I have been listening to their radio show and they always make reference to Glendale. Most of the jokes are not funny but the audience roars with laughter so I reckon it is a time period thing.
For instance
George) Wouldn’t you love to visit paradise
Gracie) Oh that’s OK I’ve already been to Glendale.
Laughter
George) What lies beyond the great unknown
Gracie) Glendale
Laughter
Geroge) He stole that broken down car?
Gracie) Yeah well he only got as far as Glendale.
What is up with this city?
Sounds like a nonsense running joke, which would fit with their material.
I suppose in a humorous sense if you imagine a LA-centered universe excluding the San Fernando Valley, Glendale could represent a sort of ‘outside world’; it’s right up against LA, but also in the direction of the mountains, right behind the Hollywood hills (In this picture it’s right at the base of the smallish bunch of mountains left of center, behind the hills that run off to the west). Then again, there’s nothing particular about Glendale – any number of cities could have been chosen that fit what I just described.
I just wanted to post the somewhat morbid punchline to the second joke.
Johnny Carson used to make the same kind of jokes about Burbank, which is in a similar position to Glendale’s.
In most other parts of the Western US, either city would be urban centers of their own, since they have tall buildings downtown and are centers of commerce, but in the shadow of Los Angeles, they’re just principal suburbs.
My favorite suburb joke is by Carnac the Magnificent:
Carnac’s Prescient Psychic Answer: Oxnard
The Question from the Envelope: What’s the most disgusting part of an Ox?
As a former Oxnard resident, I find that hilarious to this very day.
It’s also characterized as being the stereotypical boring, conservative suburb. Pasadena is also used in this regard, but is generally thought of as being more wealthy.
The Tonight Show is taped at NBC Studios, which is in Burbank
That’s hilarious! 
Well, I chose to live in Pasadena because in my experience, it had a reputation for being more cultured, what with CalTech, several Museums, Rose Bowl, JPL, Art Center, etc. etc.
And when I looked around, I found it a bit older, with less cookie cutter sprawl, and very little ghetto/barrio compared to most of LA and Orange counties.
However, at the time, Old Town was pretty seedy… now it’s been taken over by foodie type restaurants and tons of franchise retail places. I’m not sure which is worse. At least the pawn shop and the adult bookstore are still on one block, keeping a bit of the old character alive. And Russels is still there on Fair Oaks and Union.
Now San Marino, that’s the place with the wealthy, boring reputation!
There was no implied criticism of Pasadena in my post. I would live there if I could afford it. Boring != bad, and despite what you hear again and again on these boards, conservative != bad.
BTW, I still think that Oxnard joke is hilarious.
If it’s the Burns and Allen radio show that you’re listening to, then it must have been made sometime between 1932 and 1950, depending on the format used.
Back then, much of the San Fernando Valley was still fairly rural. Glendale would be a little town in the middle of nowhere, and, therefore, funny to the downtown LA audience.
(The same idea is also probably behind Jack Benny’s longtime “Anaheim, Azusa, and Cucamonga” joke, as those are all communities east of LA that were still fairly rural in those pre-suburb days.)
All in good humor, Max!
I was going to post about Jack Benny’s “Anaheim, Azusa, and Cucamonga” joke in this threat, too, thanks for point it out, Gov’ner 
I have tried to explain that joke to others, and it’s hard for the kids of today. The one I remember from a tape of his comedy I heard is that train conductor who keeps begging people to get ont he train heading there.
Is/was there really a town called Cucamonga? I’ve always known it as Rancho Cucamonga, recently made famous by the 2003 firestorms.
Monty Python had a joke about a lady from Glendale in their “Live at the Hollywood Bowl” video – I don’t remember the context, except that the audience found it hilarious, for some odd reason.
Sorry, by light of day I see that my comments were overly harsh. :wally
It just occured to me, do we know for sure that they are refering to Glendale, CA? There is also a Glendale in Arizona that I know of and probably others that I don’t.
I’d also like to hear the “Anaheim, Azusa, and Cucamonga” joke.
The joke is that someone (usually a PA announcer at the train station" is announcing a train that is leaving for “Anaheim, Azusa, and Cuc—ca----monga”
The joke is the length of time it takes the announcer to say “Cucamonga”.
It’s also funny because, in the sketch, nobody is getting on this train–a fact evident in the PA announcer’s increasing desperation each time he announces the train’s departure.
In addition, according the old rule that any word with a “k” (or hard “c”) is inherently funny, the name “Cucamonga” is a joke by itself since it’s pronounced with two hard “c” sounds.
As for the OP, my guess Glendale was funny since it’s a rather bland and mundane place that people from LA knew about.
The “Burns & Allen” shows I have heard have been pre World War II
Hey! I live in Glendale and I, ummm, well, I don’t really get those jokes. Oh well.
I also used to live in Pasadena, and it is nicer, but it is over-priced IMO
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention did a Glendale joke in the loooong song Billy the Mountain on Just Another Band from L.A.
Also, City of Industry.
In that case, Marxxx, Glendale definately is a little town in the middle of nowhere, as the San Fernando Valley is still largely farms at this time.
And, for the record, it is a dated joke. Most jokes of that era are.
That train announcer was the late Mel Blanc-the voice of all the Warner Brothers cartoon characters.
