Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American singer and actor of stage, screen, radio and television. Ives began as an itinerant singer and banjoist, and launched his own radio show, The Wayfaring Stranger, which popularized traditional folk songs. In 1942, he appeared in Irving Berlin's This Is the Army, and then became a major star of CBS radio. In the 1960s, he successfully crossed over into country music, recording hits such as "A Little Bitty Tear" and "Funny Way of Laughin'". A popular film actor through the late 1940s and '50s, Ives's best-known film roles included parts in So Dear to My Heart and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, as well as Rufus Hannassey in The Big Country, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Ives is often remembered for his voice-over work as Sam the Snowman, narrator of the classic 1964 Christmas television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which continues to air annually around Christmas.
| Born: | Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives, June 14, 1909, Hunt City, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died: | April 14, 1995, Anacortes, Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Singer, actor, writer, author |
| Years active: | 1935–1993 |
| Children: | 1 |
| IMDb: | Burl Ives's IMDb |
About Burl Ives
Actor and folk singer known for his hit "A Little Bitty Tear." He was also responsible for Christmas standards like "Holly Jolly Christmas."
Before Fame
He was a dedicated Boy Scout who earned the Silver Buffalo Award. He was a student at Eastern Illinois University in the late 1920s before leaving to devote all of his time to music.
Achievement
In the 1950s, he was blacklisted for allegedly having communist ties.
Family Life
He married Helen Peck Ehrich on December 6, 1945. After their divorce on February 17, 1971, he remarried to Dorothy Koster Paul on April 16, 1971.
Associations
He was once in the same singing group as Woody Guthrie called Almanac Singers.
Information related to Burl Ives
- Country musicians from Indiana
- Country musicians from Illinois
- Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
- Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners
- Bell Records artists
- Gennett Records artists
- Okeh Records artists
- Indiana State University alumni
- Donaldson Award winners
- Songwriters from Indiana
- Male actors from Indiana
- People associated with the Boy Scouts of America
- Male actors from Illinois
- American banjoists
- Decca Records artists
- Songwriters from Illinois
- American folk singers
