George Burns, 1896 - 1996
Portrait by Allan Warren (1986)
Born: 20 January 1896, New York City
Died: 9 March 1996, Beverly Hills, California
Born Nathan Birnbaum, his parents were Jewish immigrants from Austria. He started entertaining at a very early age, his own stories talked about singing with the Peewee Quartet and busking at age six or seven, his death certificate listed "years in occupation as 95. He quit school after fourth grade to focus on show business, changing his name to George Burns. He tried a little of everything, including trick roller skating, "adagio dancing", and standup comedy in vaudeville. In 1923 he went on stage with Gracie Allen as his "straight man" and they were an instant hit with the crowd. Burns noticed, however, that Allen was getting the better laughs, so he reversed roles and they created a "Dumb Dora" act which was a hit through vaudeville, radio, and television until she retired in 1958. They married in 1926 and stayed together until her death in 1964. After Allen's retirement, Burns' show lasted only a year. He worked as a producer of other shows and played clubs until Jack Benny's death in 1974, at which point he was asked to take over Benny's role in The Sunshine Boys, the first movie Burns had acted in for 36 years. Based on that success, he played the part of the creator in
Biography from Wikipedia and The Museum of Broadcast Communications
Additional quotes from Wikiquote. Wikiquote entries are often "sourced" and may include items longer than those included here, particularly for poets, lyricists, and dramatists.
George Burns quotes:
Quotes found : 69 — (15 per page, this is page 1 of 5) 1 2 3 4 5 Next
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- Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you've got it made. permalink
George Burns - Actually, it only takes one drink to get me loaded. Trouble is, I can't remember if it's the thirteenth or fourteenth. permalink
George Burns - Age to me means nothing. I can't get old; I'm working. I was old when I was twenty-one and out of work. As long as you're working, you stay young. When I'm in front of an audience, all that love and vitality sweeps over me and I forget my age. permalink
George Burns - And God said: 'Let there be Satan, so people don't blame everything on me. And let there be lawyers, so people don't blame everything on Satan.' permalink
George Burns - At my age flowers scare me. permalink
George Burns - Bridge is a game that separates the men from the boys. It also separates husbands and wives. permalink
George Burns - By the time you're eighty years old you've learned everything. You only have to remember it. permalink
George Burns - By [age] 93, I had shrunk quite a lot. My car was known as the Phantom Cadillac. People would see it whizzing by and they would swear there was no driver. permalink
George Burns - Interview with Arthur Marx (1994) - Define your business goals clearly so that others can see them as you do. permalink
George Burns - Do you know what it means to come home at night to a woman who'll give you a little love, a little affection, a little tenderness? It means you're in the wrong house. permalink
George Burns - Don't stay in bed, unless you can make money in bed. permalink
George Burns - Everything that goes up must come down. But there comes a time when not everything that's down can come up. permalink
George Burns - First of all you've got to have talent. And then you've got to marry her like I did. permalink
George Burns - First you forget names, then you forget faces. Next you forget to pull your zipper up and finally, you forget to pull it down. permalink
George Burns - For thirty years my act consisted of one joke. And then she died. permalink
George Burns
Quotes found : 69 — (15 per page, this is page 1 of 5) 1 2 3 4 5 Next
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