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 season or less in the 1970s include Captain & Tennille, The Jacksons, The Keane Brothers, Bobby Darin, Mary Tyler Moore, Julie Andrews, Dolly Parton, Shields and Yarnell, The Manhattan Transfer, Starland Vocal Band, and the cast of "The Brady Bunch". Entertainers with variety-based TV specials in the 70s include The Carpenters, John Denver, Shirley MacLaine and Diana Ross. By the late 1970s, nearly every variety show had ended production, in part because of audience burnout; the highest-rated variety show of 1975, "Cher", was only the 22nd-most watched show of the year.. By the early 1980s, the few new variety shows