Living up to 100 years is in itself considered an achievement that puts a person in the top 1% of the world’s population. To pull this off as a successful comedian, actor and author with a career spanning 94 years making up less than 0.1% of the human population is another notable achievement. Put simply, both feats are virtually impossible, but they weren’t for George Burns. Find out more about the American icon by reading below.
Life and Death of George Burns
Born on January 20, 1896, George Burns, whose parents certainly had no ideaat the time of his birth that he was going to become a special person. You could say his life had always been different. Born into a family of 12 children, he came ninth in the gang of 12. His parents, Hadassah and Eliezer Birnbaum, were Jewish immigrants to the United States.
After losing his father at the age of 7, George’s life as an innocent child was over. He had to join the fight to support the very large family until show promoter and producer Lou Farley made him overjoyed with a smile. George had worked as a syrup maker and sometimes sang with his friends while they worked. Her singing brought Farley into her life and Farley recruited George and his friends as a singing group, beginning George’s journey into show business.
George Burns lived a full and fun life and enjoyed his time in show business. He was a chronic smoker, smoking around 300,000 cigars from the age of 14. Although he smoked an average of 4 cigars a day, he never had cancer. However, as he got really old, he had a few injuries, including a head injury that occurred just before his 100th birthday. On February 6, 1996, he made his last public appearance before dying on March 9, 1996 at his Beverly Hills home.
His funeral was at Wee Kirk o’ the Heather Church in Glendale and he was buried next to his wife in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
Everything you need to know about the comedian
George Burns had begun a career as a singer after meeting Farley, but an abrupt career was threatened when Burns was drafted into the US Army in 1917 for World War I. Luckily, his poor eyesight kept him from going to war, and that’s how his journey to stardom really began. He continued to take part in the shows that Lou Farley had him and his friends on, but expanded from simple singing to dance routines. His comedic talents would not catch on and made him famous until he met Gracie Allen, his wife.
George’s life as a comedy star has been mostly on radio alongside Gracie Allen. The two started out as comedy relief for Guy Lombardo. Although their show on Guy Lombardo was not widely accepted, the pair eventually found their own audience after beginning airing their own show in February 1932. The two actors developed and acted in sketch comedy skits and saw a significant rise in their popularity.
George and his wife had their show, The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show , which ran on the NBC network for 12 years before it was brought back to CBS where it started. Her show, which had national popularity, eventually made its way to television in 1950 and lasted until 1958 because of Gracie Allen’s heart problems. Burns continued to act on shows such as The George Burns Show , Wendy and Me, and George Burns Comedy Week .
George Burns also had an extensive filmography, starring in over 25 films throughout his career. When he lost his wife in 1964, George threw himself into work, making television shows and touring the United States as a comedian. During this time, Burns acted in one film, The Sunshine Boys . At the time he was 80 years old and his performance won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Burns refused to retire and worked until he died at 100 years old. He only stopped working a few weeks before his death. His professional achievements and awards include three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One as a movie star, the other as a TV star and the other as a live performer. During his lifetime, Burns wrote 10 books, publishing the first in 1955, titled I Love Her, That’s why, and the last in the year of his death, 100 Years 100 Stories , published in 1996.