1. The team of George
Burns and Gracie Allen was born on the stage of the Hill Theatre in the
winter of 1923 when George, then a not-so-successful vaudeville hoofer,
born Nathan Birnbaum, teamed with Gracie, then a 17-year old unemployed
stenographer, born Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen, for the first time
and faced a Newark audience. Together they were paid $5 for three shows
a night. Burns later recalled "We got a good reception there and it
got us additional bookings."
Burns and Allen performed as a team for 40 years. Burns died in 1996 just past his 100th birthday. His beloved Gracie died in her sleep of a heart attack at the age of 58 in 1964.
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Copyright 1998 - 2021 Glenn G. Geisheimer |