In a New York Times article, Gracie Allen commented, "It makes me furious to see an actor go through the motion of writing an address on a piece of paper. They scribble it off in a second and you know they couldn't have written anything." Whenever Allen performed a task on the show, whether it was writing a name, sewing a handkerchief, rolling cigarettes, or chopping up vegetables, she meticulously performed the duty while reciting her dialogue.
George Burns is regarded as the first entertainer to step out of character and "break the fourth wall" by directly addressing the television audience. On many occasions, Burns stated he had been inspired by Thornton Wilder's 1938 play "Our Town", though Burns had used the same tactic in his first short film, Lambchops (1929).
When the series went off the air in 1958, it was the longest-running situation comedy in television history.
The bulk of the filmed episodes were shot over the course of a day with two cameras. Episodes were then edited and screened for a preview audience, and audio of the crowd's reaction was recorded to give an organic reaction to each joke rather than "canned laughter". At the end of each preview screening, George and Gracie would come out and film their "Say goodnight, Gracie" closing tag scene live in front of the audience.
It wasn't publicized at the time, but Gracie Allen had a heart condition and suffered several mild heart attacks during the course of this series. She suffered a fatal heart attack on August 27, 1964, at the age of 69.