George Burns

George Burns (January 20, 1896 - March 9, 1996) was a legendary vaudeville comedian who went on to work in movies, radio, and early television. He was born as Nathan Birnbaum to Louis and Dorothy Birnbaum, the ninth of twelve children.

Burns teamed with his second wife Gracie Allen as "Burns & Allen"; they built their routines and their tv sitcom around situations where she said (and did) ditsy things and he made wry comments as asides to the audience, often while brandishing a cigar or golf club. After her death in 1964, he continued to perform and is probably best remembered for playing the title rôle in the 1977 film Oh, God!

Burns remained deeply devoted to 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."

Filmography

• Lambchops (1929) (a "short" film)
• The Big Broadcast (1932) (1st feature film)
• College Humor (1933)
• International House (1933)
• Many Happy Returns (1934) (1st leading rôle)
• Six Of A Kind (1934)
• We're Not Dressing (1934)
• Love in Bloom (1935)
• Here Comes Cookie (1936)
• A Damsel in Distress (1937) (1st Fred Astaire movie without Ginger Rogers & 1st in which Burns and Allen danced)
• College Swing (1938)
• Honolulu (1939)
• The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956) (narrated)
• The Sunshine Boys (1975) (Oscar)
• Oh, God! (1977)
• Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
• Going in Style (1979)
• Oh, God! You Devil (1984)
• Oh, God! Book II (1980)
• 18 Again! (1988)
• Radioland Murders (1994)

TV series

• The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show: 1950 - 1958
• The George Burns Show (1958)

Radio series

• The Burns & Allen Show: 1934 - 1950

External links

• His profile in the Internet Movie Database (http://us.imdb.com/Name?Burns,+George)
• An Interview giving details on his life (http://new.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/People_Profile/0,2540,3,00)
• A more detailed profile of his life (http://www.classicimages.com/1996/april/georgeburns.shtml)