Jack Burns
Encyclopedia
Jack Burns is an American
comedian
and voice actor
.
when both were working for radio station KXOL
in Fort Worth, Texas
. After successful performances at Fort Worth's beat coffeehouse, The Cellar, Burns and Carlin headed for California in February 1960 and stayed together for two years as a team before moving on to individual pursuits. An album containing some of their material was released in 1963, titled Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight
.
Longer lasting was a later teaming with Avery Schreiber
, whom he met when they were both members of The Second City
, a live comedy and improv club based in Chicago. Burns and Schreiber were best known for a series of routines in which Burns played a talkative taxicab
passenger, with Schreiber as the driver.
Burns played the dedicated but inept deputy sheriff
Warren Ferguson
during the first half of the 1965-1966 season of The Andy Griffith Show
, as Barney Fife
's replacement after Don Knotts
left the cast. His character was not popular and was dropped without explanation after eleven appearances. The series did not have a deputy after Burns left the cast, though Goober Pyle
was available in an emergency.
Burns voiced Harry Boyle's (Tom Bosley) right-wing maniac neighbor Ralph Kane in the short-lived syndicated primetime cartoon Wait till Your Father Gets Home
. The series was a forerunner in the adult-animation comedies.
Burns was the head writer for the first seasons of both the popular Hee Haw
and The Muppet Show
. His comedy partner Avery Schreiber appeared on an episode with The Muppets during the first season. He also co-wrote The Muppet Movie
(with Jerry Juhl
, his successor as head writer of The Muppet Show).
In 1967, he was cast as the 'Candy Butcher' in "The Night They Raided Minsky's", a movie about burlesque
.
Jack Burns hosted a 1977 episode of Saturday Night Live
, which became the first episode to carry this title, after Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell
was canceled.
In the early 1980s, Burns became a writer, announcer and sometimes-performer for the ABC sketch show Fridays (which was modeled heavily after SNL in format). He and comedian Michael Richards
were involved in a staged on-air fight with Andy Kaufman
, later re-created in the Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon.
He teamed with Lorenzo Music
to provide the voices for a pair of crash test dummies
respectively named Vince and Larry in a series of United States Department of Transportation
public service announcement
s that promoted the use of seat belt
s. Distributed by the Ad Council
, the advertising campaign
ran from 1985 to 1998. In 1993, Burns starred in the cartoon-series Animaniacs
, as the voice of Sid the Squid, giving the character a raspy, Daffy Duck
kind of voice. Former partner Avery Schreiber also appeared on the show as Beanie the Bison.
Burns also provided a guest voice for a 1999 episode of The Simpsons
, Beyond Blunderdome
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and voice actor
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
.
Biography
In 1959, he began his career as a comedy team with George CarlinGeorge Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
when both were working for radio station KXOL
KMNY
KMNY KMNY KMNY (1360 AM, is a radio station in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex, which broadcasts on 1360 kHz and is under ownership of Multicultural Broadcasting...
in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
. After successful performances at Fort Worth's beat coffeehouse, The Cellar, Burns and Carlin headed for California in February 1960 and stayed together for two years as a team before moving on to individual pursuits. An album containing some of their material was released in 1963, titled Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight
Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight
Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight is the 1963 debut album by the comedy duo of Jack Burns and George Carlin. The album was actually recorded at a club named Cosmo Alley in Hollywood, California and not at the Playboy Club...
.
Longer lasting was a later teaming with Avery Schreiber
Avery Schreiber
Avery Lawrence Schreiber was an American comedian and actor. He was a veteran of stage, TV, and film.-Biography:...
, whom he met when they were both members of The Second City
The Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
, a live comedy and improv club based in Chicago. Burns and Schreiber were best known for a series of routines in which Burns played a talkative taxicab
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
passenger, with Schreiber as the driver.
Burns played the dedicated but inept deputy sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
Warren Ferguson
Warren Ferguson
Warren Ferguson is a fictional character in the American television program The Andy Griffith Show . Warren Ferguson is portrayed by Jack Burns.-Overview:...
during the first half of the 1965-1966 season of The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, as Barney Fife
Barney Fife
Bernard "Barney" Fife is a fictional character in the American television program The Andy Griffith Show, portrayed by comic actor Don Knotts. Barney Fife is a deputy sheriff in the slow paced, sleepy southern community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
's replacement after Don Knotts
Don Knotts
Jesse Donald "Don" Knotts was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960s television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, a role which earned him five Emmy Awards...
left the cast. His character was not popular and was dropped without explanation after eleven appearances. The series did not have a deputy after Burns left the cast, though Goober Pyle
Goober Pyle
Goober is a fictional character in the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show and its later sequel series Mayberry RFD. He was played by George Lindsey. Lindsey initially read for the part of Gomer Pyle, which went to singer Jim Nabors...
was available in an emergency.
Burns voiced Harry Boyle's (Tom Bosley) right-wing maniac neighbor Ralph Kane in the short-lived syndicated primetime cartoon Wait till Your Father Gets Home
Wait Till Your Father Gets Home
Wait Till Your Father Gets Home was an animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera that aired in first-run syndication in the United States from 1972 to 1974...
. The series was a forerunner in the adult-animation comedies.
Burns was the head writer for the first seasons of both the popular Hee Haw
Hee Haw
Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with fictional rural Kornfield Kounty as a backdrop. It aired on CBS-TV from 1969–1971 before a 20-year run in local syndication. The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the major difference being...
and The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
. His comedy partner Avery Schreiber appeared on an episode with The Muppets during the first season. He also co-wrote The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie is the first of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets. Released in 1979, the film was produced by Henson Associates, Children's Television Workshop and ITC Entertainment....
(with Jerry Juhl
Jerry Juhl
Jerome Ravn "Jerry" Juhl was an American television and movie writer, best known for his work with Jim Henson's "Muppets".Juhl was born in St. Paul, Minnesota; his family moved to Menlo Park, California, when he was 14...
, his successor as head writer of The Muppet Show).
In 1967, he was cast as the 'Candy Butcher' in "The Night They Raided Minsky's", a movie about burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
.
Jack Burns hosted a 1977 episode of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, which became the first episode to carry this title, after Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell
Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell
Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell was a program that ran on ABC from September 1975 to January 1976, hosted by Howard Cosell and executively produced by Roone Arledge. The series ran for 18 episodes before being cancelled...
was canceled.
In the early 1980s, Burns became a writer, announcer and sometimes-performer for the ABC sketch show Fridays (which was modeled heavily after SNL in format). He and comedian Michael Richards
Michael Richards
Michael Anthony Richards is an American actor, comedian, writer and television producer, best known for his portrayal of the eccentric Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom Seinfeld....
were involved in a staged on-air fight with Andy Kaufman
Andy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one...
, later re-created in the Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon.
He teamed with Lorenzo Music
Lorenzo Music
Lorenzo Music was an American actor, voice actor, writer, television producer and musician. His best-known roles include voicing the animated cartoon cat Garfield, and Carlton the doorman on the CBS sitcom Rhoda...
to provide the voices for a pair of crash test dummies
Crash test dummy
Crash test dummies are full-scale anthropomorphic test devices that simulate the dimensions, weight proportions and articulation of the human body, and are usually instrumented to record data about the dynamic behavior of the ATD in simulated vehicle impacts...
respectively named Vince and Larry in a series of United States Department of Transportation
United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...
public service announcement
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
s that promoted the use of seat belt
Seat belt
A seat belt or seatbelt, sometimes called a safety belt, is a safety harness designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result from a collision or a sudden stop...
s. Distributed by the Ad Council
Ad Council
The Advertising Council, commonly known as the Ad Council, is an American non-profit organization that distributes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, including non-profit organizations and agencies of the United States government....
, the advertising campaign
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
ran from 1985 to 1998. In 1993, Burns starred in the cartoon-series Animaniacs
Animaniacs
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
, as the voice of Sid the Squid, giving the character a raspy, Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
kind of voice. Former partner Avery Schreiber also appeared on the show as Beanie the Bison.
Burns also provided a guest voice for a 1999 episode of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Beyond Blunderdome
Beyond Blunderdome
"Beyond Blunderdome" is the 11th season premiere of The Simpsons, and the last episode produced for the tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 26, 1999. Homer test drives an electric car because it will get him a gift. The gift is that Homer and Marge get...
.
External links
- The Revenge of Warren Ferguson on the Andy Griffith Show
- Part One of a two-part Jack Burns Biography