George Burns
(1896 - 1996)
George Burns was the stage name of Nathan Birnbaum (January 20, 1896–March 9, 1996). He was a legendary Jewish American vaudeville comedian who went on to work in movies, radio, and early television. He became well-known for his longevity despite an affinity for alcohol and cigars, and for his miraculous career comeback at 79 years of age, arguably becoming more popular and well-known in his 80s and 90s than at any other point in his career.
Early years
Nathan was the ninth of twelve children born to Louis and Dorothy Birnbaum, in New York City, New York. Burns' father was a substitute cantor at his local synagogue, but he did not work very often. When the flu epidemic arrived in 1903, Louis had his chance to earn some real money, but contracted the flu and died.
George started working in 1903 after his father's death, shining shoes, running errands, and selling newspapers. He landed a job as a syrup maker at a local candy shop, at the age of seven. It was there that he was discovered. George recalled:
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 Peewee Quartet. We started out singing on ferryboats, in saloons 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.
Burns quit school in the fourth grade to go into show business full-time. He tried various avenues of entertainment. By the time he was 14, he'd been a trick roller skater, a dance teacher, a singer and an adagio dancer in small-time vaudeville. He also took up cigar smoking seriously and changed his name to George Burns.
Gracie Allen
Burns usually worked with a girl, sometimes doing an adagio dance, sometimes just funny patter. George's act was constantly shifting from dancing to attempts at comedy and didn't seem to be going anyplace until he met Gracie Allen in 1923, when the two of them formed a team.
When they first teamed up, George was the comic and Gracie was the straight woman. But they switched roles after their first performance in Hoboken, New Jersey, when she drew all the big laughs. As a result, their act quickly evolved into what was known in vaudeville circles as a "Dumb Dora" act.
Burns and Allen worked together, growing more and more successful with their Dumb Dora act and establishing a reputation for themselves until they wound up playing the Palace, the fulfillment of every vaudevillian's dream. With success came love, and George and Gracie were married on January 7, 1926, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Their feature credits in the mid- to late-1930s included the following: The Big Broadcast of 1932; International House in 1933; Six of a Kind in 1934; The Big Broadcast of 1936; The Big Broadcast of 1937; A Damsel in Distress in 1937 and College Swing in 1938, in which Bob Hope made one of his early film appearances.
In a strange way, Burns and Allen were indirectly responsible for the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby "Road" pictures. In 1938, William LeBaron, producer and managing director at Paramount, had a script prepared by Don Hartman and Frank Butler. It was to star Burns and Allen with a young crooner named Bing Crosby. The story didn't seem to fit George and Gracie, so LeBaron ordered Hartman and Butler to rewrite their script to fit two male co-stars—Hope and Crosby. The script was titled Road to Singapore and it made motion-picture history.
Burns & Allen's mainstay was a weekly radio comedy series that first aired on February 15, 1932. Originally focusing on patter and sketches, basically an audio version of their stage act, and later on wacky publicity stunts involving Gracie, such as running for President of the United States. By 1942, the series had developed into a situation comedy, focusing on the relationship between the pair as husband and wife, and their friends and neighbors. The supporting cast during this phase included Mel Blanc as the melancholy, ironically named "Happy Postman"; Bea Benaderet and Hal March as neighbors Blanche and Harry Morton; and the various members of Gracie's ladies' club, the Beverly Hills Uplift Society. One running gag during this period, stretching into the television era, was Burns' singing voice, as Gracie lovingly referred to her husband as "Sugar Throat." The show enjoyed great success, maintaining a top 10 position until they took the show to television in 1950.
In 1955, Burns and Allen founded McCadden Corporation, which had its headquarters on the General Service Studio lot in the heart of Hollywood, to film television shows and commercials. Besides The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, which was very successful, the company produced such television series as The Bob Cummings Show; The People's Choice, starring Jackie Cooper; Mona McClusky, starring Juliet Prowse; and Mister Ed, starring Alan Young and a talented "talking" horse. The "Burns and Allen Show" ran through 1958, when Gracie decided to retire due to her heart condition.
The Burns were always praised as having one of the happiest marriages in show business. Friends said that they were to marriage what Rogers and Hammerstein were to music: style, dignity, and class all the way. Burns later admitted that on one occasion he had an affair with a Las Vegas showgirl; he said it was the biggest regret of his life. Although Gracie found out about it and he knew she had, they never discussed it. Burns felt so bad that to make amends, he bought his wife a diamond ring and a mink coat. Some time later, Gracie was shopping with a friend and said "You know I really wish George would cheat on me again, I really like that mink coat".
Traveling entertainer
After Gracie died of a heart attack in 1964, Burns immersed himself in work. His company coproduced the television series No Time For Sergeants, based on the hit Broadway play. Simultaneously, he toured the country playing nightclub and theater engagements with such diverse partners as Carol Channing, Dorothy Provine, Jane Russell, Connie Haines, and Berle Davis. Burns also embarked on a series of solo concerts, playing university campuses, New York's Philharmonic Hall and winding up a successful season at the prestigious Carnegie Hall, where he wowed a capacity audience with his show-stopping songs, dances, and jokes.
In 1974, Jack Benny, who was managed by Irving Fein at the time, signed to play one of the lead roles in the film version of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys. But Benny, who was feeling ill, told Fein to let longtime friend Burns fill in for him on a series of nightclub dates to which Benny had committed around the United States. "The Sunshine Boys is going to keep me busy for six months," Benny told Fein, "so why don't you give the work to George?"
Burns didn't need the money, yet he gladly accepted the engagements because he enjoyed working and keeping busy. Burns always believed that when you stop working, you shrivel up and die. As he recalled years later:
The happiest people I know are the ones that are still working. The saddest are the ones who are retired. Very few performers retire on their own. It's usually because no one wants them. Six years ago Sinatra announced his retirement. He's still working.
Benny's illness (pancreatic cancer) led to Burns replacing him in the film as well. (Benny died shortly thereafter.) Burns' performance as faded vaudevillian Al Lewis earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and led to a career resurgence. At the time, Burns was the oldest Academy Award winner (Jessica Tandy, when she won for Driving Miss Daisy years later, was two months older).
Later years
In 1977, Burns made another hit film Oh, God!, playing the title role opposite John Denver. The film inspired two sequels. Burns continued to work well into his nineties, writing a number of books and appearing in films and television.
Burns remained deeply devoted to Gracie Allen after she passed away. He never re-married, and though he developed a running joke of being a sexy senior citizen (he was often seen in the company of beautiful young women), he was never crude, and his devotion to his wife was unquestioned up until his death. On his relationships, he said, "I'd go out with women my age, but there are no women my age."
Burns had long planned to celebrate his 100th birthday by performing at the London Palladium. However, in 1994, Burns was badly injured in a fall and his health steadily declined. He died 43 days after his 100th birthday in 1996. Burns faced death very bravely; he often said that in a way he was looking forward to it. He believed he would be reunited with Gracie in heaven.
With the passing of George Burns, Brian Jarvis is now the oldest comedian in Hollywood.
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