The Washington times., 1937-03-02
THE VOICE OF
BrOadW aY
BY Louis SObOI-
Down Memory Lane
,(With Oracle AIIen)

(Grdcte Allen last UecE re-
counted hoW she and George
Burns met in ududeUille" and
signed up as a team. touring the
circuits. Today she concludes
her journey do,Cn Memory
LdneD
For a long time George and l
were what was known as a dis
appointment act" AS such an act
you stay right beside your phone
until 2 o'clock on Mondays and
Thursdays-the days theaterS
used to change bill. Then, II an
act regularly billed failed to show
UP, a disappointment act was
called to take its lace.
In those days. with so many
theaters and so many actors to get
the "flu" or break their legs. a
good disappointment act Couiio
average between so and Is book
ings a year-which was better
than you crowd into a regular
years contract.
George Gets Idea
Our regular act was so good by
this time that George decided 10
change it. He wrote a new act
called Lamb Chops" We had 'uSt
been booked for four weeks on the
Gus Sun circuit on the strength
of our old act. so George decldeo
not to say anything about the new
act. Instead, he started out with
about a minute and half OF the
new act-then we'd switch into
the old one. Each day he'd add
a couple of minutes more OF tne
new act and cut that much from
the old material.
Finally we got to the day When
we were supposed to do hall OF
each act, and something got
George so mixed up that we began
junping back and forth from one
routine into the other until wed
done all of both acts and also the
three songs I used to sing in move
houses. We couldn't get OH tn9
stage for more than 80 minutes,
and although the musicians IN the
pit congratulated us on the mos!
colossal bit of ad-libbing they q
ever heard, George and 1 both IosG
five pounds apiece,
It was breaking in the new act
that George apparently got the
idea that maybe I'd try to steal tne
new material. Anyhow--he SUD
denlv announced that if couldn I
think of a good reason why l
shouldn't marry him within ~
days, we'd have to split up. l
thought for nine days, but i've al
ways been unlucky at guessing
games, so had to marry him on
the tenth day.
Were we happy? We arrived IN
New York a newly married couple
with a brand-new act, and we
caused such a big sensation tnat
we finally got three days at the
old jefferson Theater. I don't re
member whether they PAID us OF
we paid them, but we were a Die
hit. Then fortune smiled on us
and we smiled right back. why
shouldn't we? The Keith Circuit
had Just signed us for five years
George says we started at $500 a
week, but I can't believe that-li
anybody in the whole world had
$500, why would they give it to us?
biggest" Thrills .,,
we've had many big thrills
during our careers. but I guess
%ha ones T remember best are
these: The time when we were
honored by being asked to take
the places of Fred and Adele AS
taire who were then playing Fun
nv Face: the time when we were
again honored by having Alfred
Iunt state that we were his
favorite act, and then there was
the thrill when George bought
me my ermine coat! And dont
think there wasn't plenty Of
thrills during the wonderful nine
weeks we played at the Palace in
New York--with Eddie Cantor anc
George Jessel.
It was about this time that We
made our radio debut as guests
of Rudy Vallee-then as guests
of Eddie Cantor-then a two
weeks contract with Guy LON
bardo-then two more weeks
then five almost uninterrupted
years on the air.
can never forget our first
movie appearance, a Paramount
short. We had just come of the
boat from one OF our trips tc
England when we were asked tc
take Fred Aliens place in a short
as he had just been taken i'll
After George had agreed he dis
covered that the picture had tt
be started the next morning
There was no time to write special
material. so all night long George
muttered in his sleep as he tried
to switch an indoor stage routine
to fit an outdoor movie set.
Next morning on the set George
ran into Murray Roth-an ole
friend from his boyhood days
When Murray told George thai
he was the director of the pic
ture we were to work in, George
wouldn't believe it, George in
sisted he was being kidded, sc
finally Murray was forced tc
prove his point-he shouted
lights, the lights went on anc
George fell back in awed respect
After about three years o1
broadcasting and moving picture
work came the biggest Joy o.
our lives-the adoption of Sandrs
Jean Burns, followed by Ronnle
and then a home of our own If
Beverly Hills.