March, 2017 - Gracie Allen - The Old Cuban

Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie "Gracie" Allen (July 26, 1895 - August 27, 1964) was born in San Francisco to Irish Catholics.  She began performing Irish folk dances with her three sisters, who were billed as "The Four Colleens".  In 1909, Allen joined her sister, Bessie, as a vaudeville performer.  At a performance in 1922, Allen met George Burns and the two formed a comedy act.  They were married on January 7, 1926, in Cleveland, Ohio.  They toured the country, eventually headlining in major vaudeville houses.  Many of their famous routines were preserved in one-and two-reel short films, including Lambchops (1929).  In the early 1930s, they started a radio show.  Burns and Allen frequently used running gags as publicity stunts.  During 1932-33, they pulled off one of the most successful in the business: a year-long search for Allen's supposedly missing brother.  They would make unannounced cameo appearances on other shows, asking if anyone had seen Allen's brother.  Gracie Allen's real-life brother was apparently the only person who did not find the gag funny, and he eventually asked them to stop.  In 1940, the team launched a similar stunt when Allen announced she was running for President of the United States on the Surprise Party ticket.  Burns and Allen did a cross-country whistlestop campaign tour on a private train, performing their live radio show in different cities.  In one of her campaign speeches, Gracie said, "Everybody knows a woman is better than a man when it comes to introducing bills into the house."  The Surprise Party mascot was the kangaroo; the motto was "It's in the bag." As a child, Allen had been scalded badly on one arm, and she was extremely sensitive about the scarring.  Throughout her life, she wore either full or three-quarter length sleeves to hide the scars.

The Drink:

The Old Cuban
6 mint leaves, plus tip for garlish
3/4 oz lime juice
1 oz simple syrup
1.5 oz amber rum
2 oz champagne
1-2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 lime slice

Drinkability:  4
Drunkability:  4
Taxic Diversity:  3
Accessibility:  4
Priority for Conservation:  5+

Comments:  

From "Ladies of Comedy" themed meeting, hosted by Ball Buster.