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George Burns | |
|---|---|
 Burns in 1961 | |
| Born | Nathan Birnbaum (1896-01-20)January 20, 1896 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | March 9, 1996(1996-03-09) (aged 100) |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1902–1996 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingRonnie |
| Parent(s) | Louis "Lipa" Birnbaum and Hadassah "Dora" Birnbaum (née Bluth) |
| Awards | Hollywood Walk of Fame Television Hall of Fame Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor |
George Burns (bornNathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896 – March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spannedvaudeville, radio, film, and television. His arched eyebrow and cigar-smoke punctuation became familiar trademarks. He and his wifeGracie Allen appeared on radio, television and film as the comedy duoBurns and Allen.
At age 79, Burns experienced a sudden career revival as an amiable, beloved, and unusually active comedy elder statesman in the 1975 filmThe Sunshine Boys, for which he won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
George Burns was born Nathan Birnbaum (Hebrew:נתן בירנבוים) on January 20, 1896, in New York City,[1] the ninth of 12 children born to Hadassah "Dorah" (née Bluth;Hebrew:הדסה בלוט בירנבוים; 1857–1927) and Eliezer Birnbaum (Hebrew:אליעזר בירנבוים; 1855–1903), known as Louis or Lippa,Jewish immigrants who had come to the United States fromRopczyce,[2]Galicia, nowPoland.[3] Burns was a member of theFirst Roumanian-American Congregation.[4]
His father was a substitutecantor at the local synagogue but usually worked as a coat presser. During the influenza epidemic of 1903, Lippe Birnbaum contracted the flu and died at the age of 47. Burns, called Nattie or Nate at the time, went to work to help support the family, shining shoes, running errands and selling newspapers.[5]
When he got a job as a syrup maker in a local candy shop at age seven, Burns was "discovered", as he later recalled:[6]
We were all about the same age, six and seven, and when we were bored making syrup, we used to practice singing harmony in the basement. One day our letter carrier came down to the basement. His name was Lou Farley. Feingold was his real name, but he changed it to Farley. He wanted the whole world to sing harmony. He came down to the basement once to deliver a letter and heard the four of us kids singing harmony. He liked our style, so we sang a couple more songs for him. Then we looked up at the head of the stairs and saw three or four people listening to us and smiling. In fact, they threw down a couple of pennies. So I said to the kids I was working with: no more chocolate syrup. It's show business from now on.
We called ourselves the Pee-Wee Quartet. We started out singing on ferryboats, in saloons, in brothels, and on street corners. We'd put our hats down for donations. Sometimes the customers threw something in the hats. Sometimes they took something out of the hats. Sometimes they took the hats.
One of the Burns brothers' first regular gigs was operating the curtains at the vaudeville andnickelodeon theatre ofFrank Seiden, father ofJoseph Seiden, who later became a Yiddish film producer.[7] Burns started smoking cigars when he was 14.[8]
Burns was drafted into theUnited States Army when the U.S. enteredWorld War I in 1917, but failed the physical examination because he was extremely nearsighted.[9] To hide his Jewish heritage, he adopted the stage name by which he would be known for the rest of his life. He later claimed that he selected the name George Burns because there were two active star professional baseball players with the name (George H. Burns andGeorge J. Burns, unrelated), each of whom accumulated more than 2,000hits and held some major-league records. Burns also was reported to have taken "George" from his brother Izzy (who had first adopted the name because he hated his own) and "Burns" from the Burns Brothers Coal Company, from whose trucks he stole coal as a youth.[10][11]: 33
His first wife was Hannah Siegel (stage name Hermosa Jose), one of his dance partners. The marriage lasted 26 weeks and occurred only because Siegel's family would not permit her to tour with Burns unless they were married. They divorced at the end of the tour.[11]: 58
Burns normally partnered with a woman, sometimes in anadagio dance routine, sometimes in comicpatter. Though he had an apparent flair for comedy, he never quite clicked with any of his partners until he metGracie Allen, a young Irish Catholic woman, in 1923. "All of a sudden", he later said, "the audience realized I had a talent. They were right. I did have a talent—and I was married to her for 38 years."[12] Burns wed Allen in 1926.[8]
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Burns and Allen began their career in motion pictures with a series of comicshort films in the late 1920s and early 1930s, such asThe Big Broadcast (1932) withBing Crosby,International House (1933) andSix of a Kind (1934) withW. C. Fields,The Big Broadcast of 1936 with Crosby again,The Big Broadcast of 1937 withJack Benny,A Damsel in Distress (1937) withFred Astaire andJoan Fontaine, andCollege Swing (1938) withBob Hope andMartha Raye.Honolulu (1939) withEleanor Powell andRobert Young was Burns's last film for nearly 40 years, though Allen starred in two more pictures without him.
In 1938,Paramount producer and managing directorWilliam LeBaron was planning a vehicle for Burns and Allen to team with established star Bing Crosby, with a script written byDon Hartman andFrank Butler. But the story didn't fit Burns and Allen's style, so LeBaron ordered rewrites to fit two male co-stars: Crosby andBob Hope. The project becameRoad to Singapore (1940), the first in a long-running and popular series of"Road" films.
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Burns and Allen first appeared on the radio as the comedy relief for bandleaderGuy Lombardo. In his memoirThe Third Time Around, Burns shared a letter from a college fraternity complaining that its weekly dance parties were interrupted by Burns and Allen routines.
Burns and Allen found their own show and radio audience, first airing on February 15, 1932. Their show was based on their classic stage routines and sketch comedy in which their style was woven into multiple smaller scenes, in a manner similar to that of the short films that they had made in Hollywood. They were also known for clever publicity stunts, such as Allen's hunt for her missing brother that carried over into guest spots on other radio shows. In April 1935 they addedFerde Grofé as musical director.
The couple was portrayed at first as unmarried, with Allen the object of Burns's affections as well as those of other cast members. BandleadersRay Noble (known for his phrase "Gracie, this is the first time we've ever been alone") andArtie Shaw played Allen's love interests. SingerTony Martin also played Allen's unwilling love interest, whom she comically threatened to fire if he did not reciprocate her romantic interest.
With ratings declining and their audience familiar with their real-life marriage, Burns and Allen adapted their radio show in 1941 to present them as a married couple.Artie Shaw, who also appeared as a character in some of the show's sketches, was the show's bandleader at one time. Allen's character also changed slightly during this era, often being mean to Burns.
As this format grew stale over the years, in 1941 Burns and his fellow writers redeveloped the show as asituation comedy. The reformat focused on the couple's married life and their friends and neighbors, includingElvia Allman as Tootsie Sagwell, a man-hungry spinster in love withBill Goodwin. The characters of Harry and Blanche Morton became a mainstay of the program.
As withThe Jack Benny Program, the newGeorge Burns & Gracie Allen Show portrayed Burns and Allen as entertainers with their own weekly radio show. Goodwin remained, and the music was now led byMeredith Willson (later to be better known for composing theBroadway musicalThe Music Man). Willson also played himself on the show as naïve, friendly and shy with women. The new format's success made it one of the few classic radio comedies to completely reinvent itself and regain great success.
The supporting cast during this phase includedMel Blanc as the melancholy, ironically named "Happy Postman" (his catchphrase was "Remember, keep smiling!");Bea Benaderet (later Cousin Pearl inThe Beverly Hillbillies, Kate Bradley inPetticoat Junction and the voice ofBetty Rubble inThe Flintstones) andHal March (later the host ofThe $64,000 Question) as neighbors Blanche and Harry Morton; and the various members of Allen's ladies' club, the Beverly Hills Uplift Society. One running gag during this period, stretching into the television era, was Burns's questionable singing voice; Allen lovingly called him "Sugar Throat". The show received and maintained a Top 10 rating for the rest of its radio life.
In 1949, after 12 years atNBC, the couple took the show back to its original networkCBS, where they had risen to fame from 1932 to 1937. Their friendJack Benny reached a negotiating impasse with NBC over the corporation he set up ("Amusement Enterprises") to package his show, the better to put more of his earnings on a capital-gains basis and avoid the 80% taxes levied on very high earners in the World War II period. CBS executiveWilliam S. Paley convinced Benny to move to CBS (Paley, among other things, impressed Benny with his attitude that the performers make the network, not the other way around, as NBC chiefDavid Sarnoff reputedly believed); Benny in turn convinced several NBC stars to join him, including Burns and Allen. Thus, CBS reaped the benefits when Burns and Allen moved to television in 1950.
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On television,The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show put faces to some of the radio characters audiences had come to love (they already knew Burns and Allen's faces from their films). A number of significant changes were seen in the show:
Burns and Allen also took a cue fromLucille Ball andDesi Arnaz'sDesilu Productions and formed a company of their own, McCadden Corporation (named after the street on which Burns's brother lived), headquartered on the General Service Studio lot in the heart of Hollywood, and set up to film television shows and commercials. Besides their own hit show (which transitioned from a biweekly live series to a weekly filmed version in 1952), the couple's company produced such television series asThe Bob Cummings Show (later syndicated and rerun asLove That Bob);The People's Choice, starringJackie Cooper;Mona McCluskey, starringJuliet Prowse; andMister Ed, starringAlan Young and a talented "talking" horse. Several ofJack Benny's 1953–55 filmed episodes were also produced by McCadden for CBS.
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show ran on CBS Television from 1950 to 1958, when Burns at last consented to Allen's retirement. The onset of heart trouble in the early 1950s had left her exhausted from full-time work and she had been anxious to stop, but could not say no to Burns.
Burns attempted to continue the show (for new sponsorColgate-Palmolive onNBC), but without Allen, the show ended after a year.
Burns subsequently createdWendy and Me, a sitcom in which he co-starred withConnie Stevens,Ron Harper, andJ. Pat O'Malley. He acted primarily as the narrator, and secondarily as the adviser to Stevens's Gracie-like character. The first episode involved the nearly 69-year-old Burns watching his younger neighbor's activities with amusement, just as he had watched the Burns and Allen television show while it was unfolding to get a jump on what Gracie was up to in its final two seasons. Also as in the Burns and Allen television show, Burns frequently broke thefourth wall by talking directly to viewers. The series only lasted a year. In a promotion, Burns had joked that "Connie Stevens plays Wendy, and I play 'me'."
After Gracie died in 1964, Burns immersed himself in work. McCadden Productions co-produced the television seriesNo Time for Sergeants, based on the hit Broadway play; Burns also producedJuliet Prowse's 1965–66NBC situation comedy,Mona McCluskey. At the same time, he toured the U.S. playing nightclub and theater engagements with such diverse partners asCarol Channing,Dorothy Provine,Jane Russell,Connie Haines, and Berle Davis. He also performed a series of solo concerts, playing university campuses, New York'sPhilharmonic Hall and winding up a successful season atCarnegie Hall, where he wowed a capacity audience with his show-stopping songs, dances, and jokes.
In 1974, Burns's close friendJack Benny signed to play one of the lead roles in theMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer film version ofNeil Simon'sThe Sunshine Boys (Red Skelton was originally the other, but he objected to some of the script's language). But Benny's health had begun to fail, and he advised his manager, Irving Fein, to let Burns fill in for him on a series of nightclub dates to which Benny had committed around the U.S.
Burns, who enjoyed working, accepted the job for what would be his first feature film appearance for 36 years. As he recalled years later:[6]
Ill health prevented Benny from working onThe Sunshine Boys; he died ofpancreatic cancer on December 26, 1974. Heartbroken, Burns said that the only time he ever wept in his life other than Allen's death was when Benny died. He was chosen to give one of the eulogies at the funeral and said, "Jack was someone special to all of you, but he was so special to me ... I cannot imagine my life without Jack Benny, and I will miss him so very much."[13] Burns then broke down and had to be helped to his seat. People who knew Burns said he never really came to terms with Benny's death.
Six weeks before filming started, Burns hadtriple bypass surgery.[14]
Burns replaced Benny in the film as well as the club tour, a move that turned out to be one of the biggest breaks of his career; his wise performance as faded vaudevillian Al Lewis won him the 1975Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and permanently secured his career resurgence. At 80, Burns was the oldest Oscar winner in the history of theAcademy Awards, a record that stood untilJessica Tandy won an Oscar forDriving Miss Daisy in 1989.
In 1977, Burns made another hit film,Oh, God!, playing the omnipotent title role opposite singerJohn Denver as an earnest but befuddled supermarket manager, whom God picks at random to revive his message. The image of Burns in a sailor's cap and light springtime jacket as the droll Almighty influenced his subsequent comedic work, as well as that of other comedians. At a celebrity roast in his honor,Dean Martin adapted a Burns crack: "When George was growing up, theTop 10 were theTen Commandments".
Burns appeared in this character along withVanessa Williams on the September 1984 cover ofPenthouse magazine, the issue that contained Williams's notorious nude photos, as well as the first appearance of underage pornographic film starTraci Lords. A blurb on the cover announced "Oh God, she's nude!"
Oh, God! inspired two sequels,Oh, God! Book II (in which the Almighty engages a precocious schoolgirl played byLouanne Sirota to spread the word) andOh, God! You Devil—in which Burns played a dual role as God and thedevil, with the soul of a would-be songwriter (played byTed Wass) at stake.
After guest-starring onThe Muppet Show andAlice,[15] Burns appeared in 1978'sSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the film based onThe Beatles'album of the same name. In 1979, at 83, Burns starred in two feature films,Just You and Me, Kid andGoing in Style. He remained active in films and TV past his 90th birthday. One of his last films was 1988's18 Again!, based on his half-novelty, half-country music-based hit single, "I Wish I Was 18 Again". In this film, Burns played an 81-year-old self-made millionaire industrialist who switched bodies with his awkward, artistic, 18-year-old grandson (played byCharlie Schlatter).
Burns also did regular nightclub stand-up acts in his later years, usually portraying himself as a lecherous old man. He always smoked a cigar onstage and reputedly timed his monologues by the amount the cigar had burned down. For this reason, he preferred cheap El Producto cigars as the loosely wrapped tobacco burned longer. Burns once quipped: "In my youth, they called me a rebel. When I was middle-aged, they called me eccentric. Now that I'm old, I'm doing the same thing I've always done and they're calling me senile."[citation needed][16]
For most of his life, Burns would smoke between 10 to 20 cigars a day.[17][18]Arthur Marx estimated that Burns smoked around 300,000 cigars during his lifetime, starting at age 14. In his final years, he smoked no more than four a day, and he never used cigarettes ormarijuana, saying, "Look, I can't get any more kicks than I'm getting. What can marijuana do for me that show business hasn't done?" His last feature film role was thecameo role of Milt Lackey, a 100-year-old stand-up comedian, in the 1994 comedy mysteryRadioland Murders.
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Eight years before his death, Burns publicly admitted that once in their marriage, in the 1950s, he had cheated on Allen. In guilt over the one-night affair, Burns gave Allen a $10,000 diamond ring and a $750 silver centerpiece. Allen learned about the affair but never let on to Burns that she knew, and the couple never discussed it.[11]: 306 Burns recounted that years later he discovered his wife Gracie had told her friend Mary Livingstone (the wife of comedian Jack Benny) about the episode, finishing her account by saying to Mary, "You know, I really wish George would cheat on me again; I could use a new centerpiece."[19]
Burns was still appearing at major hotel/casinos in Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe during the early 1980s. When he turned 90 in 1986, the city of Los Angeles renamed the northern end of Hamel Road "George Burns Road." City regulations prohibited naming a city street after a living person, but an exception was made for Burns. In celebration of Burns's 99th birthday in 1995, Los Angeles renamed the eastern end of Alden Drive "Gracie Allen Drive." Burns was present at the unveiling ceremony (one of his last public appearances), and quipped: "It's good to be here at the corner of Burns & Allen. At my age, it's good to be anywhere!"[20] George Burns Road and Gracie Allen Drive cross just a few blocks west of theBeverly Center mall in the heart of theCedars-Sinai Medical Center. Burns served as honorary chairman of the center's endowment drive.[21]
Burns remained in good health for most of his life, in part thanks to a daily exercise regimen of swimming, walks, sit-ups, and push-ups. He bought newCadillacs every year and drove until the age of 93. After that, Burns had chauffeurs drive him around. In his later years, he also had difficulty reading fine print.
Burns suffered a head injury after falling in his bathtub in 1994 and underwent surgery to removefluid in his skull.[22] He never fully recovered, and his performing career came to an end. In February 1995, Burns, in one of his final television appearances, was presented with the first SAG Lifetime Achievement Award by theScreen Actors Guild. When he was 96, he had signed a lifetime contract withCaesars Palace inLas Vegas to perform stand-up comedy there, which included the guarantee of a show on his centenary, January 20, 1996. But when that day came, he was too weak to give a performance. In December 1995, Burns was well enough to attend a Christmas party hosted byFrank Sinatra (who turned 80 that month), where he reportedly caught the flu, which weakened him further. He released a statement joking about how he would love for his 100th birthday to have "a night withSharon Stone." His last television appearance came in a commercial for theAustralian Football League's centenary season in 1996, which aired after his death.[23]
On March 9, 1996, Burns died in hisBeverly Hills home of heart failure.[24][25][26] His funeral was held three days later at the Wee Kirk o' the Heather church inForest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale.[27][26] As much as he looked forward to reaching age 100, Burns also said, about a year before he died, that he also looked forward to death, saying that on the day he would die, he would be with Allen again inHeaven. Upon being interred with Allen, the crypt's marker was changed from, "Grace Allen Burns—Beloved Wife And Mother (1902–1964)" to "Gracie Allen (1902–1964) & George Burns (1896–1996)—Together Again". Burns had always said that he wanted Allen to have top billing.[citation needed]
George Burns has three stars on theHollywood Walk of Fame: amotion pictures star at 1639Vine Street, a television star at 6510Hollywood Boulevard, and a live performance star at 6672 Hollywood Boulevard. The first two stars were placed during the initial installations of 1960, while the third-star ceremony was held in 1984,[28][29] in the new category of live performance, or live theatre, established that year.[30] Burns is also a member of theTelevision Hall of Fame, where he andGracie Allen were inducted in 1988. There is a street named after Burns inSan Antonio, Texas.[31]
He is the subject ofRupert Holmes's one-actor playSay Goodnight, Gracie.
Burns was a bestselling author who wrote ten books:
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | The Big Broadcast | Himself | |
| 1933 | International House | Doctor Burns | |
| College Humor | Himself | ||
| 1934 | Six of a Kind | George Edward | |
| We're Not Dressing | Himself | ||
| Many Happy Returns | Himself | ||
| 1935 | Love in Bloom | Himself | |
| Here Comes Cookie | Himself | ||
| The Big Broadcast of 1936 | Himself | ||
| 1936 | The Big Broadcast of 1937 | Mr. Platt | |
| College Holiday | George Hymen | ||
| Winterset | |||
| 1937 | A Damsel in Distress | Himself | |
| 1938 | College Swing | George Jonas | |
| 1939 | Honolulu | Joe Duffy | |
| 1956 | The Solid Gold Cadillac | the Narrator (voice) | |
| 1975 | The Sunshine Boys | Al Lewis | |
| 1977 | Oh, God! | God | |
| 1978 | Movie Movie | Himself – Introductory Segments | Uncredited |
| Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | Mr. Kite | ||
| 1979 | Just You and Me, Kid | Bill | |
| Going in Style | Joe | ||
| 1980 | Oh, God! Book II | God | |
| 1982 | Two of a Kind | Ross "Boppy" Minor | |
| 1984 | Oh, God! You Devil | God /Harry O. Tophet | |
| 1988 | 18 Again! | Jack Watson / David Watson | |
| 1994 | A Century of Cinema | Himself | Documentary |
| Radioland Murders | Milt Lackey | Last film appearance |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Lambchops | George the Boyfriend | |
| 1930 | Fit to Be Tied | Tie Customer | |
| 1931 | Pulling a Bone | Man with a Bone | |
| The Antique Shop | Customer | ||
| Once Over, Light | Barbershop Customer | ||
| 100% Service | George | ||
| 1932 | Oh, My Operation | the New Patient | |
| The Babbling Book | George | ||
| Your Hat | Hat Salesman | ||
| 1933 | Let's Dance | George, a Sailor | |
| Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 | Himself | Uncredited | |
| Walking the Baby | George | ||
| 1946 | Screen Snapshots: Famous Fathers and Sons | Himself | |
| 1954 | Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Grows Up | Himself | |
| 1955 | Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Beauty | Himself | |
| 1967 | All About People | Narrator | |
| 1973 | A Look at the World of Soylent Green | Himself | |
| 1975 | The Lion Roars Again | Himself |
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Country | U.S. | |||
| 1970 | George Burns Sings | — | — | Buddah |
| 1975 | An Evening with George Burns: Live at Shubert Theater | — | — | Pride |
| 1980 | I Wish I Was Eighteen Again | 12 | 93 | Mercury |
| George Burns in Nashville | — | — | ||
| 1982 | Young at Heart | — | — | |
| 1992 | As Time Goes By withBobby Vinton | Curb | ||
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Country | U.S. | CAN Country | CAN | CAN AC | |||
| 1980 | "I Wish I Was Eighteen Again" | 15 | 49 | 8 | 25 | 19 | I Wish I Was Eighteen Again |
| "The Arizona Whiz" | 85 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981 | "Willie, Won't You Sing a Song with Me" | 66 | — | — | — | — | George Burns in Nashville |
