THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 1996 TAG: 9602070040
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Book Review
SOURCE: BY SANDRA M. LOUDEN
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
``SAY GOOD NIGHT, Gracie,'' evokes for anyone over age 50 the image of a young, suave entertainer. Mention the movie ``Oh, God!'' to someone much younger and the image of a wizened, bespectacled old man in rumpled clothing comes to mind.
However you think of him, he is George Burns. His accomplishments are many, not the least of which wasreaching his 100th birthday this year. ``George Burns and the Hundred Year Dash'' (Simon & Schuster, 329 pp., $23), by celebrity biographer Martin Gottfried, is a valentine to the comedian's century of life.
Gottfried tells Burns' life story in a straightforward fashion. Seven years ago, he interviewed Burns over a period of several days, and they became friends.
Born Nathan Birnbaum in Manhattan's Lower East Side and called Natty by intimates, Burns started in show business at age 8, singing in the ``Peewee Quartet.'' Early on, he played gigs on street corners and the Staten Island Ferry. In the 1920s, his career coincided with the Golden Age of Vaudeville, when the sublime often interacted with the ridiculous.
In and out of mediocre acts, Burns was going no place fast - until a young woman came backstage in 1923, searching for a new partner for her act. Gracie Allen and George Burns teamed up, and he soon realized that Gracie was getting all of the laughs, even when she delivered the straight lines.
Never one to let his ego get in the way of business, Burns quickly rewrote their routines to reflect Gracie's unique style of humor - ``illogical logic'' - a style later imitated by actresses such as Jean Stapleton and Goldie Hawn.
For ``Burns and Allen','' success followed upon success, and Natty Burns never looked back. The pair married in 1926 and glided easily from vaudeville to radio to film shorts. Eventually they debuted on television, one of the first husband-and-wife teams to star in a series.
When Gracie Allen died in 1964, Burns was devastated, both personally and professionally. Always one to credit Gracie for his success, he entered a lengthy period of ``profound depression,'' during which he questioned his self-worth as an entertainer. During this time, his brother Willie took a fatal overdose of sleeping pills, and his best friend, comedian Jack Benny, died of cancer.
Benny was to star opposite Walter Matthau in the movie ``The Sunshine Boys,'' but when the famous comedian learned he was dying, he recommended Burns for the part. It was the lift that Burns' sagging career needed - he won an Oscar for his performance. Between 1977 and 1979, Burns published two books, starred in four movies (one of which was the mega-hit ``Oh, God!'') and played top showrooms around the country.
Steady bookings continued for Burns until the end of 1994, when he fell and later suffered a heart attack during surgery. Since then, he has grown weaker and has had to cancel engagements, including his much-touted 100th birthday celebration at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
Gottfried's narrative is entertaining, although he tends to ramble from one unrelated anecdote to another in the latter part of the book.
Because many principals in Burns' life have died, Gottfried interviewed a number of peripheral people. Their testimonies give a second-hand quality to events. A curious pall is cast by the book's ending, as well. A female acquaintance visits Burns, saying ``God told (me) to come because George is getting ready to go see Gracie.''
But the book has one thing that George Burns always understood: timing. And timing is everything. MEMO: Sandra M. Louden is a greeting-card and humor writer who lives in
Pittsburgh by CNB