Some of the old sitcoms from the 1950’s and ‘60’s can seem dated now and even a little corny.  But to me, the best ones are like classic movies, timeless, and full of examples of the right way to create characters and tell a compelling story.  (I was watching Casablanca last night on TCM, for the five thousandth time, and sobbing as if it were the first time I had ever seen it.  When my wife and I go out for dinner, she likes one of us to make toast when the drinks arrive.  My favorite toast will always be, “Here’s looking at you, kid.”) 

If you can watch old movies and classic TV series with a sense of the era, and put aside some of the outdated conventions of the time, you can learn a lot.  You can see where many of today’s successful series have their roots.  You will discover how similar the sitcoms of today are to their earlier ancestors.  You can learn about story structure, how to write jokes, and how to develop characters.  Many of the sitcoms from the ‘50’s were brilliantly original, and none more so than The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show aired on the CBS television network from 1950 until 1958.  That’s a run of nine seasons – as long as Seinfeld or Friends or any other mega-hit sitcom of recent years.   According to IMDB, there are 275 original episodes of the Burns and Allen TV series.   Other sources have the number of episodes as high as 291.  Either way, that’s a lot of shows.  Just to compare, there are 174 episodes of Seinfeld.  The Burns and Allen series received 11 Emmy nominations, including two for best comedy series, and several for Gracie Allen as best female performer.

Over the last few days I’ve been reminiscing via e-mail with my long-time friend and fellow TV comedy writer, Shelley Zellman, about George Burns and Gracie Allen.  Shelley is friends with George Burns’ and Gracie Allen’s former manager, Irving Fein, who is still alive at the age of 100.  Though I never met George Burns, who died in 1996, or Gracie Allen, who died in 1964, they were a big influence on me.  I learned as much about comedy from George and Gracie as I did from any of my other show biz heroes.

One of the biggest lessons I learned from George and Gracie is that for a series to be successful, the audience has to love the characters.  The audience should feel as if the characters on the series are their friends.  The characters should be people that you would want to spend time with in real life.  It’s always good to have one or two characters on a series who are difficult people, but the most successful series are the ones that create characters that viewers grow to love, respect, and admire. 

I think we forget that today.  Characters on a sitcom can be eccentric, but they should also be honorable people.  I loved George and Gracie.  I wanted to know them.  I also loved the supporting characters.   Blanche Morton, Gracie’s next-door neighbor, endured as much stress from Gracie’s hare-brained schemes as Ethel Mertz put up with from Lucy.  Harry Morton, Blanche’s husband, was as irascible at Fred Mertz.  Harry Von Zell was another hapless patsy for Gracie’s plots, the poor fall guy who seemed to get fired by George in every episode. 

But no matter what happened on the show, the characters loved each other and remained friends through thick and thin.  To me, the idea of relationships that endure, the idea of love, is the most important ingredient in a successful series.

Gracie Allen was one of the most original characters ever on television.  Pegged as a “Dumb Dora,” a stereotypical ditzy housewife, which, in today’s world, seems outdated and even insulting to women, Gracie was, in fact, simply a human being with her own unique logic.  (There were plenty of ditzy male characters on TV and in movies, too.)  The most wonderful thing about Gracie was that she was always trying to help others.  She may have been a little scatter-brained, but she had a genius for achieving her goals.  She was kind, generous to a fault, and someone who generated loyalty, enthusiasm, and deep affection in the people around her.  Gracie was, in fact, a leader.  How refreshing is that?  I think Gracie’s kindness and warmth were what people loved most about the character.

The thing we loved most about George was that he loved Gracie.  George was mad about Gracie.  No matter how big a mess Gracie created, George was always on her side.  Exasperated characters would invariably turn to George in frustration and begin to ask him, “How can you be married to this nut?”  Before they could even finish their question, George would take a puff on his cigar, smile, and calmly tell them, “I love her.  That’s why.”

When I remember George and Gracie, the word that comes instantly to my mind is “Love.”  I loved George and Gracie.  I loved their show.  I love the memories I have of watching them as a child.