zenith.

Her delivery of the most convoluted lines and the daffiest situations will never be equaled. She never broke character saying the most over-the-top dialogues. Having watched each of the almost 300 episodes several times and have come away with the most delightful laughter, I feel healthier.

If I get to reach old age, I will know that it was Gracie's character that has unequivocally been my fountain-of-youth medicine.

Now that the shows are everywhere online, I seldom go to my practically comprehensive DVD collection of the matchless classics. It is almost a daily obsession for me to get a dosage of this remarkable program.

Publicly, I want to acknowledge just how wonderful this program has become...and I want to thank the memories of George Burns and Gracie Allen for bringing so much delightful laughter and happiness to my life.

This is the television show that broke all the molds. There was no comedienne at the time (or for that matter, any time) better than Gracie! No one could act that dumb! She was poetry to watch. As George used to say, he stood while Gracie talked! What a pair they were. If you can find it, rent the episode about the checkbook. I got dizzy just watching! We can only hope that Nick at Nite goes back further than the 60s for the real classics of TV!

Back in the days before supermarket tabloids, there was a story that most Hollywood insiders already knew. George Burns and Gracie Allen, two stage performers who had made their names in the post-vaudeville era, loved each other. For real. Keeping in mind that this wonderful show is often contrasted to I LOVE LUCY -- where the stars ended up in one of the most public divorces Hollywood has ever seen -- that fact is worth remembering. Also worth remembering is that Burns basically played himself. And in his case, playing himself meant playing of the most charming, talented, and gifted storytellers in the world. George Burns practically invented comic timing. And he was a well-liked individual. (So well liked that years later when they were casting the role of GOD, giving him the part was a no-brainer!). Also interesting is the use of the hidden camera to watch the other characters. Not only a "show inside a show," but anticipating a trend that was decades away. Marshall McLuhan was a young man when this show aired, but somehow you know he watched it. Bottom line, not merely a show, a piece of history. With commercials. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

This show was, please don't kill me for saying this, even better than "I Love Lucy". Lucy was good, but this was better. Gracie and Blanche(Bea Benederett, voice of Betty Rubble and original choice for Ethel Mertz) would pull one crazy stunt after another. Meanwhile Bill Goodwin(later replaced by Harry Von Zell) would attract all the girls, and George would step out of the scene to narrate(A technique now used in the Disney cartoon show "The Weekenders"). Gracie's "Illogical logic", as George called it, cracks you up every time. By the way, the radio version featured music of Meredith Wilson(famous for writing "The Music Man").

The timeless comedy of George Burns and Gracie Allen moved to television in 1950 when Gracie brought her own unique perspective to all kinds of situations. The fourth wall was broken as George replete with cigar in hand gave a commentary to what Gracie was doing.

Gracie certainly marched to her own beat. The dialog between her and George was great, but we knew that George from years of living with her took her zany nonsequiters as they came. Not so their neighbors the Mortons who were played by Bea Benedaret and Fred Clark later replaced by Larry Keating.

But if strangers came Gracie's way they left questioning their sanity, she was so sure always. And George always amused at the people two steps behind his wife.

Gracie Allen was the funniest woman that ever walked the planet. Nobody else even close. The show came to an end because she wanted to retire. She died in 1964 and as we know George hit the century mark before being called home. George could never see himself not in show business, Gracie who had a heart condition needed the retirement.

But their legacy to comedy is unchallenged.