Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen (July 26, 1895[1][2][3] – August 27, 1964) was an American vaudevillian, singer, actress, and comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns, her straight man, appearing with him on radio, television and film as the duo Burns and Allen.

[10] Her left arm and shoulder were badly scarred when a boiling pot of tea fell on her as a child; as a result, she wore long-sleeved dresses throughout her life.

All public vital records held by the city and county of San Francisco were destroyed in the earthquake and great fire of April 1906.

"[citation needed] Presumably the most reliable information comes from U.S. Census data collected on June 1, 1900 that shows Grace Allen, age four (born in July 1895), along with her parents and five siblings.

Audiences immediately fell in love with Allen's character, which combined the traits of naivete, zaniness and innocence.

The reformulated team, focusing on Allen, toured the country, eventually headlining in major vaudeville houses.

Many of their famous routines were preserved in one- and two-reel short films, including Lambchops (1929), made while the couple was still performing on the stage.

Burns attributed all of the couple's early success to Allen, ignoring his own brilliance as a straight man.

Burns realized that they were too old for that type of material[7]: 165  and changed the show's format in the fall of 1941 into the situation comedy for which they are best remembered: a working showbusiness married couple negotiating ordinary problems caused by Gracie's "illogical logic", usually with the help of neighbors Harry and Blanche Morton and their announcer Bill Goodwin (later replaced by Harry von Zell during the run of their television series).

[7]: 184–193 [16] Burns and Allen embarked on a cross-country whistle-stop campaign tour on a private train, performing their live radio show in various cities.

As part of the gag, Dwell, Sloan and Pearce published a book, How to Become President by Gracie Allen (in reality, written by Burns and Allen writer Charles Lofgren) that included photographs from their nationwide campaign tour and the Surprise Party convention.

"[citation needed] In another publicity stunt, Allen played a piano concert at the Hollywood Bowl (and later at Carnegie Hall).

[18] In the early 1930s, Burns and Allen appeared in several short films in which they performed some of their classic vaudeville routines.

In 1937, Burns and Allen starred with Fred Astaire in A Damsel in Distress, a musical with an original score by George Gershwin that introduced the song "A Foggy Day".

Burns and Allen had each worked in vaudeville as dancers before forming their act, and when word of the project reached them, they called Astaire and he asked them to audition.

Burns and Allen also matched Astaire step-by-step in the film's demandingly epic dance sequence in a funhouse including amazing visuals with distorted mirrors.

[7]: 205 Their next film the following year was College Swing (1938) starring Burns and Allen top-billed above Martha Raye and Bob Hope with a stellar supporting cast featuring Edward Everett Horton, Betty Grable, Jackie Coogan, John Payne, Robert Cummings, and Jerry Colonna.

Allen made her last film appearance in a musical cameo as an amusing concert pianist in Two Girls and a Sailor, without Burns, but remained in radio and would segue into series television with her husband six years later.

In the fall of 1949, having apparently put their movie career behind them but working continuously in radio, Burns and Allen became part of the CBS talent raid.

Her remains were interred in a crypt at the Freedom Mausoleum in the Sanctuary of Heritage at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.