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George Burns biography

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Quick Facts

  • PLACE OF DEATH: Beverly Hills, California
  • Originally: Nathan Birnbaum
more about George

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George Burns was an American comedian and actor, popular in vaudeville, radio, film and television. He seemed to always be smoking a a cigar.

Synopsis

George Burns was an American comedian and actor, popular in vaudeville, radio, film and television for over 70 years. He's remembered as always smoking a cigar and wearing big, round eyeglasses. He was especially known for as part of a comedy team with his wife, Gracie Allen. After Allen's death in 1964, Burns made an unexpected comeback with a new persona as a wise, witty old-man.

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Quotes

Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.
– George Burns

Profile

(born Jan. 20, 1896, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died March 9, 1996, Beverly Hills, Calif.) American comedian who was popular for more than 70 years in vaudeville, radio, film, and television. He was especially known as part of a comedy team with his wife, Gracie Allen.

Burns began his career at age seven as a singer in the PeeWee Quartet and later performed as a dancer, skater, and comic. He met Allen in the early 1920s, and they married in 1926. Beginning in 1933 Burns and Allen headlined their own show on American radio for 17 years, playing fictional versions of their real-life selves. They also achieved success in movies during the 1930s in such films as The Big Broadcast (1932), International House (1933), Six of a Kind (1934), Love in Bloom (1935), and College Swing (1938). A Damsel in Distress (1937) provided the team with their best screen roles; the film is particularly memorable for two intricate dance routines performed by Burns, Allen, and Fred Astaire.

The team's popularity began to wane after World War II, but it was revived when Burns decided to change their long-standing radio characterizations of young lovers to those of middle-aged spouses. They retained the domesticized approach for their television series, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950–58), which featured the innovative gimmick of Burns functioning as a one-man Greek chorus, frequently breaking the “fourth wall” to address the viewing audience. The show maintained its popularity for eight seasons and ended when Allen, plagued by ill health and stage fright, retired from performing.

Burns carried on for a few years with a succession of other female partners, but all (including Carol Channing) were unfavourably compared to Allen. Upon Allen's death in 1964, Burns concentrated mostly on producing television shows for several years. The death of his close friend Jack Benny in 1974 unexpectedly precipitated Burns's comeback when he took over the role intended for Benny in the screen adaptation of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys (1975). His sensitive and wryly comic turn as vaudeville veteran Al Lewis earned him an Academy Award for best supporting actor. Burns was a headline star once again and embarked on a second career in which his new persona of a wise, witty, and slightly lecherous octogenarian proved enormously popular with film and nightclub audiences. He played the title role in the hit comedy Oh, God! (1977) and delivered what is perhaps his finest screen performance in Going in Style (1979). He kept active with club appearances and TV commercials

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      George Burns and Gracie Allen

      George Burns met Gracie Allen in 1922, and they married in 1926. Their highly successful vaudeville act featured George as the straight man to Gracie's zany antics. The couple created its best-known sketch for radio, a situation comedy starring themselves as a working show-business couple. They carried the format to television in 1948, including next-door neighbors Harry and Blanche Morton, Gracie's infamous illogical logic, and the signature "Say goodnight, Gracie" at the show's close. The duo also made films, including an Oscar-nominated turn in A Damsel in Distress with Fred Astaire.

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