Gosden, Freeman F(isher); and Correll, Charles J.

born May 5, 1899, Richmond, Va., U.S.

died Dec. 10, 1982, Los Angeles, Calif.

born Feb. 2, 1890, Peoria, Ill., U.S.

died Sept. 26, 1972, Chicago, Ill.

U.S. comedians.

They performed comedy routines in traveling variety shows before creating two black characters, Sam and Henry, for a Chicago radio show (1926–28). In 1929 they broadened their appeal by devising a larger cast of characters for a new nightly radio program, Amos 'n' Andy, thus creating the first situation comedy. As Amos the cab driver and his sidekick, Andy, they became the mainstays of radio's most popular program in the 1930s, and their popularity ensured the success of radio broadcasting as a form of mass entertainment. Their show, which was broadcast weekly, finally ended in 1954, partly in response to criticism that its humour was offensive to blacks.

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