The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

When I was a kid, I used to spend a week or two with my grandparents in the summer. My Mama would let me camp out and sleep on her bedroom floor watching TV. It was before the days o Nick At Night, but it was essentially the same thing. I used to watch old shows in black and white like “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” “I Married Joan,” and “My Three Sons.” However, the best of the bunch was undoubtedly, “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.” It appealed to me most as an eight-year-old, and revisiting it today it still holds up.

There are disconnects to be sure. The constant in-show ads for Carnation Milk are strange to a modern viewer. Perhaps though, more appealing than commercial breaks. The most amazing thing is the way that the humor—and even the topics—still hold up and resonate 75 years later. Burns’s deadpans and asides to the audience are genuinely hilarious. And Gracie’s scatterbrained humor—including some very sophisticated wordplay—is still spot on. Even better than today’s shock humor that seems to dominate comedy.

They still address issues like marriage, sex, and taboos, but did so in a way that is subtle and clever. The legacy is undeniable. You can see the influence on shows like Seinfeld, The Simpsons, The Office, and other shows. It would be interesting to see if a modern-day remake of the show could be made today, but I don’t know that the talent exists to pull it off.