George Burns' Birthday

Happy Birthday George! This week on RUSC we remember and recognize the great man for the years of pleasure he has given us.

George Burns was born Nathan Birnbaum on the 20th January 1896 and began his life of entertaining from the age of just 7 as part of a schoolboy group known as the Peewee Quartet.

He met Gracie Allen in 1923 and together they began travelling, performing vaudeville and falling in love along the way which led to their marrying on the 27th January 1926. Through a friend of Gracie's he met Jack Benny who was to become his biggest fan and lifelong best friend.

In the beginning of their partnership, Gracie played the straight character and George had the funny lines. When George realized Gracie got more laughs, he switched their roles but it was George who wrote all the lines for the show.

In 1932 they hit the bigtime on radio with their classic stage routines and sketch comedy, in which the Burns and Allen style was woven into different little scenes. They were also good for a clever publicity stunt, none more so than the hunt for Gracie's missing brother in 1933, a hunt that included Gracie turning up on other radio shows searching for him as well. They also cooked up a clever stunt involving Gracie's fictitious run for the U.S. presidency clever enough that Allen actually got votes in the November 1940 election!

By 1942, George decided that the show needed a new format and introduced them as the married couple that they were in different situation comedy stories each week such as the storylines, Gracie and the Uplift Society, George landing a movie part as a wolf and Beating the high cost of living. 

The Burns and Allen Show went on to be successful on radio until 1950 before moving over to TV until 1958.

I will continue to add a few more shows for your entertainment throughout the coming weeks, and if you would like to read more about the one hundred year life of George Burns there is a very comprehensive and interesting article right here on RUSC, along with all the shows he starred in.

Happy listening my friends,