Editing Gracie Allen (section)

==Publicity stunts==
[[File:Burns allen 1952.JPG|left|thumb|upright|[[Burns and Allen]] in 1952]]
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.<ref name="ALoveStory"/>{{rp|100–105}} Allen would make unannounced cameo appearances on other shows, asking if anyone had seen her brother. However, her brother did not find it comical and eventually asked them to stop; he was so irked by the gag's popularity that he disappeared from society at the height of its popularity.

In 1940, Allen announced that she was running for president of the United States on the Surprise Party ticket.<ref name="ALoveStory"/>{{rp|184–193}}<ref>{{cite journal |last=Saavedra|first=Scott |date=August 2020|title=Celebrities for President|journal=RetroFan|publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]] |location=United States|issue=10|page=14}}</ref> Burns and Allen embarked on a cross-country [[Whistle stop train tour|whistle-stop]] campaign tour on a private train, performing their live radio show in various cities. In one of her campaign speeches, Gracie said, "I don't know much about the [[Lend-Lease]] Bill, but if we owe it, we should pay it." Another typical quip on the campaign trail was: "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, and its motto was "It's in the bag." As part of the gag, Dwell, Sloan and Pearce published a book, ''How to Become President by Gracie Allen'' (in reality, written by Burns and Allen writer Charles Lofgren) that included photographs from their nationwide campaign tour and the Surprise Party convention. Allen received an endorsement from [[Harvard University]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourecho.com/story-4739-THE-GRACIE-ALLEN-PRESIDENTIAL-RUN.shtml|title=The Gracie Allen Presidential Run|last=Mazel|first=Henry F.|access-date=6 November 2012|archive-date=August 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810010735/http://www.ourecho.com/story-4739-THE-GRACIE-ALLEN-PRESIDENTIAL-RUN.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Allen was also the subject of one of [[S. S. Van Dine]]'s [[Philo Vance]] mystery novels, ''[[The Gracie Allen Murder Case]]''. Allen said: "S.S. Van Dine is silly to spend six months writing a novel when you can buy one for $2.95."{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

In another publicity stunt, Allen played a piano concert at the [[Hollywood Bowl]] (and later at [[Carnegie Hall]]).<ref name="ALoveStory"/>{{rp|182}} The Burns and Allen staff hired a composer to write the "Concerto for Index Finger", a joke piece in which the orchestra would play madly, only to pause while Allen played a one-finger scale with a final incorrect note. The orchestra would then play a musical piece that developed around the wrong note. On her final solo, Allen would finally hit the right note, causing the entire orchestra to applaud. The actual index-finger playing was performed offstage by a professional pianist. The concerto was featured in the film ''[[Two Girls and a Sailor]]'' (1944) with an orchestra conducted by [[Albert Coates (musician)|Albert Coates]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Albert Coates – Albums, Pictures – Naxos Classical Music.|url=https://www.naxos.com/person/Albert_Coates/32333.htm|access-date=2021-02-02|website=www.naxos.com}}</ref>