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The Burns and Allen Radio Programs | Part Three

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Gracie Allen before a 1937 NBC mike

Grape Nuts adopted a 'gay new' facelift in 1930, revising the packaging it had employed since 1897

Burns and Allen merited their own metered mail franking imprint in 1938

Ever economical, Grape Nuts provided almost no promotion outside of the actual Burns and Allen Radio broadcasts for the program

Burns and Allen's tenor of choice for the Grape-Nuts-sponsored seasons was Film crooner and actor Dick Foran

Elegant British society band leader Ray Noble provided both music and patter for Burns and Allen

Wendell Niles served as Burns and Allen's announcer as 'Ronald Drake.' Niles' brother Ken appeared as Burns and Allen's announcer during their Campbell's sponsorship on CBS.

John Conte joined Burns and Allen as its announcer replacing Wendell Niles

Background

George Burns and Gracie Allen's three seasons over CBS for General Cigar began a Burns & Allen franchise over Radio, in Film and on Television spanning twenty-six years. Burns & Allen's Radio programs spanned eighteen of those years:

1932 The Robert Burns Panatela Program
1933 The White Owl Program
1934 The Adventures of Gracie
1935 Cambell's Tomato Juice Presents Burns and Allen
1936 Campbell's Soup Presents George Burns and Gracie Allen
1937 George Burns and Gracie Allen [for Grape Nuts]
1938 Chesterfield Time with George Burns and Gracie Allen
1940 The Hinds Honey and Almond Cream Program
1940 The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show [for Hormel]
1941 Well I Swan [for Swan Soap Flakes and Detergent]
1945 Maxwell House Coffee Time
1949 The Amm-i-dent Show

Needless to say, as George Burns and Gracie Allen's fame and popularity continued to rise there were no end of sponsors willing to promote their goods with Burns & Allen as their headliners.

Grape Nuts adds another winner to their Radio lineup

From the very inception of locally and regionally 'broad-cast' Radio C.W. Post was one of the more prolific early sponsors of local, regional and eventually nationally broadcast Radio. C.W. Post's 'Grape-Nuts' was one of the more interesting--and profitable--early accidents in his company's history. As the story goes, Charles William Post's various stays at John Harvey Kellogg's Battle Creek Sanitarium exposed him to Kellogg's many cereal concoctions which were part of Kellogg's health regimen. Post developed his own first breakfast cereal while experimenting with baked 'sheets' of wheat bran, barley, and maltose (then referred to as grape sugar). When in 1897 one batch of those sheets of cereal appeared to be particularly difficult to process as flakes, it occured to Post to grind up the resulting sheets. He reported that the overwhelming scent of the ground up sheets had a distinctly 'grape sugar' smell to them, hence conferring the name "Grape-Nuts" on the result. The rest, as the overworked phrase goes, 'was history.'

C.W. Post's company Postum Cereals merged with Jell-O in 1925 and Maxwell House Coffee in 1928, resulting in the General Foods Corporation. General Foods sponsored hundreds of Radio programs throughout the Golden Age of Radio. The following Radio programs were among those specifically sponsored by General Foods' Grape-Nuts Cereal:

1933 The Adventures of Admiral Byrd
1937 The Burns and Allen Program
1938 Al Pearce and His Gang
1942 The Grape Nuts Program [Jack Benny]
1944 The Adventures of Hop Harrigan
1944 The Aldrich Family
1949-1954 Gang Busters

George Burns and Gracie Allen move their franchise to NBC

One of the more unlikely duos to achieve Entertainment World super-stardom, Jewish-born Nat Birnbaum [Stage name George Burns] and Irish Catholic-born Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen grew up worlds apart in myriad ways. Nat from New York and Grace from San Francisco found each other in New Jersey, Birnbaum performing a vaudeville act with then partner Lorraine. Grace reportedly approached Birnbaum after his 'Burns & Lorraine' act about working in vaudeville and 'George Burns' offered her a suggestion that she work with him. That was 1922. The act became a couple, and the couple married shortly after meeting. Continuing to slug it out in vaudeville for another five years, Burns & Allen soon caught the attention of the Film Industry and its search for comedy teams for its growing production of 'talkies' of the era. Burns & Allen were featured in several Vitaphone Shorts of the era, eventually leading them into featured guest appearances over network Radio. As the guest appearances grew more frequent, Burns & Allen's novel 'dumb Dora' act acquired exponentially more fans.

From the April 3rd 1938 edition of the Wisconsin State Journal:

By Gracie Allen:
Myself and Radio

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is one of a series of radio articles written for Central Press and The State Journal by Leading personalities of the ether.

George came home tonight and told me that I would have to write a little article for all you folks to I decided to call it "Myself and Radio," on account of that's what's been bothering me for some time--which came first--myself or radio?

George tells me that I've been on the air for almost six years now but whenever I turn on the radio in our house I never get me. I think--I do, too, George (George is peeking over my shoulder while I write)--I think that the trouble is with our radio. I mean I think it's the wrong kind. After all, it's only a little wooden box with a few wires leading out of it and it only has two or three knobs. All it ever does is play music or talk.

Men In a Cage

In the studios where I work--now, George, stop it--! (George is laughing so hard about something that I can't think)--well, anyhow, in the studios the radio is much larger. It's all in a glass cage with three men in it and it has a lot of wires running out of it and 10 or 20 knobs and a lot of little levers and colored lights.

It plays music and talks and the three little men run around and wave and make faces and I like that. It's much nicer than my radio at home and when I talk into a little black box on the stage I get me and sometimes George and that's much better--I mean when I get me.

George tells me that I don't really know how lucky I am that I don't have to listen to myself, but George exaggerates so and is such a flatterer that you never know whether he really means all the nice things he says or not.

Every week I get hundreds of letters that say "Gracie please stop it", "Gracie, get off the air" and things like that. That brings up another thing that puzzles me (the list is so long). Why is it that so many of the people who write me, especially the ones that send me compliments like the above are almost always named "Anonymous." I've looked in the phone book and I've never found anybody by that name and yet there must be because their letters come from all over the country.

Logical!

It sounds Greek or something to me and maybe the Greeks don't have telephones in their restaurants on accounta if you ever ate in a Greek restaurant you know why?

But whatever it is (George just said maybe their name was "Legion" but that's awfully silly unless it's their first name) people certainly wouldn't go to all that trouble unless they liked me, would they? Of course not.

So that's why I always say whenever anybody asks me about myself and radio--I always say "When better radios are radioed, Gracie Allen will radio them."

Series Derivatives:

None

Genre:

Anthology of Golden Age Radio Variety

Network(s):

NBC

Audition Date(s) and Title(s):

Unknown

Premiere Date(s) and Title(s):

37-04-12 01 Title Unknown

Run Dates(s)/ Time(s):

37-04-12 to 38-08-01; NBC [KHJ and WEAF]; Sixty-nine, 30-minute programs, Monday evening

Syndication:

Sponsors:

General Foods Corporation [Grape-Nuts Cereal]

Director(s):

Principal Performers:

George Burns, Gracie Allen, Dick Foran, Margaret Brayton, Charles Winninger, Bob Burns, Phil Baker, Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson, John Conte, Harry McNaughton, Tony Martin,

Recurring Character(s):

Protagonist(s):

None

Author(s):

None

Writer(s)

Music Direction:

The Ray Noble Orchestra and Dick Foran
The Jan Garber Orchestra

Musical Theme(s):

"The Very Thought of You" by Ray Noble

Announcer(s):

Ronald Drake [Wendell Niles], John Conte
Guest Hosts: Bob Burns, Phil Baker, Eddie Cantor, and Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler

Estimated Scripts or
Broadcasts:

Episodes in Circulation:

Total Episodes in Collection:

Provenances:

RadioGOLDINdex, Hickerson Guide.

Notes on Provenances:

The most helpful provenances were the log of the RadioGOLDINdex and newspaper listings.

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The Burns and Allen Radio Programs Log \| Part Three
Date	Episode	Title	Avail.	Notes
37-04-05	--		--	37-04-05 New York Times 8:00--WEAF--Fibber McGee and Molly

37-04-12	1	Title Unknown	N	[NBC Premiere for Grape Nuts, taking the Fibber McGee and Molly Monday night timeslot] 37-04-12 Wisconsin State Journal Outstanding on the program lineup for WIBA, tonight will be the NBC premiere of the new Burns and Allen series at 8:30. For five years, the outstanding comedy team on the Columbia system, tonight will mark their first venture under the NBC banner. Ray Noble, transplanted English band leader, will direct his orchestra for the musical portions of the programs, aided by Dick Foran as soloist. Burns and Allen's comedy will remain virtually the same as it has been in the past, with George supplying the groans and Gracie contributing the giggles. 37-04-12 New York Times 8:00-8:30 P. M.-Burns and Allen, Comedians; Noble Orchestra-WEAF.
37-04-19	2	Tweet, Tweet--Tweddle	N	37-04-19 Wisconsin State Journal George Burns and Gracie Allen will present an original British comedy of manners, "Tweet, Tweet--Tweddle," as the dramatic highlight of their second program over WIBA tonight at 8:30. Ray Noble's orchestra and vocalist Dick Foran will assist the nitwits.
37-04-26	3	Visiting Dick Foran's Ranch	N	37-04-26 Wisconsin State Journal Gracie Allen will get her first taste of life on the wild and woolly ranges of the West during her broadcast with patient George Burns, singer Dick Foran and Ray Noble's orchestra over WMAQ at 6 p.m. (over WIBA at 8:30). Foran, who plays cowboy roles in the films, has invited the gang to his ranch near Hollywood for the express purpose of introducing Gracie to his favorite horse. He is pretty sure that the animal and Miss Allen will understand one another perfectly. Ray Noble, the suave British bandleader who has surprised critics and listeners throughout the country with his hitherto hidden ability as a comedy actor, insists on bringing his wife into the program this week. It will be a fictional Mrs. Noble, of course, portrayed by Margaret Brayton. Songs by Gracie and Dick Foran, three Noble arrangements of popular dance tunes and commercial announcements by Ronald Drake, who is really Wen Niles but had to change his name to get on the show, will round out the program.
37-05-03	4	Who Needs A Script?	N	37-05-03 Wisconsin State Journal 6 p.m.--Burns and Allen--(WMAQ): The program gets tangled up with a few of the visitors who pay no attention to a little thing like a script.
37-05-10	5	Title Unknown	N	37-05-10 Wisconsin State Journal WIBA 8:30--Burns and Allen
37-05-17	6	Gracie's New Broadcasting Technique	N	37-05-17 Wisconsin State Journal 6 p.m.--Burns and Allen--(WMAQ): Gracie introduces a new broadcasting technique, carries on a romance with Dick Foran and sings "Dancing the Espanol." A full night's work.
37-05-24	7	Title Unknown	N	37-05-24 Wisconsin State Journal 6 p.m.--Burns and Allen--(WMAQ WLW): Gracie will sing "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down," Dick Foran sings "September in the Rain."
37-05-31	8	Title Unknown	N	37-05-31 Frederick News-Post WEAF-NBC--7 Burns and Allen.
37-06-07	9	Title Unknown	N	37-06-08 San Antonio Light Dick Foran, the cowboy singer on the Burns and Allen show, checked out after last night's broadcast. Dick is being withdrawn from both radio and western pictures and will be starred in a new musical, "Opera Goes West."
37-06-14	10	Gracie's Cell-Warming Party	N	[Tony Martin replaces Dick Foran] 37-06-14 Lima New Gracie Allen, aided by dubious George Burns, will combine a cell-warming party for her goofy brother and a welcome home party for Tony Martin, handsome tenor who is rejoining the program, into one super-gala celebration o ver the NBC-Red network, with Ronald Drake and Ray Noble's orchestra, Monday, at 7 p.m. Tall, dark and handsome Tony will be remembered as the vocal soloist on the Burns and Allen programs for a year preceding their current series. He is returning to succeed red-headed Dick Foran. Tony will step into the role he left three months ago and, after his own welcoming ceremonies are over, will be perfectly at home to join in the padded cell warming festivities for the wandering brother. Gracie will officiate. The comedienne's little brother, the one with the face like a bad detour around his collar, has asked his charming and talented sister to devote her broadcast to the interests of himself and his cellmates. The playmates, who he wants to make happy and comfortable, are a tall skinny mug who considers himself Jack Dempsey, and a short, rotund little fellow who thinks he is Jimmy Bradock. Frere Burns wants Gracie to shed the light of pacificism in the cell so that the two bums will stop bouncing each other, and himself, off the padded cell walls. After all, he's no hand ball. Ray Noble will contribute a bit of of gentility to the program by playing "Sweet and Lovely," "There's a Lull in My Life" and "Carelessly."
37-06-21	11	Gracie's Fight Forecast	N	37-06-21 Wisconsin State Journal Prize-fight fans, particularly those who are in doubt about how to wager on the Joe Louis-Jim Braddock affairs, will be wise to listen to the Burns and Allen show over WIBA at 8:30 tonight, because Gracie has promised to give her official forecast.
37-06-28	12	The Private Life Of Mrs Robinhood	N	37-06-28 Sandusky Star Journal WTAM 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen in "The Private Life of Mrs. Robinhood."
37-07-05	13	Title Unknown	N	37-07-05 San Antonio Light Charles Winninger, veteran actor who resumes his post as Cap'n Henry on the Show Boat broadcasts on Thursday, will make a guest appearance tonight at the Burns and Allen hour (WOAI--6).
37-07-12	14	Title Unknown	N	37-07-12 San Antonio Light Ray Noble's orchestra promises "St. Louis Blues," and "Double Trouble," and Tony Martin will sing "Where or When" at the Burns and Allen program (WOAI--6).
37-07-19	15	Title Unknown	N	37-07-19 Tyrone Daily Herald 7:00 p.m.--Burns and Allen; Tony Martin, Ray Nobles orch; WEAF.
37-07-26	16	Title Unknown	N	37-07-26 Circleville Herald Fred Waring, 7 EST, NBC, Burns and Allen guest.
37-08-02	17	Seventeen Waldos	N	37-08-02 Wisconsin State Journal Seventeen persons fortunate or unfortunate enough to have been named "Waldo" will be guests of Gracie Allen tonight, when the mad comedienne goes on the air over WIBA at 8:30 with George Burns, Tony Martin and Ray Noble's orchestra. Gracie has given no reason for insisting on having the Waldos on hand, but says "It's none of their business anyhow."
37-08-09	18	Gracie Wants To Produce A Picture	N	37-08-09 Wisconsin State Journal Gracie Allen, having elected her handsome tenor, Tony Martin, to the romantic lead in a picture she wants to produce, will try to start rehearsals with herself playing the leading lady, during the broadcast tonight over WIBA at 8:30. George Burns, Ronald Drake and Ray Noble's orchestra will contribute in various ways.
37-08-16	19	Gracie Prepares For 'The Robin Hood Follies1	N	37-08-16 Wisconsin State Journal Inviting Edith Kivette, exclusive and temperamental designer of gowns to join Producer Pierre and Songwriters Gargle and Dribble, Gracie Allen continues preparation for "The Robin Hood Follies," during the braodcast with George Burns, Tony Martin and Ray Noble's orchestra on WIBA tonight at 8:30.
37-08-23	20	Title Unknown	N	37-08-23 Wisconsin State Journal WIBA 8:30--NBC Burns and Allen 37-08-27 Wisconsin State Journal Ronald Drake, whose name was changed from Wen Niles when he became announcer for the Burns and Allen program, says he's through with his r«al name for good. We thought you'd like to know. Thanks.
37-08-30	21	Title Unknown	N	37-08-30 Wisconsin State Journal WIBA 8:30--NBC Burns and Allen
37-09-06	22	Title Unknown	N	37-09-05 Wisconsin State Journal WIBA Monday 8:30--NBC Burns and Allen
37-09-13	23	Title Unknown	N	37-09-13 Wisconsin State Journal WIBA 8:30--NBC Burns and Allen
37-09-20	24	Title Unknown	N	37-09-20 Wisconsin State Journal WIBA 8:30--NBC Burns and Allen
37-09-27	25	Title Unknown	N	37-09-27 Wisconsin State Journal WIBA 7:00--NBC Burns and Allen
37-10-04	26	Guest Fred Astaire	N	37-10-04 Wisconsin State Journal Fred Astaire, singing and dancing star, will pay a visit to the Burns and Allen program, over WIBA at 7 o'clock.
37-10-11	27	Bob Burns Guest Hosts	N	[Bob Burns stands in for Burns and Allen] 37-10-11 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Bob Burns (WIBA, WLS): takes over spot vacated by Burns and Allen.
37-10-18	28	Phil Baker Guest Hosts	N	[Phil Baker stands in for Burns and Allen] 37-10-18 Wisconsin State Journal Phil Baker, second of the guest stars to substitute for Burns and Allen, will broadcast with Ray Noble and Tony Martin over WIBA at 7. Harry McNaughton, who plays the part of Phil's vaccum-brained butler and valet, is accompanying the accordian virtuoso to the broadcast because he wants to meet Gracie Allen, his ideal woman.
37-10-25	29	Eddie Cantor Guest Hosts	N	[Eddie Cantor stands in for Burns and Allen] 37-10-25 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Eddie Cantor (WIBA, WMAQ): pinch-hits for Burns and Allen.
37-11-01	30	Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler Guest Host	N	[Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler stand in for Burns and Allen] 37-11-01 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Al Jolson (WIBA, WMAQ): and Ruby Keeler sub for Burns and Allen.
37-11-08	31	Title Unknown	N	[Burns and Allen return as hosts] 37-11-08 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): back on the air with Tony Martin and Ray Noble.
37-11-15	32	Gracie Outwits Strikers	N	37-11-15 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie outwits strikers.
37-11-22	33	How To Eat Your Turkey and Have It Too	N	37-11-22 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): how to eat your turkey and have it too.
37-11-29	34	Gracie Has A Birthday Party For Her Daddy	N	37-11-29 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie has a birthday party for her Daddy.
37-12-06	35	John Conte Impersonates Edward Everett Horton	N	37-12-06 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): John Conte impersonates Edward Everett Horton.
37-12-13	36	Napoleon and Josephine	N	37-12-13 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): George as Napoleon, Gracie as Josephine.
37-12-20	37	Gracie's Plum Pudding Recipe	N	37-12-20 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie's recipe for plum pudding.
37-12-27	38	Gracie's New Drama	N	37-12-27 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie has a new drama.
38-01-03	39	Gracie Selects 1937's Outstanding Events	N	38-01-03 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie selects 1937's outstanding events.
38-01-10	40	Gracie's 'Slay It with Music' Murder Mystery	Y	[Speed and pitch adjusted by 10%] 38-01-10 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): another mystery story.
38-01-17	41	Gracie's 'Case of the Empty Watch' Murder Mystery	Y	[Speed and pitch adjusted by 8%] 38-01-17 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA): It's the nuts.
38-01-24	42	How To Pick Race Track Winners	N	38-01-24 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie tells how to pick race-track winners.
38-01-31	43	Title Unknown	N	38-01-31 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie's parrot, Rufus, continues his attack on George; Tony Martin sings "Thanks for the Memory"; Ray Noble repeats "Vieni, Vieni."
38-02-07	44	Gracie's Message To American Women	N	38-02-07 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie's message to American women.
38-02-14	45	Gracie's Valentine Poem	N	[Valentine Day's program] 38-02-14 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie's Valentine poem.
38-02-21	46	Gracie Turns Historian	N	38-02-21 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie turns historian.
38-02-28	47	Title Unknown	N	38-02-28 Wisconsin State Journal 7:00--Burns & Allen--WMAQ WTMJ
38-03-07	48	Burns and Allen's 6th Anniversary on Radio	N	38-03-07 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): complete sixth year on air.
38-03-14	49	Title Unknown	N	38-03-14 Wisconsin State Journal 7:00--Burns & Allen--WMAQ WTMJ
38-03-21	50	Mrs Captains Courageous	N	38-03-21 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie presents "Mrs. Captains Courageous." 38-03-21 Lima News Switching their enthusiasm from swing to sweet to afford their listeners a change in musical fare, George Burns and Gracie Allen have selected Jan Garber to take over the bandstand on the popular Monday night show which is aired coast-to-coast over WABC at 8:00 p.m. Garber, famous as the "Idol of the Airlanes," succeeds Ray Noble on the BUrns and Allen program April 11. The diminutive fiddling maestro is currently breaking all southern California attendance records at Topsy's cafe, new late spot on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Ray Noble's final appearance with George and Gracie will be the April 4th show after which he leaves for a London vacation.
38-03-28	51	Title Unknown	N	38-03-28 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): farewell to Ray Noble.
38-04-04	52	Title Unknown	N	[Jan Garber replaces Ray Noble] 38-04-04 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Jan Garber succeeds Ray Noble as orchestra leader.
38-04-11	53	Burns and Allen's 1st Anniversary on NBC	N	38-04-11 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): celebrate first NBC anniversary.
38-04-18	54	Ti Pi Tin	N	38-04-18 Wisconsin State Journal 7 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie repeats "Ti Pi "Tin."
38-04-25	55	Mrs. Marco Polo	N	38-04-25 Wisconsin State Journal 8:30 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie as "Mrs. Marco Polo."
38-05-02	56	Gracie Tells the Story of Frank Parker's Life	N	38-05-02 Wisconsin State Journal 8:30 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie tells story of Frank Parker's life.
38-05-09	57	Title Unknown	N	38-05-09 Wisconsin State Journal 8:30 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WMAQ): Tony Martin comes back.
38-05-16	58	Title Unknown	N	38-05-16 Wisconsin State Journal 8:30 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): plus Tony Martin and his uke.
38-05-23	59	Gracie Plays the Ukelele	N	38-05-23 Wisconsin State Journal 8:30 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie plays the uke.
38-05-30	60	Title Unknown	N	38-05-30 San Antonio Express 8:30--WOAI, Burns and Allen.
38-06-06	61	Title Unknown	N	38-06-06 Daily Hayward Review 6:30--KPO, Burns and Allen.
38-06-13	62	Title Unknown	N	38-06-13 Daily Hayward Review 6:30--KPO, Burns and Allen.
38-06-20	63	Title Unknown	N	38-06-20 San Antonio Express 8:30--WOAI, Burns and Allen.
38-06-27	64	Title Unknown	N	38-06-27 San Antonio Express 8:30--WOAI, Burns and Allen.
38-07-04	65	Title Unknown	N	38-07-03 Wisconsin State Journal WIBA Monday 8:30--NBC Burns and Allen.
38-07-11	66	Gracie Takes Up Interviewing	N	38-07-11 Wisconsin State Journal 8:30 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Gracie takes up interviewing.
38-07-18	67	Gracie Decides To Change the Map	N	38-07-18 Wisconsin State Journal 8:30 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): the nutty woman decides to change the map of the country to suit herself.
38-07-25	68	Title Unknown	N	38-07-25 Wisconsin State Journal WIBA 8:30--NBC Burns and Allen
38-08-01	69	Honolulu-Bound	N	[Final program for Grape Nuts; replaced by Believe It or Not] 38-08-01 Wisconsin State Journal 8:30 p.m.--Burns and Allen (WIBA, WMAQ): Honolulu-bound.

38-08-08	--		--	38-08-08 New York Times 8:00--WEAF--Believe It or Not. with Robert Ripley; Rolf Orchestra; Linda Lee, Songs, and Others

The Burns and Allen Radio Programs Biographies

Nathan Birnbaum [George Burns] Vaudeville Stage, Radio, Television and Film Actor (1896-1996) Birthplace: New York City, New York, U.S.A. Radiography: 1932 The Robert Burns Panatela Program 1933 The White Owl Program 1934 The Adventures Of Gracie 1936 The Campbell's Tomato Juice Program 1936 The Campbell's Soup Program 1937 Lux Radio Theatre 1937 The Jell-O Program 1938 The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show 1938 Chesterfield Time 1939 Gulf Screen Guild Theatre 1940 The Hinds Honey and Almond Cream Program 1940 The Rudy Vallee Sealtest Show 1941 Well, I Swan 1942 United China Relief 1942 Command Performance 1942 Treasury Star Parade 1943 Command Performance 1943 The Bob Burns Show 1943 The Jack Benny Program 1943 It's Time To Smile 1943 Paul Whiteman Presents 1943 Cavalcade For Victory 1943 Mail Call 1944 Radio Hall Of Fame 1944 The Bakers Of America Show For the Armed Forces 1944 Your All-Time Hit Parade 1944 Birds Eye Open House 1944 Radio Hall Of Fame 1945 The Eddie Cantor Show 1945 Robert Benchley, Radio Critic 1945 Maxwell House Coffee Time 1945 The Danny Kaye Show 1946 Request Performance 1948 Philco Radio Time 1948 The Eddie Cantor Pabst Blue Ribbon Show 1948 Guest Star 1948 Kraft Music Hall 1949 Gisele Of Canada 1949 The Aldrich Family 1949 The Ammident Show 1951 Hedda Hopper's Hollywood 1951 The Bing Crosby Show 1952 The Lucky Strike Program 1952 The Doris Day Show 1964 The Arthur Godfrey Show Here's To Veterans	George Burns circa 1935	From theMarch 10th 1996 edition of the Winnipeg Sunday Free Press: He's gone to meet God--and Gracie By Myrna Oliver Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES — George Burns — the indefatigable entertainer whose staying power became the last, most endearing gag in a graceful, laughfilled career — died yesterday morning at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 100 years and 49 days old. The comedian, actor, singer and author apparently died of heart failure a few hours after his nurse found him shaking and breathing shallowly in his bed. His son Ronnie was with him at the end. There were no last-second oneliners or pithy sign-offs, said Burns' longtime manager and friend, Irving Fein. But for years, Burns had insisted in gravelly monotone: "I don't believe in dying... It's been done." Condolences poured into the Burns home from around the United States, recalling the comedian's many incarnations — as the vaudevillian, the hit radio and television act with his beloved wife Gracie Allen, and as the irascible elder statesman of comedy. In a statement, President Clinton called Burns "one of the great entertainers of all time." His friend of nearly eight decades, comedian Milton Berle said: "He's up there in heaven with Gracie, doing their act. And if I know George, he'll be throwing one-liners at St. Peter." Burns had been in ill health since July 1994, when he slipped and fell in the shower at his home in Las Vegas. His frailty caused him to cancel performances celebrating his centenary at the London Palladium and Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. He was also too ill with the flu to attend his own 100th birthday bash in January. Burns will be buried alongside Allen at a private funeral service Tuesday at Forest Lawn cemetery here, Fein said. A public memorial may be scheduled later. "It's been hard to imagine show business before George Burns," said Bob Hope, who now, at 92, becomes comedy's elder statesman. "Now, it's difficult to imagine show business without him." Goodnight, Georgie Show business career began in 1903 The Canadian Press George Burns died quietly at age 100 yesterday morning. A sketch: Beginnings: Born Nathan Birnbaum in New York City on Jan. 20, 1896. Early Years: Entered show business in 1903 as member of Peewee Quartet, then began vaudeville in 1905. Formed comedy act with Gracie Allen in 1923. Later Years: Performed for some 90 years. Career spanned vaudeville, radio (The Burns and Allen Show), movies, television (The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show), nightclubs, best-selling books, recordings and video. Made first feature film with Allen in 1932, The Big Broadcast. Married: Had two children, son and daughter, with Allen, whom he wed in Cleveland in 1926. Awards: Won Grammy in 1991 for best spoken-word recording for excerpts from Gracie: A Love Story. Won Oscar for the aging vaudevillian in the 1975 film The Sunshine Boys. Quotes: On retirement:"I can't afford to die when I'm booked." On why he was considered sexy: "I've been longer at it than anyone else." On age: "I've reached the point where I get a standing ovation for just standing." Burns exits enduring, endearing career By Charles Champlin Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES - George Burns, who died yesterday at the still-extraordinary age of 100, made it seem for a while as if he had no intention of leaving at all. With his cigars and martinis and his fondness for the company of pretty young women, he made old age out to be not a grey back bedroom but an extension of the prime of life. The great achievement of his career may well have been to convince millions, who may have been doubtful, that life begins or begins again, not at 40 but at 79, as his did when he made The Sunshine Boys after a hiatus from the cameras of 36 years. Extraordinary His long climb from the lowest rungs of vaudeville to the top and then into radio and television as half of Burns and Allen prepared him, if not later audiences, for his extraordinary and endearing success as a single. He remembered that when he and Grade were in vaudeville, he learned to go onstage with a cigar before the audience arrived, to test the prevailing drafts, so he could stand downwind from Gracie. He had learned that audiences resented him when the cigar smoke went in Gracie's face. He used to claim he had the easiest act in vaudeville, since all he had to do was say "You what?" or "Your brother what?" to trigger Gracie's glorious inanities ("You could have knocked me over with a fender"). The truth was, of course, that George was the ultimate old pro, who quickly saw the appeal of Gracie's chirpy malaprop innocence. "Say, good night, Gracie," Burns would say. "Good night, Gracie," she would reply. Chatting in his Hollywood office a few years ago before going off to do a show in Lafayette, La., he suddenly called to an assistant, "Phone Lafayette and find the name of the oldest theatre in town. I'll tell 'em I played there 50 years ago." After the hard years in tank-town vaudeville, he knew how to win an audience. A trouper Burns was a trouper in the old "the-show-must-go-on" tradition. Only a few years ago, he fell and stripped the skin off one shin, raising a ghastly bruised welt and reducing his gait to a hobble. He examined it in his Las Vegas dressing room one night after a performance. I'd have said it was a miracle he could stand, but he'd done an hour with the audience none the wiser about the injury or the pain. He was one of the great show business raconteurs, onstage (where his tales were central to his charm) and offstage (where they flowed from an apparently bottomless memory). As with Alfred Hitchcock, another superb raconteur, it was not always clear where memory left off and imagination began, but it hardly mattered. There was always a discernible ring of truth, as in his story about an early partner who could sing but not talk without a heavy stammer. One night at their boarding house in Altoona (or some such place) the partner ran to George gasping unintelligibly. "Sing it!" George said he cried. The partner sang, "We been robbed, we been robbed, we been robbed," to a tune George, for once, could not remember. Many of George's stories, public and private, involved his long, dear friendship with Jack Benny. The game between them was that George could send Jack into hysterics with the lift of an eyebrow, but Jack could not raise a laugh from George, hard as he tried. My favorite among the stories was of a long-ago breakfast. Jack said, "What're you having?" George said, "Steak and eggs; I'm hungry. What about you?" "I'm having Cream of Wheat," Jack said. "Why" George asked, incredulous. "Because Mary Livingston says it's good for me," Jack explained. "But steak and eggs are good for you." "That's right," Jack said defiantly. When the waiter came, they both had steak and eggs. When the bill arrived, George said, "You pay it, Jack." Jack said, "Why should I pay all of it?" "Because if you don't," George said, "I'll tell Mary you didn't have Cream of Wheat." Amazingly, George Burns linked a day before radio, let alone television, with a world of CD-ROMs and cyberspace. And no small part of the fondness audiences of all ages had for him was that he bespoke times when things seemed simpler, more innocent, less frazzled and cynical, when a few bars of soft-shoe and lines of a foolish song from an ancient vaudeville act carried a strong and particular magic. After Gracie died, George made monthly visits to her grave to bring her up to date on his doings. Now, whatever one's theological leanings, it is nice to think of the act reunited.

Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen Vaudeville Stage, Radio, Television and Film Actor (1895-1964) Birthplace: San Francisco, California, U.S.A. Radiography: 1932 The Robert Burns Panatela Program 1933 The White Owl Program 1934 The Adventures Of Gracie 1936 The Campbell's Tomato Juice Program 1936 The Campbell's Soup Program 1937 Lux Radio Theatre 1937 The Jell-O Program 1938 The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show 1938 Chesterfield Time 1939 Gulf Screen Guild Theatre 1939 Information Please 1940 The Hinds Honey and Almond Cream Program 1940 Good News of 1940 1940 The Rudy Vallee Sealtest Show 1940 Fibber McGee and Molly 1941 The New Burns and Allen Show 1942 United China Relief 1942 Command Performance 1942 It's Time To Smile 1942 Treasury Star Parade 1942 Well, I Swan 1943 This Is My Story 1943 The Bob Burns Show 1943 The Jack Benny Program 1943 Paul Whiteman Presents 1943 Cavalcade For Victory 1943 Mail Call 1944 Radio Hall Of Fame 1944 The Bakers Of America Show For the Armed Forces 1944 Your All-Time Hit Parade 1945 The Eddie Cantor Show 1945 Robert Benchley, Radio Critic 1945 Maxwell House Coffee Time 1945 The Danny Kaye Show 1945 Birds Eye Open House 1946 Request Performance 1947 The Jack Carson Show 1947 Songs By Sinatra 1947 Guest Star 1947 Front and Center 1948 Philco Radio Time 1948 The Eddie Cantor Pabst Blue Ribbon Show 1948 Kraft Music Hall 1949 Gisele Of Canada 1949 The Aldrich Family 1949 The AmmiDent Show 1949 The Adventures Of Philip Marlowe 1949 Life With Luigi 1949 The Bing Crosby Show 1949 Suspense 1951 Hedda Hopper's Hollywood 1952 The Bob Hope Show 1952 The Doris Day Show	Gracie Allen circa 1937	From the August 28th 1964 edition of the Oakland Tribune: Heart Attack Kills Gracie Allen at 58 HOLLYWOOD (AP) - Gracie Allen, whose scatterbrained comedy helped make Burns and Allen a top act in show business for 34 years, died last night after a heart attack. She was 58. Spokesmen for the family said Miss Allen died at 11:15 p.m. and that her husband, comedy actor George Burns, was at her side at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. Contacted at the Burns home in Beverly Hills, William Burns, George's brother, said the popular comedienne had been in seemingly good health before being stricken. MILD ATTACK He said she had experienced mild heart attacks in the past. They didn't, however, seem to slow her down much. Ten days ago she and her husband were among the guests at the gala wedding reception for Edie Adams and her new husband Marty Mills. She appeared effervescent and cheerful, as she has been since her retirement in 1958. Until then, the strain of sustaining her nitwit role sometimes made her tense and withdrawn. REAL ACTRESS At the time of her retirement, Burns explained why she quit: "She's never missed acting for a minute. She never was a ham, anyway. Most actors are aware of playing to an audience. Not Gracie. The side of the stage toward the audience was a wall to her. She concentrated only on what she had to say and never gave a thought to cameras or lights or makeup or anything. "She deserved a rest. She had been working all her life, and her lines were the toughest in the world to do. They didn't make sense, so she had to memorize every word. It took a real actress. "Every spare moment — in bed, under the hair dryer — had to be spent in learning lines. Do you wonder that she's happy to be rid of it?" Miss Allen was born in 1906, the year of the great earthquake in San Francisco. Named Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen, she was one of four daughters of Edward Allen, a song and dance man then booked in San Francisco. At 3 1/3, she had made her stage debut but she continued in Catholic schools until she was 14, when she began a dancing act with her three older sisters. Later, she joined an Irish song and dance act and at one time went to secretarial school in Hoboken, N.J. It was in New Jersey that she met George. Born Nathan Birnbaum in 1896 Burns had been through the vaudeville mill and claims to have weathered 50 partners before encountering Gracie. She saw him on a bill at Union Hill, N.J., where he was booked as Burns and Lorraine. They met after the show and George revealed he was seeking a new partner. He suggested that Gracie join him. REWROTE THE ACT Gracie recalled later "Of course George had written this act for himself, with himself as the comedian and I as the straight man but the funny thing -- my straight lines got the laughs. People laughed twice as hard at my not being funny as they laughed at George's being funny. When we came of after the first show, he said, 'We're switching parts, Gracie.' He rewrote the act then and there." Burns and Allen played vaudeville for three years hefore he was able to convince her they should get married. They were wed in Cleveland on Jan. 7, 1926. INTO BIG TIME After their marriage they were propelled into the big time. They became headliners in vaudeville and starred on the bill that ended Vaudeville at New York's Palace Theater. After guest-starring on Rudy Vallee and Guy Lombardo radio programs, they began their own show on Feb 15. 1932. Their career continued in radio and television until Gracie's retirement. They also appeared in such movies as "Big Broadcast of 1932," "International House," "Love in Bloom," "Damsel in Distress," "College Swing," "Honolulu" and ' The Gracie Allen Murder Case." George once analyzed his wife's humor "Gracie is not really crazy, if she were, we couldn't get a day's work."

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The Burns and Allen Radio Programs | Part Three

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Grape Nuts adds another winner to their Radio lineup

George Burns and Gracie Allen move their franchise to NBC

The Burns and Allen Radio Programs Log | Part Three

The Burns and Allen Radio Programs Biographies