David Burns (actor)

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

David Burns (June 22, 1902 – March 12, 1971) was an American Broadway theatre and motion picture actor and singer.^[1][2] He appeared in many comedies and musicals over a career of almost 50 years.^[3]

David Burns
Burns in 1967
Born	(1902-06-22)June 22, 1902 Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Died	March 12, 1971(1971-03-12) (aged 68) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1918–1971
Spouse	Mildred Todd

Life and career

Burns was born in Manhattan.^[4] He made his Broadway debut in 1923 in Polly Preferred and went to London with the show in 1924.^[5] His first Broadway musical was Face the Music (1932),^[6] followed by Cole Porter's Nymph Errant (1933), staged in London.^[7]

David Burns remained in London and was featured in many motion pictures there. His New York speech pattern was distinctive and exotic to British audiences, and he lent American color to a string of comedies, musicals, and mysteries. He came back to America in 1935 for two William Powell features at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but returned to England where there was far less competition for "New York" character roles. His most famous British screen credit is probably The Saint in London (1939), released as part of RKO's American Saint series of mysteries, with George Sanders as adventurer Simon Templar and David Burns as his New York sidekick. As World War II approached, making working conditions in England uncertain, Burns returned to New York in 1940. He made no further films until 1951, when he was hired for Fourteen Hours, produced on location in New York.

Stage honors

Burns won two Tony Awards for Best Supporting or 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).^[3][8]

David Burns and Ginger Rogers in
Hello, Dolly! on Broadway (1964)

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 Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama for his role of Mr. Solomon in the 1971 TV special (Hallmark Hall of Fame) of 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. He had just finished what the Philadelphia Inquirer described as a "rather strenuous dance step" during the musical number "Go Visit Your Grandmother," at the end of Act Two, when he collapsed during the audience applause. He was carried offstage. His lines were read by actress Lillian Roth for the remainder of the performance. ^[4][12]

He was survived by his widow, Mildred.^[4]

Selected credits

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1923	Polly Preferred	Mr. B
1931	Wonder Boy	Harry Rich
1932	Face the Music	Louis	Credited as "Dave Burns"
1935	Them's the Reporters	Cassady	Credited as "Dave Burns"
1939–1941	The Man Who Came to Dinner	Banjo
1940–1941	Pal Joey	Ludlow Lowell
1943	Oklahoma!	Ali Hakim
1943	My Dear Public	Walters
1945-1946	Billion Dollar Baby	Dapper Welch
1947	I Gotta Get Out	Bernie
1948-1949	Make Mine Manhattan	Nick/"The Good Old Days" Performer/Taxi Driver/ Mr. Rappaport/Customer
1948	Heaven On Earth	H.H. Hutton
1950	Alive and Kicking	Dr. Frisbee/Dr. Allen Drawbridge/Army
1950-1951	Cole Porter's Out of This World	Niki Skolianos
1952-1953	Two's Company	Stanley/Strombolini/Melvin/Dudley Dawson
1953	Men of Distinction	Daniel Gaffney
1955	Catch a Star!	Max Dillingbert
1957	A Hole in the Head	Max
1957-1961	The Music Man	Mayor George Shinn
1960–1962	Do Re Mi	Brains Berman
1962-1964	A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum	Senex
1964	Hello, Dolly!	Horace Vandergelder
1968–1969	The Price	Gregory Solomon
1970	Art Buchwald's Sheep on the Runway	Ambassador Raymond Wilkins	[13]
1970–1971	Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen	Colonel Wainwright Purdy III

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes[14]
1918	De Luxe Annie	Joe/Grocery Clerk
1934	The Queen's Affair	Manager
1934	The Path of Glory	Ginsberg
1934	Romance in Rhythm	Mollari
1935	Rendezvous	German-Speaking Bellhop	uncredited
1936	The Great Ziegfeld	Clarence	uncredited
1936	Crime Over London	Sniffy
1936	Strangers on Honeymoon	Lennie
1937	Spring Handicap	Amos
1937	Smash and Grab	Bellini
1937	The Live Wire	Snakey
1938	Just like a Woman	Pedro
1938	The Return of Carol Deane	Nick Wellington
1938	Sidewalks of London	Hackett
1938	Hey! Hey! USA	Tony Ricardo
1938	The Sky's the Limit	'Ballyhoo' Bangs
1939	The Gang's All Here	Beretti
1939	So This Is London	Drunk	uncredited
1939	A Girl Must Live	Joe Gold
1939	I Killed the Count	Diamond
1939	A Gentleman's Gentleman	Alfred
1939	The Saint in London	Dugan
1939	She Couldn't Say No	Chester
1951	Fourteen Hours	Cab Driver	uncredited
1954	Deep in My Heart	Lazar Berrison, Sr.
1955	It's Always Fair Weather	Tim
1957	Four Boys and a Gun	Television man
1958	Once Upon a Horse...	Bruno de Gruen
1960	Let's Make Love	Oliver Burton
1967	The Tiger Makes Out	Mr. Ratner
1969	How to Commit Marriage
1970	Move	Doorman
1971	Who Is Harry Kellerman	Leon Soloway

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1955	The Imogene Coca Show		Regular

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1966	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama	The Trials of O'Brien	Nominated	[11]
1971			Hallmark Hall of Fame (Episode: "The Price")	Won
1958	Tony Awards	Best Supporting or Featured Actor in a Musical	The Music Man	Won	[15]
1963			A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum	Won	[16]
1971		Best Leading Actor in a Musical	Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen	Nominated	[17]

Further reading

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