Fred Allen Show, George Jessel Guests, Jan 20, 1946

Fred Allen's show was not very typical of his time. He tended to avoid the standard variety format in favor of topical humor approached from several directions within the half-hour. Over the years, it became more or less a trademark that Allen would tell one of the scripted jokes and that would fall flat...only to have Fred ad lib some crack about how bad the joke was, getting a much bigger laugh in the process.