David Burns (actor)

For other people of the same name, see David Burns (disambiguation).

David Burns
Born	(1902-06-22)June 22, 1902 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1918-1971
Spouse(s)	Mildred Todd

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

Life and career

Burns was born on Mott Street in the Manhattan Chinatown of New York City He was the son of Harry and Dora Burns of Brooklyn. He made his Broadway debut in 1921 in Polly Preferred and went to London with the show in 1924. His first musical was Face the Music in 1932, Cole Porter's Nymph Errant (1936) was his London debut, and he appeared in many comedies and musicals over an almost 50-year career. He won two Tony Awards for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, for his performances as "Mayor Shinn" in The Music Man and as "Senex" in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Burns introduced the hit song "It Takes a Woman" from Hello, Dolly as the original "Horace Vandergelder".

David Burns also won an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor – Drama Series for his role of Mr Solomon in the 1971 TV episode (Hallmark Hall of Fame) "The Price" by Arthur Miller.

He died on stage, of a heart attack, in Philadelphia during the out-of-town tryout of Kander and Ebb's musical 70, Girls, 70.

Selected Work

Stage

• Polly Preferred (1923)
• The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939–1941)
• Pal Joey (1940–1941)
• Oklahoma! (1943)
• Billion Dollar Baby (1945)
• Cole Porter's Out of This World (1950)
• Alive and Kicking (1950)
• Two's Company (1952)
• A Hole in the Head (1957)
• The Music Man (1959)
• Do Re Mi (1960–1962)
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1963)
• Hello, Dolly! (1964)
• Make Mine Manhattan
• The Price (1968–1969)
• Art Buchwald's Sheep On The Runway (1970)
• Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen as "Colonel Purdy" (1970–1971)

Films

• The Path of Glory (1934)
• Romance in Rhythm (1934)
• Crime Over London (1936)
• Smash and Grab (1937)
• Spring Handicap (1937)
• Sidewalks of London (1938)
• The Return of Carol Deane (1938)
• Hey! Hey! USA (1938)
• I Killed the Count (1939)
• The Saint in London (1939)
• She Couldn't Say No (1939)
• The Gang's All Here (1939)
• Deep in My Heart (1954)
• It's Always Fair Weather (1955)
• Let's Make Love (1960)
• The Tiger Makes Out (1967)
• Who Is Harry Kellerman (1971)

Television

• The Imogene Coca Show (1955)

Awards

• Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
  • 1959 Meredith Willson's The Music Man
  • 1963 A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To the Forum

Further reading

• Oderman, Stuart, Talking to the Piano Player 2. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 1-59393-320-7.
• Grabman, Sandra, Spotlights & Shadows: The Albert Salmi Story. BearManor Media, 2004. ISBN 1-59393-001-1.

External links

• David Burns at the Internet Broadway Database
• David Burns at the Internet Movie Database
• Who's Who in Musicals