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
Goodnight Gracie promises to keep her secret, and the letter ultimately encourages Alex to, occasionally, break the rules, saying, "You never know what might happen." In its original American broadcast, "Goodnight Gracie" was watched by 10.01 million; slightly down by 0.02 from the previous episode. "Goodnight Gracie" received generally positive reviews. Donna Bowman of "The A.V. Club" gave an A- grade to the episode saying that it was one of the best episodes of the entire run. "It was hip to rag on Modern Family when this season started, as is natural for anything so lauded and yet so conventional. Nothing’s changed