Gracie Allen example), Gracie never used the phrase. The confusion may have been caused by "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In". Stars Dan Rowan and Dick Martin used a similar sign-off routine wherein Rowan would tell Martin to "Say good night, Dick." Martin's reply was always "Good night, Dick." It seemed like something Gracie Allen would have said. George Burns himself said as much in an interview years later, adding that, surprisingly enough, no one ever thought of having Allen say "Good night, Gracie". However, the former "Burns and Allen" head writer, Paul Henning, did use the "say good night" bit in at least
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show a wisecrack: "The boy was produced by Burns and Allen." Starting in the fall of 1955, Burns and Allen often reappeared after the end of the episode, before a curtain decorated with the names and locations of the various theaters where they headlined in their vaudeville days. They would perform one of their signature "double routines", often discussing one of Gracie's fictional relatives (including "Death Valley Allen" the prospector, "Florence Allen" the nurse, "Casey Allen" the railroad man). Burns always ended the show with, "Say goodnight, Gracie", to which Allen simply replied, "Goodnight." She never said, "Goodnight, Gracie", as legend