David Burns (actor)

David Burns (June 22, 1902 – March 12, 1971) was an American Broadway theatre and motion picture actor and singer.[1][2]

David Burns
David Burns and Carol Channing in
Hello, Dolly! on Broadway (1964)
Born(1902-06-22)June 22, 1902
Manhattan, New York City
DiedMarch 12, 1971(1971-03-12) (aged 68)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1918–1971

Life and career

Burns was born on Mott Street in Chinatown, Manhattan, the son of Harry and Dora Burns of Brooklyn.[3]

He made his Broadway debut in 1921 in Polly Preferred and went to London with the show in 1924.[4] His first musical was Face the Music in 1932,[5] and Cole Porter's Nymph Errant (1933) was his London debut.[6] He appeared in many comedies and musicals over an almost 50-year career.[7]

He won two Tony Awards for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, for his performances as "Mayor Shinn" in The Music Man (1958) and as "Senex" in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1963).[8][7]

Burns introduced the hit song "It Takes a Woman" from Hello, Dolly (1964) as the original "Horace Vandergelder".[9][10]

Burns won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor – Drama Series for his role of Mr. Solomon in the 1971 TV special (Hallmark Hall of Fame) The Price by Arthur Miller.[11]

Death

Burns died on stage on March 12, 1971, of a heart attack in Philadelphia during the out-of-town tryout of Kander and Ebb's musical 70, Girls, 70.[3]

Selected credits

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result
1958 Tony Award Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical The Music Man[7] Won
1963 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum[7] Won
1966 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series The Trials of O'Brien[11] Nominated
1971 Hallmark Hall of Fame Won
Tony Award Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen[7] Nominated

Further reading
  • Oderman, Stuart, Talking to the Piano Player 2. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 1-59393-320-7.

References
  1. Sandra Brennan. "David Burns – Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos – AllMovie". AllMovie.
  2. "David Burns". BFI.
  3. "David Burns, 69, Star In Musicals" The New York Times, March 13, 1971.
  4. The Broadway League. "David Burns – IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information".
  5. Face the Music ibdb.com. Retrieved October 12, 2017
  6. Nymph Errant sondheimguide.com. Retrieved October 12, 2017
  7. "David Burns Broadway" Playbill. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  8. "Search Past Tony Award Winners and Nominees – TonyAwards.com – The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards – Official Website by IBM". TonyAwards.com. Archived from the original on August 31, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  9. The Broadway League. "Hello, Dolly! – IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information".
  10. Hello, Dolly! Playbill. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  11. "David Burns Emmy" emmys.com. Retrieved October 14, 2017
  12. Barnes, Clive. "Theater: Art Buchwald's 'Sheep on the Runway' " The New York Times, February 2, 1970
  13. "David Burns Films" tcm.com. Retrieved October 12, 2017
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.