BURNS, GEORGE

BURNS, GEORGE (1896–1996), U.S. comedian. Born in New York City, Burns was one of 12 children. He supported his family with his show business earnings after his father died. As Nathan Birnbaum, the young Burns sang for pennies at street corners. He started his career at the age of seven, singing in the Pee Wee Quartet. He went on to vaudeville, where he worked as a seal trainer, a trick roller skater, and a dance teacher. In 1923 he teamed up with his future wife, Gracie Allen. Their act starred Burns as funny man, but later they exchanged roles. They appeared in big vaudeville houses and in 1932 were hired for a radio program, The Burns & Allen Show, which ran for 17 years. In 1950 they starred in their own TV program, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, which ran until 1958 when Gracie retired. Essentially using themselves and their family life as the main premise for the show, Burns added an unprecedented and seemingly original dimension to programming for television viewers. But, as Burns put it, "My major contribution to the format was to suggest that I be able to step out of the plot and speak directly to the audience, and then be able to go right back into the action. That was an original idea of mine; I know it was because I originally stole it from Thornton Wilder's play Our Town." Eventually, the show's writers (Burns was head writer) gave him additional omniscience by placing a closed-circuit TV in his den, which enabled him to watch the goings-on in the household and comment on the activities even when he was not a participant. His production company, McCadden, produced the sitcoms The Bob Cummings Show (1955–59), The People's Choice (1955–58), and the highly popular show about a talking horse, Mister Ed (1961–66). When Gracie died in 1964, Burns continued performing on his own, taking on dramatic roles as well as comedic ones. In 1975 he co-starred with Walter Matthau in the film The Sunshine Boys, which won him an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor. At 80, he became the oldest Oscar recipient. Still going strong, Burns appeared in several other movies, namely Oh God (1977); Going in Style (1979); Just You and Me, Kid (1979); Oh God\! Book II (1980); Oh God\! You Devil (1984); and 18 Again (1988). He also recorded several albums, and at age 84 won the 1990 Grammy for Best Spoken-Word Recording for Gracie: A Love Story. In 1994 The Burns & Allen Show was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. Burns' signature feature was his ever-present cigar. Not just a prop, he actually smoked at least ten a day, and lived to be 100. When someone asked him what his doctor's opinion of his frequent smoking was, Burns responded, "My doctor is dead." For his body of work over the many years, Burns received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the American Comedy Awards (1987 and 1978), the British Comedy Awards   (1991), and the Screen Actors Guild (1995). In 1988 he was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honor. Burns produced his first book of memoirs in 1955, entitled I Love Her, That's Why\! He went on to write Living It Up, or They Still Love Me in Altoona (1976); The Third Time Around (1980); How to Live to Be 100: Or More\! The Ultimate Diet, Sex and Exercise Book (1983); Dear George: Advice and Answers from America's Leading Expert on Everything from A to Z (1985); Gracie: A Love Story (1988); All My Best Friends (with David Fisher, 1989); Wisdom of the 90s (with Hal Goldman, 1991); and 100 Years, 100 Stories (1996). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: C. Blythe and S. Sackett, Say Goodnight Gracie\! The Story of Burns & Allen (1986); M. Gottfried, George Burns and the Hundred Year Dash (1996). (Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)