Burns, George

orig. Nathan Birnbaum

born Jan. 20, 1896, New York, N.Y., U.S.

died March 9, 1996, Beverly Hills, Calif.

U.S. comedian best known for his collaboration with Gracie Allen (1902–64).

Burns and Allen formed a comedy team in 1925 and were married in 1926. They performed on radio in The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1932–50), with Burns playing the straight man to Allen's malaprop-prone chatterbox, before their show moved to television (1950–58). They made 13 films together, including The Big Broadcast films of 1932, 1936, and 1937. Burns returned to the screen in films such as The Sunshine Boys (1975, Academy Award) and Oh, God! (1977) and its sequels. Famous for his wry humour and his cigars, he continued performing into his late 90s.

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▪ 1997

      (NATHAN BIRNBAUM), U.S. comedian and actor (b. Jan. 20, 1896, New York, N.Y.—d. March 9, 1996, Beverly Hills, Calif.), enjoyed a career in show business that lasted 93 years and encompassed vaudeville, radio, television, nightclubs, and motion pictures. With his gravely voice—between puffs on his ever-present cigar—he delivered wryly humorous comments or launched into old vaudeville ditties. Burns's stage name was the last of those he had used during his early performing years, which began in neighbourhood saloons and on the Staten Island ferry when he was seven. He went on to perform on the vaudeville circuit, improvising with whatever type of act booking agents were looking for. In the early 1920s Burns met Gracie Allen and persuaded her to team up with him in a comedy act. At first Burns delivered the gags to Allen's straight lines, but he soon realized that she elicited the laughs and reversed their roles. He also recognized that she was the love of his life, and they married in 1926. They worked their way to top-billing status in vaudeville and in 1929 first performed on radio. "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" began in 1932 and ran until 1950, when it moved to television. At the end of each show, Burns said, "Say good night, Gracie," with which Allen would happily comply: "Good night, Gracie." Burns and Allen also appeared in films, notably The Big Broadcast films of 1932, 1936, and 1937 and A Damsel in Distress (1937). When ill health forced Allen to retire (1958), Burns soloed on the television show for another season before making nightclub and occasional television appearances. After Allen's death (1964), however, his career faltered until he was called upon to replace the late Jack Benny in the motion picture The Sunshine Boys (1975); he won the Academy Award for best supporting actor. His later films included Oh, God! (1977) and two sequels, Oh, God! Book II (1980) and Oh, God! You Devil (1984), Going in Style (1979), and Eighteen Again (1988). Burns also was coauthor of such books as Gracie: A Love Story (1988) and All My Best Friends (1989). He received a Kennedy Center award for lifetime achievement in 1988. Burns continued making stage appearances and had made plans for several 100th birthday shows, but failing health following a fall in 1994 forced him to cancel.

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▪ American comedian

original name  Nathan Birnbaum 

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 (Allen, Gracie).

      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 (Astaire, Fred).

      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 (Benny, Jack) 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 until several months before his death at age 100. In his later years he was once asked if he believed in heaven and hell and replied, “I don't know what they've got, but I'm bringing my own music.”

Additional Reading

Cheryl Blythe and Susan Sackett, Say Good Night, Gracie!: The Story of Burns and Allen (1986); Cynthia Clements and Sandra Weber, George Burns and Gracie Allen: A Bio-Bibliography (1996).

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