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Gracie Allen Biography

Birth Name:
Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen
Birth Place:
San Fernando, California, United States
Profession
Actor, comedian

Fast Facts

  • Birth certificate was lost in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906
  • As a result, her birth year is often cited as anywhere from 1895 to 1905
  • Was in a vaudeville act with her sister Bessie in 1909; and branched out with a solo vaudeville act in 1911
  • Always wore long sleeves to hide the scar from a pot of hot tea that fell on her when she was a child
  • In 1923, while attending secretarial school in Hoboken, N
  • J
  • , she met George Burns at a vaudeville theater in Union City, N
  • J
  • ; called Burns "Nattie" (his real name was Nathan Birnbaum), he called her "Googie
  • " In his memoir Gracie: A Love Story, George said that "Gracie was the whole act
  • I didn't have to be a genius to understand that there was something wrong with a comedy act when the straight lines got more laughs than the punch lines
  • " Known primarily for radio and TV, Allen and Burns also appeared in several films, including an impressive turn in A Damsel in Distress (1937), Fred Astaire's first RKO musical without Ginger Rogers
  • Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 6672 Hollywood Blvd
  • (Burns has three
  • ) Married Burns in 1926 (her first marriage; his second)
  • They starred in a weekly radio show from 1932 until 1950; starred in TV's The Burns and Allen Show from 1950 until 1958, when she retired

Awards

  • 1959Emmy-Best Actress in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Comedy Series: nominated
  • 1958Emmy-Best Continuing Performance (Female) in a Series by a Comedienne, Singer, Hostess, Dancer, M.C., Announcer, Narrator, Panelist, or any Person who Essentially Plays Herself: nominated
  • 1957Emmy-Best Continuing Performance by a Comedienne in a Series: nominated
  • 1956Emmy-Best Actress - Continuing Performance: nominated
  • 1955Emmy-Best Actress Starring in a Regular Series: nominated

Relationships

  • Sandra Jean Luckman -- Daughter
  • Bessie Allen -- Sister
  • Hazel Allen -- Sister
  • Pearl Allen -- Sister
  • Ronald John Burns -- Son