William D. King
- Camera and Electrical Department
William D Kind is known for The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950), The Bob Cummings Show (1955) and The George Burns Show (1958).
One of the first comedies to successfully switch from radio to television was The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, which debuted on October 12, 1950. The CBS domestic comedy, which was based on the premise of the radio program in which George Burns and Gracie Allen portrayed themselves, was the first television program to expose the home life of a working show business couple. It was filmed in their house.
The first two seasons of the half-hour show were broadcast live. Only the third CBS series to originate from the West Coast, the show's first six episodes were shown from New York before moving to Hollywood (after The Ed Wynn Show and The Alan Young Show). Burns insisted that the show be broadcast every other week to allow for enough time for rehearsing and to lessen some of the stress associated with live broadcasts. The anthology programs Starlight Theater and later Star of the Family were swapped over the series' biweekly run. The show changed from weekly live broadcasts to taped broadcasts after two seasons of live performances. Despite not being filmed in front of a studio audience, the finished video was shown to a crowd and their reactions were captured. When a lot of shows used mechanically duplicated ( "Burns asserted that his television show merely "'sweetened' the laughter when a joke fell flat and there was no way to remove it from the movie. We never added more than a light giggle even then."
George Burns should also receive credit for his behind-the-scenes work, much like that of other television pioneers like Desi Arnaz and Jack Webb. Although Burns observed that "television was so new that if an actor burped, everyone agreed it was an unique notion and nothing like it had ever been done on television before," Burns and Allen incorporated a number of television "firsts" into their work. Nevertheless, he was the first performer on television to employ the theatrical cliche of "breaking the fourth wall" between performer and audience. He regularly interrupted a scene and broke character to address the audience before returning to the narrative. Although this practice was later adopted by others, It's Garry Shandling's Show in the 1980s was the first to employ it successfully.
The staff writers for the series included Paul Henning (who later created The Beverly Hillbillies), Sid Dorfman (who later wrote for M*A*S*H and produced Good Times for Norman Lear), Harvey Helm, and William Burns, George's younger brother. They had all previously written for the Burns and Allen radio program or collaborated with the team in vaudeville. The writers followed the rules and procedures set during their radio show in order to keep the dialogue and circumstances consistent with the personalities and ages of the characters. The stories avoided current comedy, fantastical characters, and ridiculous circumstances in favor of more commonplace facets of daily life. The plots were straightforward (Gracie trying to learn Spanish, for example), and, like their vaudeville acts, the humor came from Allen's singularly warped perception of reality and the ensuing bewilderment. Burns provided the exuberant, errant Allen with the stereotypical straight man.
Burns would stand in front of the proscenium that surrounded their living room set at the start of each show, holding his signature cigar. He gave a quick monologue there before giving the audience some insight into what they were about to witness.
Allen's success and huge popularity were a result of her talent for playing down her role. Her believable earnestness makes irrational presumptions seem sensible, such as sewing buttons into her husband's shirttails so that no one would notice if he lost one.
One of the first comedies to successfully switch from radio to television was The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, which debuted on October 12, 1950. The CBS domestic comedy, which was based on the premise of the radio program in which George Burns and Gracie Allen portrayed themselves, was the first television program to expose the home life of a working show business couple. It was filmed in their house.
The first two seasons of the half-hour show were broadcast live. Only the third CBS series to originate from the West Coast, the show's first six episodes were shown from New York before moving to Hollywood (after The Ed Wynn Show and The Alan Young Show). Burns insisted that the show be broadcast every other week to allow for enough time for rehearsing and to lessen some of the stress associated with live broadcasts. The anthology programs Starlight Theater and later Star of the Family were swapped over the series' biweekly run. The show changed from weekly live broadcasts to taped broadcasts after two seasons of live performances. Despite not being filmed in front of a studio audience, the finished video was shown to a crowd and their reactions were captured. When a lot of shows used mechanically duplicated ( "Burns asserted that his television show merely "'sweetened' the laughter when a joke fell flat and there was no way to remove it from the movie. We never added more than a light giggle even then."
George Burns should also receive credit for his behind-the-scenes work, much like that of other television pioneers like Desi Arnaz and Jack Webb. Although Burns observed that "television was so new that if an actor burped, everyone agreed it was an unique notion and nothing like it had ever been done on television before," Burns and Allen incorporated a number of television "firsts" into their work. Nevertheless, he was the first performer on television to employ the theatrical cliche of "breaking the fourth wall" between performer and audience. He regularly interrupted a scene and broke character to address the audience before returning to the narrative. Although this practice was later adopted by others, It's Garry Shandling's Show in the 1980s was the first to employ it successfully.
The staff writers for the series included Paul Henning (who later created The Beverly Hillbillies), Sid Dorfman (who later wrote for M*A*S*H and produced Good Times for Norman Lear), Harvey Helm, and William Burns, George's younger brother. They had all previously written for the Burns and Allen radio program or collaborated with the team in vaudeville. The writers followed the rules and procedures set during their radio show in order to keep the dialogue and circumstances consistent with the personalities and ages of the characters. The stories avoided current comedy, fantastical characters, and ridiculous circumstances in favor of more commonplace facets of daily life. The plots were straightforward (Gracie trying to learn Spanish, for example), and, like their vaudeville acts, the humor came from Allen's singularly warped perception of reality and the ensuing bewilderment. Burns provided the exuberant, errant Allen with the stereotypical straight man.
Burns would stand in front of the proscenium that surrounded their living room set at the start of each show, holding his signature cigar. He gave a quick monologue there before giving the audience some insight into what they were about to witness.
Allen's success and huge popularity were a result of her talent for playing down her role. Her believable earnestness makes irrational presumptions seem sensible, such as sewing buttons into her husband's shirttails so that no one would notice if he lost one.