Cheap Gracie: A Love Story (Book) (George Burns) Price

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Customer Reviews of Gracie: A Love Story

An Excellent Love Story
I just finished reading this for about the 3rd time or so, each time coming away with a different perspective. George's lifetime devotion to Gracie is very moving and you can't help but smile when you think of the 2 of them up there making everyone laugh. I recently picked the book up again at an infamous bargain book store, my original copy I'd lent out years ago & it was never returned. One of the best showbiz books in print, and one of the funniest books you'll ever read. There'll never be anyone like George & Gracie, not in this lifetime. Highly recommended.

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Say "Thanks to Gracie". Thanks to Gracie!
Rarely do I ever laugh out loud while reading - Geogrge made me.
Rarely do I ever get teary eyed while reading - George made me.

I've always enjoyed the work of Burns & Allen and always planned on reading this book - when I finally did I was gald that I did. I don't need to get into the historical account of thier carrer or what a wonderful, natural talent Gracie was - I'll leave that to George. But George's "comic valentine" to/about Gracie is a wonderful, heartwarming read. You can hear George reading the words to you (actually you really can if you have the audiocasette version - I'm puffing on my cigar) with his dry wit and great delivery.

If you admire Gracie or George you'll enjoy this read.
Next up.... ALL MY BEST FREINDS by George.

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Say Goodnight, Gracie
George Burns published this wonderful tribute to his wife when he was ninety-two years old, still head over heels in love with his dear Gracie, who died thirty years earlier. This book is a memoir of their personal and professional life together starting as the toast of vaudeville, continuing with their radio show for seventeen years, and later, situation comedy stars on television. Both George and Gracie started appearing on stage as children, and they teamed up in 1923, earning five dollars a week, doing four shows a day. At first, Gracie was the straight man and George said the punch lines, but they soon learned it was better the other way around. Gracie played the ditzy girlfriend and wife for thirty-five years and, as George said, he just stood next to her. He never stopped being amazed at her talent, beauty, and intelligence, and he loved her more with each passing day. The book ends with her death, from heart disease in 1958, and one is left with a lovely and intimate picture of their marriage.

Burns wrote the book as if he were talking with a dear friend, and there is a vaudeville joke in nearly every paragraph. The jokes are still funny today, and the book is a quick and very entertaining read. There is a lot of behind the scenes chatter about their famous Hollywood friends, especially Jack Benny, but it is first and foremost a tribute to Gracie and the love they shared for so many years. I heartily recommend this book, especially to those who enjoyed the Burns and Allen TV show in the fifties. It will bring back a lot of happy memories.