Gracie Allen
Gracie Allen on set. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
Way before Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump became entertainers-turned-politicans, one Hollywood star decided to take her act on the road — to the White House.
Comedienne Gracie Allen’s campaign song was composed by Charles Henderson and included lyrics like: “the big politicians don’t know what to do — Gracie doesn’t either, but neither do you.”
The other half of a famous comedy duo, Allen and her straight man husband George Burns were Hollywood stars. Their double-act was known for their wild publicity stunts, but when Allen ran for president in 1940, no one anticipated that she would actually run a fairly successful campaign — let alone receive an endorsement from Harvard.
Allen ran on the “Surprise Party” ticket, which she and Burns created for the stunt. The Allen/Burns writers even published a book promoting her run, How to Become President.
In one of her campaign speeches, Allen said, “I don’t know much about the Lend-Lease Bill, but if we owe it we should pay it!” — which, of course, was meant in jest, though many longstanding jokes from the Burns and Allen act made their way into the campaign with a degree of legitimacy.
Despite the fact that it was all a joke, she received 42,000 votes in the general election in November 1940 — a respectable number and even more than several other serious female candidates who had, and would go on to, run.
