Open Thread for Wednesday

Today in 1932 George Burns and Gracie Allen make their U.S. radio debut as regulars on the Guy Lombardo Show.

Burns and Allen met in the early 1920s, when Burns was performing in a vaudeville act on Long Island. Allen, a stenographer who had performed with a vaudeville company herself, had come backstage to visit a friend in the show. The pair hit it off immediately and soon developed their own comedy act. In their first performance, Allen played the straight character, and Burns was the funny guy, but they switched roles after their first performance when Gracie's artless delivery won more laughs than Burns' jokes. They toured the country with their act for three years and married in 1926, landing a lucrative touring contract just one year later.