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To All Other Presidential Candidates

August 4, 2011

To all other presidential candidates; of the United States of America.

Gentlemen?

Well, boys, the jig is up. Election Day will be in November this year. Turkies will cost you 38 cents a pound cranberries will be 50 cents a bucket. Plum puddings will be 2 dollars each. But for my good friends it won’t cost a nickel so go out and vote for me.

Gracie, you are asking all the other presidential candidates to vote for you?

Sure, there are so many that even if I get half of them to vote for me I’m bound to be elected.

I see what you mean.

This letter is being dictated by a lady, typewritten by a lady so don’t forget to take your hats off while you’re reading it.

Gracie Allen
President of the United States

Gracie, you’re not president yet.

Well, I will be by the time this letter is delivered.

Make 50,000 copies and mail one to each candidate. Address the letters in girlish handwriting and send it to their homes. I want their wives to read it too.

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Comic Portrait

March 22, 2011

burnsallen

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Dreaming on a Train

March 12, 2011

[Scene: George has reluctantly taken Gracie as his wife.  They are on a train from New York to Los Angeles and at night they are sleeping separately.]

Gracie: Oh, you know something: the more telegraph poles I count, the less I know what to do with them. Why is that?

George: Humph.

Gracie: Georgie Porgie, I couldn’t sleep last night; I had the strangest dream.

George: You had a dream and yet you couldn’t sleep.

Gracie: Well, sure, a daydream.

George: I see… last night you had a daydream.

Gracie: In the upper birth… I was so lonesome up there, and there weren’t any sheep to count.

George: The train stops in Wyoming to pick up sheep.

Gracie: Oh, goodie, then I won’t be lonesome tonight.

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Eveready Ad

March 3, 2011

eveready

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A Funny Thing…

February 18, 2011

Gracie: A funny thing happened to my mother in Cleveland.

George: I thought you were born in Buffalo.

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Graduation from Radio to TV

February 6, 2011

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Oddly enough, the versitility of their acts allowed Burns and Allen to mold to any medium. Moving from the stage to the radio did not phase them one bit.

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Ad-Lib

January 31, 2011

adlib
In their debut episode on television, George explained their roles for those who may not have seen them before. He explained that he is the “straight man” whose job is to ask the question to which the commedianne hilariously responds. Then it is his job to pause…George’s true gift.

In this picture, George demonstrates on of his “ad-libs.”

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Television-Era Portrait

January 16, 2011

bothtv

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Following Instructions

January 13, 2011

Gracie: You can’t eat these peaches, it’s twelve o’clock!

Harry Morton: What has that got to do with it?

Gracie: It says right here: should serve from two to four.

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They DID Know Jack

January 5, 2011

withjack
George was great friends with Jack Benny, a fellow performer. Jack was often a guest on the Burns and Allen show, as was George on the Jack Benny Program. And not only there in person, but their special relationship would often prompt each to make jokes on their shows at the other’s expense.

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atthestorkclub

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The Other Rat Pack

December 30, 2010

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Before Sinatra and his crew were heating up the stage and the screen, George had his own pack.  The Pee-Wee Quartet was not something that made it big, and I think that many fans of Burns’ comedy can attest to his complete lack of singing ability.  So what can we say about the other three? 

[Top to bottom: George Jessel, Eddie Cantor (left), Jack Benny, and George Burns]

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Logical Postage

December 21, 2010

George: This letter feels kind of heavy. I’d better put another stamp on it.

Gracie: What for? It’ll only make it heavier.

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Cary Grant

December 15, 2010

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As the years go by it is often hard to remember how different star power was back in those days.  Burns and Allen made a great name for themselves, and was able to do it along with some other famous faces.  Among them is romantic leading man, Carry Grant.

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A Family Portrait

December 6, 2010

family
While Gracie was never able to have children of her own, the Burns’ decided to adopt. Rather than choosing healthy and happy children, Gracie decided to choose children who needed the most care and love. A true testimony of the heart of gold that she had as a wife and mother.

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It’s All Relative

November 30, 2010

Real Estate Agent: I presume the bedrooms are upstairs.

Gracie: Yes, except when you’re upstairs. Then they’re on the same floor.

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“A Damsel in Distress” Poster

November 29, 2010

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Happy Anniversary

November 21, 2010

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Here we have George and Gracie with Harry Von Zell, the announcer on their show.  I believe that this is behind the scene of the first set they used on television.  In the background can be seen the inside of both the front door and window of the Burns’ TV house.

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George at Work

November 19, 2010

batdesk

While it was Gracie that got all the laughs, George along with a team of writers were the ones who fed her the funny lines.

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TV Guide Has Me on the Cover

November 5, 2010

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Behind the Scenes

October 29, 2010

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Pictured here is director Fred DeCordova who would later go on to become the producer of the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.

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In Jail

October 18, 2010

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A couple of images from another hilarious episode of the George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. It appears that George, Harry Morton, and Harry VonZell have been arrested… and I wonder if Gracie had anything to do with it?

2incell

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Kissing… :-X

October 5, 2010

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A rare shot of the Burns couple kissing.  This is a still from an episode, “The Beverly Hills Uplift Society.” The club of women are out of money and cannot pay rent on their club room.  George loans them money and the women pay him back… “at a dollar a kiss.”

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Family Values

September 30, 2010

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A typical display of traditional family values.

Burns and Allen were a typical 50s couple, but with a bit of flair for their day.

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Honolulu

September 16, 2010

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A promotional photo for one of their films: Honolulu. Other stars included Eleanor Powell.

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Always Home

September 2, 2010

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In the several years of their television run, the set of the Burns’ home changed several times. But the things that never changed were that they always had the Mortons as neighbors, and their address was always 312.

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Slip Sledding Away

August 31, 2010

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Not only were George and Gracie great at the jokes and puns, but early in their career they were into physical comedy. Here is a single frame example of what they were able, and willing to do, for their art.

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Murder!

August 12, 2010

murdercase
Gracie turns detective in a movie based on a dective novel written by S. S. Van Dine.  The novel of the same title actually was written based on the character Gracie played.  George did not play in the film at all, and apparently was only involved in promotional pieces.

detectallen

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The Pot Calling the Kettle Black

July 30, 2010

Burns and Allen starred with many big names of their time.  One was WC Fields who played with the couple in such films as Six of a Kind and International House.

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Allen Family Circus

July 16, 2010

George: Well, Gracie, any news from home?

Gracie: Yes. I got a letter from my little niece, Jean.

George: What did she say?

Gracie: She didn’t say anything. She didn’t phone. It was a letter, and she wrote it.

George: I mean what did she write?

Gracie: It’s Spring again, and my family is putting on a backyard circus, just like we did when I was a kid.

George: Every Spring you kids used to put on your own circus?

Gracie: Yes. Of course, admission was free, but that was only for the people who could afford it.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Portrait

July 5, 2010

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