Kept Woman Wednesday: "Mr. and Mrs. North" (1942)

Gracie shopping with her daughter, Sandra. I'm jealous.

George Burns and Gracie Allen aren’t really known for their movies (though conquering three entertainment mediums – TV, radio, stage – was certainly adequate). Today TCM is showing “Mr. and Mrs. North,” (1942) a comedy with Gracie Allen, which I haven’t seen but would plan to if my day permitted (maybe just a long lunch: 68 minutes?!). Of the handful of Burns & Allen movies, “A Damsel in Distress,” (1937) has some especially cute wordplay and cute Fred Astaire. Though don’t plan on deciphering any utterance from the adolescent eavesdropper character (you’ll see).

Did you know that Gracie Allen is one of my style icons? I adore her. When I was little, I would imagine the two of us shopping at Saks together. Just today, my sister asked me what I'd do if vacationing in Los Angeles. My real, true first thought: visit Forest Lawn Cemetery, where Gracie is interred, and take her flowers, like George used to do. I guess, in effect, I’d be taking flowers to George as well. Anyway, that’s first on my list. Then Disneyland.

The the ripe ol' age of ten, I became obsessed with vaudevillians and the early years of television. Inspired by George’s Gracie: A Love Story, I dreamed of Beverly Hills parties spent rallied ‘round the piano at Jack Benny’s house in the company of Mary Livingstone, George, Gracie, Eddie Cantor, Georgie Jessel. To me, they all seemed like great friends. And I didn’t have too many of those.

Gracie was blithe, kind and clever. She was adorable and well dressed – and maybe the first to impress upon me that style wasn’t just for, you know, them. Gracie loved beautiful clothes. If fashion was for a five foot funny lady with a squeaky voice, the maybe it could be for me, too (who had far greater sartorial inadequacies).

Here's what Gracie taught me about style:
Accessories: To avoid being over-dressed: before leaving the house, Gracie would look in the mirror and remove one accessory. I know, I know that this advice is often attributed to Coco Chanel, but I first learned it from Gracie. (Anecdote from George in Gracie: A Love Story.)
Furs: Fur instant glamour: A source alludes me, but George once said that Gracie "had furs from animals I've never even heard of." I, too, love furs. So taboo! I usually reason that if an animal would have died a natural death prior to my birth -- I'm off the hook because I wasn't around to protest it's inhumane death. (Would you like to know more about Persian Lamb? Yuck yuck ick!)
A Confidante: For the latest trends: Tony Curtis's The Making of 'Some Like it Hot' describes one of my favorite Hollywood friendships: "Orry-Kelly was constantly on the phone, talking to some woman. I assumed he was gay, so that didn’t figure. I later learned that he was talking to Gracie Allen. They were thick at thieves. Even though she’d retired, she wanted to hear all the gossip." Orry-Kelly could definitely shop at Saks with us. Don't know Orry-Kelly? Fix that.

A lively sense of humor is rather winsome, too: