The George Burns Show The George Burns Show The George Burns Show is a short-lived comedy television program that aired on NBC for one season (1958–59). The program was sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive. "The George Burns Show" immediately followed the eight-season run of "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show", which had aired on CBS, and shared continuity with the earlier series. After Gracie Allen retired in 1958, George Burns tried to continue the old series without her, using many of the characters and settings from their show. In this new series, George was working as a producer in a downtown office, and trying to
Variety show honed their skills in music hall sketches include Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel, George Formby, Gracie Fields, Dan Leno, Gertrude Lawrence and Marie Lloyd. Most of the early top performers on British television and radio did an apprenticeship either in stage variety, or during World War II in Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). In the UK, the ultimate accolade for a variety artist for decades was to be asked to do the annual Royal Command Performance at the London Palladium theatre, in front of the monarch. Later known as the "Royal Variety Performance" (from 1919), it continues today. In the 1940s,