BW - EP137—003: St. Patricks Day On The Air—Burns And Allen At The NYC Parade

Breaking Walls: The Podcast on the History of American Network Radio Broadcasting

By the spring of 1941, George Burns and Gracie Allen had been married for fifteen years and on radio for nine. Their program had been officially titled The Burns And Allen Show in the fall of 1936, and they’d spent time at both NBC and CBS. Unhappy with their Friday time slot on CBS, they’d moved back to NBC for Hormel Meats on Mondays at 7:30. Jimmy Wallington announced and Artie Shaw’s band provided the orchestra. But their vaudeville-style show was beginning to show its age. In January of 1941 their rating had slipped to 14.8. While they pondered what to do, they took to the air with the March 17th, 1941 episode.