Say 'Good Night,' Paul. Good Night, Paul.

NBC has recently threatened legal action if David Letterman takes some of the comedy bits he made famous on his NBC show and uses them on his new late-night show on CBS. NBC has made a fuss with CBS o

"George ((Burns)) and Gracie ((Allen)), still working for CBS, were involved in a running gag about Gracie's 'missing brother' George Allen . . . In working out their opening exchange ((for a guest appearance on Rudy Vallee's radio show on NBC in the 1930s)), all hands agreed it might begin with Rudy saying, 'Hello, Gracie, have you found George yet?' Scripts were prepared accordingly. NBC in a last-minute ruling, decreed otherwise. The missing brother gag, NBC held, was a CBS promotion and nuts to a rival network promoting itself over NBC facilities. The script would have to be rewritten, the missing...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!