George Burns

Birth Name:

Nathan Birnbaum

Birth Place:

New York City, New York, United States

Profession

Actor, Soundtrack, Writer, Producer, Production manager

Has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for TV, one for Live Performance and one for Film
Won a Lifetime Achievement Award in Comedy at the 1987 American Comedy Awards
Quit his childhood job at a chocolate syrup factor to sing in a quartet with three young co-workers, and until he made it big, he tried every form of entertainment from working with a trained seal to trick roller skating
Quote: "I said I was going to sing a few songs, and all the guests formed a circle around the piano․ By the time I broke through I was too tired to sing․"
Quote: "The most important thing about acting is honesty․ If you can fake that, you've got it made․"
Best known for playing the straight man to wife and fellow comedian Gracie Allen
Nearly always appeared smoking a cigar, and used cigar smoke as punctuation
A bestselling author, he wrote 10 books between 1976 and 1996
Lived to be 100, and when he was interred next to Gracie Allen, their crypt's marker was changed to read "Gracie Allen & George Burns—Together Again," giving Allen top billing just as Burns had requested
Created and developed his act with Gracie Allen, writing the first scripts himself and remaining involved in the writing process until the end

Fast Facts