Reviews

The 92-year-old Burns here tells a true-love story of the life he shared with his wife, who died in 1964. The author (ne Nathan Birnbaum) was a Jewish kid from Brooklyn when he met Grace Allen, who was raised in an Irish-Catholic family in San Francisco. Both were struggling vaudevillians when they married in 1928, but as ``Burns and Allen,'' they gradually advanced into the big time. Describing their professional and personal life together, Burns fills the book with infectious humor, although one feels his loss. Clearly he wants readers to know Grace, an intelligent and endearing woman far different from ``Gracie,'' whose exquisitely timed ``illogic-logic'' quips made her world famous. The memoir's great appeal is further strengthened by accounts of early vaudeville and anecdotes about Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, Fred Astaire, the Lunts and other friends. It should be a bestseller. (Nov.)

Burns opens this book with ``For forty years my act consisted of one joke. And then she died.'' This is a tribute to Gracie Allen, Burns's wife and partner, and the story of their life together, from vaudeville through early radio and television. Reading this entertaining account is just like listening to Burns talk. In fact, he signals jokes by telling the reader, ``Now I'm puffing on my cigar.'' Burns gives a good behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood and their famous friends, such as Jack Benny and Ronald Reagan. But what primarily emerges is a sensitive profile of Allen, who was a tough, clever, workhorse of a comedian, despite her ``Dumb Dora'' role, and a generous spirit. Recommended for public libraries. Barbara Carroll, M.L.S., Eau Claire, Wis.