Gracie Allen: the phenomenom

You are probably all aware that Gracie Allen "ran for President" (not really) in 1939.  She was on all kinds of radio programs promoting herself as the Surprise Party candidate.

I believe she got almost 800,000 write-in votes.

What you probably don't know is that during the election campaign of 1944 and at least the first few months in 1945, Gracie was hired to write a nationally syndicated newspaper column covering the election and the President in office.

There's not much style or substance there; yes, they are "humorous", tongue-in-cheek articles and you can tell that many editors did not care much at all for the articles their bosses had made them run, as Gracie's column often wound up in the Want-Ad sections or with other advertising.

Gracie was funny at times and certainly harmless. The (George) Burns and Allen radio (and later, television) show are non-offensive and usually, not very funny.

The shows and she remain a statue in time and are sometimes worth remembering.