Gracie: A Love Story

Great offering by George Burns about his wonderful wife, Gracie. Wonderful Hollywood story, many familiar celebrities, told in the typical George Burns dialog style. You can just see George and Gracie doing their routine and him puffing on his cigar throughout this book. His love and devotion to her are obvious and for Hollywood, rather outstanding. I read the large print version which made it even more of a relaxing read.

A memoir of his life, career and marriage with Gracie Allen Burns, George Burns has filled these pages with love. It is a delightful recounting of their life together, how they met, how they worked together, the various types of performing they did, and how it ended in her death by heart failure. I found the descriptions of working in vaudeville, on Broadway, in radio, TV and the movies very interesting. Many entertainer's names are mentioned, and with the help of YouTube and Google I was able to look up the ones I didn't know. If you enjoy reading about celebrities, or lasting marriage, or early Hollywood, radio and TV, I think you will enjoy this. There were a few redundant passages, but usually with enough humor that it wasn't tiresome.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't quite what I expected. I remember George Burns as a cigar-smoking, joke-cracking television star. I knew he'd been in radio when he started out. I didn't expect him to downplay his talents so much, but in the end, the book is a loving husband's tribute to his beloved wife who also happened to be his work partner for many years.

The subtitle is a love story suggesting it is a biography of Gracie. However, it is an autobiography of George as well. It seems half the text is made up of George's jokes from their vaudeville days, as well as their radio and TV shows. We learn some gossip about Hollywood and we meet many of the famous stars from Vaudeville and early radio days such as Jack Benny, Al Jolson, Fred Astaire and Guy Lombardo.

It is a fun light read that could have done with some tighter editing.

This is a sweet memoir about George Burn's and Gracie Allen's life together, from their very early years, through vaudeville and onward.
The memoir is full of George Burn's self-deprecating humour and one-liners and also full of his love for Gracie.
Enjoyable read.

I remember when this first came out. I was working at the bookstore and it was nearly Christmas time. I looked at the dust jacket blurb and at the pictures and glanced at the ending. I knew it would be a hit. I ordered extra copies and I was right. It took off. I never did get a chance to read it until now. I really enjoyed it. The book was all that it promised. A great love story. Very funny and touching. I'm glad I finally picked it up.

This was one of my mother's books. I thought it would be interesting, but it was dry and repetitive. I do not doubt that Gracie was a lovely woman and the love of George's life, but her life was boring. First book in a long time that I have elected not to finish.