George Burns (1896-1996) was a renowned American comedian, actor, singer, and published author. He formed a comedy duo with his wife, Gracie Allen (1895-1964),and typically played the straight man to her zany roles. After her death, Burns started appearing as a solo performer. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1975 and continued performing until his 90s. He lived to be 100 years old, and was viewed as an "elder statesman" in the field of comedy.
Burns was born Nathan Birnbaum on January 20, 1896, and was nicknamed "Nattie" by his family. His father, Eliezer "Louis" Birnbaum, was a coat presser and substitute cantor at a local synagogue in New York City. His mother, Hadassah "Dorah" Bluth, was a homemaker. Both parents were Jewish immigrants from Kolbuszowa, Austria, which is now part of Poland.
The Birnbaums were a large family, and Burns had 11 siblings. He was the ninth oldest of the Birnbaum children. When his father died in 1903, Burns was orphaned at the age of 7 and had to work to financially support his family. He shined shoes, ran errands, sold newspapers, and worked as a syrup maker in a local candy store.
Burns liked to sing while working and practiced singing harmony with three co-workers of similar age. They were discovered by mail carrier Lou Farley, who gave them the idea to perform singing in exchange for payment. The four children soon started performing as "the Pee-Wee Quartet," singing in brothels, ferry boats, saloons, and street corners. They put their hats down for donations from their audience, though their audience was not always generous.
Burns started smoking cigars at the age of 14 and continued the habit throughout his life. His performing career was briefly interrupted in 1917 when he was drafted for service in World War I, but he eventually failed his physical exams due to his poor eyesight.
By the early 1920s, Burns adopted the stage name "George Burns" and performed dance routines with various female partners until he eventually married Gracie Allen in 1926. Burns made his film debut in the short comedy film "Lambchops" (1929) and his feature film debut in the musical comedy "The Big Broadcast" (1932).
Burns and Allen started appearing as the comedy relief for a radio show featuring bandleader Guy Lombardo and eventually received their own sketch comedy radio show. The couple portrayed younger singles until the show was retooled in 1941 and started featuring them as a married couple. The show was reworked into the popular TV show "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" (1950-1958) and later into "The George Burns Show" (1958-1959).
After Allen's death in 1964, Burns attempted a TV comeback by creating the sitcom "Wendy and Me" (1964-1965) and producing the military comedies "No Time for Sergeants" (1964-1965) and "Mona McCluskey" (1965-1966). As an actor, he mostly appeared in theaters and nightclubs.
Burns had a major career comeback with the comedy film "The Sunshine Boys" (1975) and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He played God in the comedy film "Oh, God!" (1977) and its two sequels, "Oh, God! Book II" (1980) and "Oh, God! You Devil" (1984). His most notable films in the 1980s were the musical-comedy film "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1978),the comedy film "Just You and Me, Kid" (1979),the caper film "Going in Style" (1979),and the fantasy-comedy film "18 Again!" (1988).
Burns' last film role was a bit part in the mystery film "Radioland Murders" (1994),which was a box office flop. He suffered from cardiac arrest on March 9, 1996, and died at the age of 100. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California next to his wife, Gracie Allen.
