George Burns -- January 20, 1896 - March 9, 1996

George Burns was one of the last major stars whose career spanned vaudeville, films, radio and television. He enjoyed his greatest successes while teamed with his wife, the delightfully ditzy Gracie Allen, but remained a popular, beloved show-business figure after her death in 1964.

All his life, Burns kept the spirit of vaudeville alive with his old-fashioned style of comedy, made up of jokes delivered while puffing a cigar, interspersed with snippets of obscure novelty songs.

He began in vaudeville in 1910 as a song-and-dance man. At various times he was billed as Eddie DeLight, Billy Pierce and Led Jackson.

"That was necessary," he confessed. "Often I was canceled after my first performance. I had to change the name of my act if I ever hoped to get work again."

He was a member of several vaudeville teams _ as Brown in Brown and Brown, Harris in Dunlap and Harris and Williams in Brown and Williams.

He won an Oscar as best supporting actor for playing an aging vaudevillian in the 1975 film "The Sunshine Boys."

His status as a grand old man of American show business served him well when he played the title role in the film "Oh, God!" in 1977. It spawned two sequels, "Oh, God! Book Two" and "Oh, God, You Devil!"

He even had a hit record in 1981 with "I Wish I Was 18 Again."

Despite the triumphs of his later years, he always said he was nothing without Gracie. "My life never really began until I met her," he wrote in his 1955 book, "I Love Her, That's Why!"

His career was going nowhere, he wrote, until he teamed with her in 1923, when he was 27 and already a show business veteran. Before the formation of Burns and Allen, he had been an actor, dancer, singer and even had an animal act with a trained seal, all without success.

With Gracie, he became a straight man, setting up and then reacting to her confused, nonsensical observations, such as this one, from a vaudeville show at the old Orpheum Theatre here in 1928:

Gracie: "My sister had a baby."

George: "Boy or girl?"

Gracie: "I don't know, and I can't wait to find out if I'm an aunt or an uncle."

"What made Gracie and myself such a good team," he said, "was that I was able to think of the funny stuff for her to say, and Gracie was able to say it great."

After topping the bill in vaudeville, the two moved to radio. Theirs was one of the top radio shows from 1932 to 1950.

Although they never were big movie stars, they appeared in 16 films, starting with "The Big Broadcast of 1932" and including "International House," "We're Not Dressing," "Love In Bloom," "Honolulu" and "Two Girls and a Sailor." They essentially played themselves, re-creating their vaudeville and radio routines.

When television came on the scene, they were among the first radio stars to embrace the new medium. "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" premiered in 1950 and continued on CBS through 1958, when Gracie retired from show business.

Their TV show was unique in that Burns stepped out of character and talked directly to the viewing audience, commenting on the situations in the plot.

"I always played to an audience, just as I did when we were on the stage," Burns wrote in "I Love Her, That's Why!" "Gracie doesn't, and never did. To her, the footlights are the fourth wall of a room _ the audience; and in this case the cameras do not exist. She reads her lines completely instinctively, as if she were in her own living room, and never looks across the footlights."

After Gracie retired, Burns found a new partner in Carol Channing. They unveiled their act here in 1962 during the Seattle World's Fair, in an engagement at the Orpheum Theatre. Critics were kind, but said Channing was no Gracie.

Gracie Allen died of a heart attack in 1964.

"For 40 years my act consisted of one joke," he wrote in 1988 in "Gracie: A Love Story." "And then she died."

Burns immersed himself in work. He produced several TV series, including "No Time for Sergeants."

He continued to perform in nightclubs and on stages and television shows. His comedy took on a tone of survival. Many of his gags had to do with his being old.

"I'm at the point now," he said in 1981, "where if I stand up, the audience will give me a standing ovation."

He always joked that he couldn't die _ he was booked.

He wrote several books on the subject, including "How to Live to be One Hundred or More." Among his other books were "The Third Time Around: Confessions of a Happy Hoofer," "All My Best Friends," "Wisdom of the 90s" and "100 Years, 100 Stories."

Burns' own secret of longevity was an exercise routine he performed each day as soon as he woke up, and a daily brisk walk. He smoked at least 10 cigars a day and drank four or five martinis. For more than 40 years, he met his cronies for lunch every weekday at a Hollywood country club near his home. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Always himself, always quotable

"I don't believe in dying. I think dying's been done. I'm looking for a new exit."

On how to live to be 100:

"Keep a young mind and a healthy body. I have a young mind and I'm taking a healthy body to dinner tonight."

From "How to Live to Be 100 Or More,"

dedicated to the widows of his last five doctors.

"I'm at the point now where if I stand up, the audience will give me a standing ovation."

"Love what you're doing and don't retire."

"Walk whenever you can. It's free."

"I would go out with women my own age only there aren't any women my age."

George: Do you love me?

Gracie: Sure, Harry.

George: My name is George!

Gracie: I keep thinking this is Tuesday.

"When Jack Benny has a party, you not only bring your own scotch, you bring your own rocks."

"The secret to longevity is three martinis before dinner and always dance close."

"Too bad all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs

and cutting hair."

"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city."

"Now, they say, you should retire at 70.

When I was 70 I still had pimples."

"By the time you're 80 years old

you've learned everything. You only have to remember it."

"If you live to the age of 100 you have it made because very few people die past the

age of 100."

"I was always taught to respect my elders and I've now reached the age when I don't have anybody to respect."

"I should have been a country-western singer. After all, I'm older than most

western countries."

"There will always be a battle between the sexes because men and women want

different things. Men want women and women want men."

"When I do go, I plan to take my music with me. I don't know what's out there, but I want to be sure it's in my key."

----------------------------------------------------------------- Notable events in a remarkable life

Jan. 20, 1896

Nathan Birnbaum (later to be known as George Burns) is born, the ninth of 12 children, in New York City.

1903

Enters show business by starting the Pee Wee Quartette. Becomes George Burns, "a name that would look better in lights."

1923

Forms team with Gracie Allen.

Jan. 7, 1926

Marries Gracie Allen.

November 1928

Burns & Allen perform vaudeville, fourth on the bill, at Seattle's Orpheum Theatre.

Feb. 12, 1932

Burns & Allen radio show premieres; continues through 1950.

1940s

Burns entertains at Navy hospitals in Puget Sound area.

Oct. 12, 1950

"The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" premieres on CBS-TV; continues through 1958.

1962

Burns plays the Orpheum Theatre with Carol Channing during the Seattle World's Fair.

Aug. 27, 1964

Gracie Allen dies.

1975

Burns wins Oscar for best supporting actor for "The Sunshine Boys."

1981

Burns records the hit "I Wish I Was 18 Again."

1988

Burns writes "Gracie: A Love Story."

1992

Burns and crooner Bobby Vinton release an album together.

1993

Burns is nominated for a Grammy award for his comedy album, "An Evening with George Burns."

November 1993

Burns signs a contract to perform at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas on his 100th birthday (in 1996). Burns had said for years that he wanted to play the London Palladium on that occasion, but his agent said he got a better deal from Caesar's. Burns planned to play the Palladium the following week.

November 1993

Burns is inducted into the newly created Comedy Hall of Fame.

January 1994

Burns celebrates his 98th birthday at Caesar's Palace.

Sept. 12, 1994

Burns has two hours of surgery to drain fluid from his brain; the following day, still in intensive care, he cracks jokes.

January 1996

George Burns publishes his autobiography, "100 Years, 100 Stories" (G.P. Putnam's Sons).