The Blue Beetle
Originally broadcast in syndication, 15 May 1940. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
The run
- Network
- CBS
- Years active
- 1934–1950
- Surviving broadcasts
- 272
- Genre
- comedy
This upload contains 272 episodes of the old time radio programs of George Burns and Gracie Allen, which aired from 1934-1950. George and Gracie then made the successful jump to television (1950-1958). The iconic comedy duo (and married couple) entertained American audiences for a quarter of a century.
1949 · 11948 · 11947 · 11946 · 21944 · 11943 · 21942 · 11940 · 21934 · 1
Restoration quality — measured from the surviving files
Clean transfer · 4 of 45Listenable · 5 of 45Rough but complete · 36 of 45
Source collection
Internet Archive audio collections
Rights
Public domain — no renewed US copyright
Cataloguing
Air dates and notes from the Archive item record
Every broadcast below carries its own provenance sheet — transfer quality, file source and rights.Archive record: the-burns-and-allen-show-1934-09-26-2-leaving-for-america
The shape of the run
What survives, year by year
12 dated broadcasts across 17 years on the air, with 8 years where nothing is known to survive. Brightness is transfer quality; empty cells are months lost to time.
JFMAMJJASOND
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
Clean transferListenableRough but complete No surviving recording
Episodes
Start here
Listen to the run in order
Restored broadcasts from 1934, in original transmission order.
- 1. The Burns and Allen Show 1934-09-26 (2) Leaving for America · 26 Sep 1934
- 2. The Burns and Allen Show 1940-05-15 (33) Rah, Rah in Omaha · 15 May 1940
- 3. The Burns and Allen Show 1940-11-18 (21) Thanksgiving Show · 18 Nov 1940
- 01
The Burns and Allen Show 1934-09-26 (2) Leaving for America
26 Sep 1934 · 17 min
Transferred from the Internet Archive item “the-burns-and-allen-show-1934-09-26-2-leaving-for-america”, part of the Old Time Radio Researchers public-domain collections.
- 02
The Burns and Allen Show 1940-05-15 (33) Rah, Rah in Omaha
15 May 1940 · 28 min
Transferred from the Internet Archive item “the-burns-and-allen-show-1934-09-26-2-leaving-for-america”, part of the Old Time Radio Researchers public-domain collections.
- 03
The Burns and Allen Show 1940-11-18 (21) Thanksgiving Show
18 Nov 1940 · 27 min
Transferred from the Internet Archive item “the-burns-and-allen-show-1934-09-26-2-leaving-for-america”, part of the Old Time Radio Researchers public-domain collections.
- 04
The Burns and Allen Show 1942-10-27 (4) 99-Year Lease
27 Oct 1942 · 28 min
Transferred from the Internet Archive item “the-burns-and-allen-show-1934-09-26-2-leaving-for-america”, part of the Old Time Radio Researchers public-domain collections.
- 05
The Burns and Allen Show 1943-04-06 (27) Big Jake
6 Apr 1943 · 32 min
Transferred from the Internet Archive item “the-burns-and-allen-show-1934-09-26-2-leaving-for-america”, part of the Old Time Radio Researchers public-domain collections.
- 06
The Burns and Allen Show 1943-12-14 (16) Kay Kayser's Blind Date
14 Dec 1943 · 29 min
Transferred from the Internet Archive item “the-burns-and-allen-show-1934-09-26-2-leaving-for-america”, part of the Old Time Radio Researchers public-domain collections.
- 07
The Burns and Allen Show 1944-11-14 (13) George Sings At A Bond Rally In Boston
14 Nov 1944 · 23 min
Transferred from the Internet Archive item “the-burns-and-allen-show-1934-09-26-2-leaving-for-america”, part of the Old Time Radio Researchers public-domain collections.
- 08
The Burns and Allen Show 1946-01-10 (17) Gracie's Club Takes In An Opera Singer
10 Jan 1946 · 29 min
Transferred from the Internet Archive item “the-burns-and-allen-show-1934-09-26-2-leaving-for-america”, part of the Old Time Radio Researchers public-domain collections.
Same night on the air
15 May 1940
Everything else the archive still holds from the night of 15 May 1940.
Burns & Allen
Originally broadcast on Syndicated, 15 May 1940. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).
Also on CBS
CBS in 1934–1950
Other series the network carried while The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show was on the air.
Same seasons
comedy on the air then
Series in the same genre whose runs overlapped this one.
What it became
Friends in front of a microphone
Jack Benny and Fibber McGee sold intimacy: recurring characters, in-jokes, a house style. The modern hang-out show is the same trick without the script.
Lineage is written by our editors, not inferred from listening data.
Descendants
Working in the tradition of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
Modern series carrying this form forward.
If you liked this
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