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
Variety show elements, particularly musical performances and comedy sketches. The most obvious difference between shows such as "Saturday Night Live" and traditional variety shows is the lack of a single lead host (or hosts) and a large ensemble cast. "SNL" has used different guest hosts ever since its inception. Televised talent shows have a variety show element, in that they feature a variety of different acts. Examples of talent shows that feature entertainers from a broad variety of disciplines include "Star Search", which had a run in the 1980s in syndication and a run on CBS in the early 2000s during the