George Burns: The Funniest "Straight Man" Ever Quiz

Answer: Nathan Birnbaum

Nathan Birnbaum was born January 20, 1896, the ninth of twelve children born to Hadassah "Dorah" (née Bluth) and Eliezer Birnbaum, in New York City. He grew up living in a tenement on Rivington Street, and the family was extremely poor. He became George Burns because he thought that name would look better in lights.

He said he "knew that he would eventually become famous"! The "George" was after his brother Isadore, who for some reason was always called "George", and the "Burns" was after the coal company in his neighborhood.

Answer: Seven

George's father died when George was seven, so he tried numerous jobs to bring in money. Then he and three other boys on his block formed the "Pee Wee Quartette", and they went around singing in saloons and on the street, passing the hat and sharing the money between them.

Answer: True

George tried many different acts in vaudeville, such as singing and dancing or monologues, working both with a partner and alone. Nothing really went well with the audiences, however. He even tried working with a trained seal. It was this act which he first got the idea of being a "straight man" instead of a comedian. George wrote in his book, "I Love Her, That's Why!":

"The seal had more talent than I did. He'd balance a ball on his nose, I'd point to him, and the audience would applaud!"

He never could come up with a good act until he met Gracie. At first, he wrote the scripts giving himself the funny lines and Gracie the straight ones, then realized that it made a better act if the positions were reversed. As George wrote in, "Gracie, A Love Story": "All I had to do was ask, 'Gracie, how's your brother?' and she talked for 38 years!" He gave Gracie all of the credit for their success, saying, "I had a great talent-her name was Gracie Allen!", although he proved that he also had talent after Gracie passed away.

Answer: They met through Rena Arnold.

At the time, George was working with Billy Lorraine, and they had decided to break up the act. He mentioned this to Rena Arnold. Then Gracie came back stage to talk to Rena, who was her roommate. She had just quit working an act with Larry Reilly, because he refused to include her in the billing, calling the act, "Larry Reilly" instead of "Larry Reilly and Company". Gracie was so angry, she quit on the spot and was looking for a new partner.

She and George met for breakfast, and agreed to do a "flirtation" act together. Once George gave Gracie the funny lines, they became an immediate success!

Answer: Nattie and Googie

Gracie always called George, "Nattie" and George called her "Googie". The "Googie" came about shortly after they married. Gracie woke George up one night and asked him to make her laugh. He couldn't think of anything, so he just said "Googie, Googie, Googie" in baby talk. Gracie thought it was hilarious, and he called her "Googie" always after that.

Answer: No

At the time, Gracie was engaged to composer Benny Ryan. George was devastated by her refusal, even thinking about breaking up the act. On Christmas Eve in 1925, Mary Kelly, another of Gracie's roommates, had a party and asked George to play Santa Claus.

From his book, "Gracie, A Love Story", George writes: "Gracie was late getting to the party because she was waiting for a phone call from Benny Ryan. I was probably the meanest Santa Claus in Christmas history. 'Here!' I snarled as I handed a gift to Mary or Rena or Jack Benny, 'Take this!' I had bought a silver bracelet with a small diamond for Gracie; she'd gotten a lounging robe for me. On the card, she'd written, 'To Nattie, with all my love.' I read that card and laughed out loud. 'All your love? Ha, ha, ha! You don't even know what love means!' Gracie began to cry and went into the bedroom and closed the door. I took off my beard and went home. Gracie phoned me at three o'clock in the morning. 'You can buy the wedding ring if you want to.' The next day, I asked her why she changed her mind. 'Well,' she explained. 'You're the only boy who ever made me cry. And I decided that if you could make me cry, I must really love you!'"

George and Gracie married On January 7, 1926, and remained together until Gracie passed away on August 27, 1964.

Answer: Two

They had tried for several years to have a baby, but Gracie was unable to conceive. They adopted their two children, Sandy and Ronnie, from an adoption agency called "The Cradle". Many other Hollywood stars, including Harpo Marx, adopted their children from this agency.

Answer: True

The show was titled, "The George Burns Show", starring all of the same cast, with the exception of Gracie, of course!

George writes in "Gracie, A Love Story": "The show had everything it needed to be successful except Gracie. The audience was so used to seeing this cast working with Gracie that everybody kept waiting for her to open the door and walk in. It was like sitting down to a big meal and having the soup, salad and dessert-while the main course was home playing with her grandchildren."

The show only lasted one season, and then it was cancelled.

Answer: The Sunshine Boys

George played the part of Al Lewis, and Walter Matthau played the part of Willy Clark, who had been very successful in vaudeville with an act called "The Sunshine Boys". The act broke up after 47 years due to a disagreement that could not be resolved. They were asked to appear on a television special. They agreed, but almost ruined the show with their arguing!

George won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor-Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He went on to make many more films.

Answer: March 9, 1996

George had a very successful career even after Gracie passed away, doing many live performances and making numerous movies, as well as a successful career as an author. He was supposed to appear at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to perform a stand-up comedy routine there on his 100th birthday, but was too ill to make it. He passed away on March 9, exactly 49 days after his 100th birthday.