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  Name Burl Ives
  Birthname Burle Icle Ivanhoe Ives
  Location Hunt, Illinois , US <br>
  Deathdate (mouth cancer)
  Deathplace Anacortes, Washington , USA
  Occupation Singer & Actor
  Spouse Helen Peck Ehrich (1945-1971) 1 Child <br>Dorothy Koster Paul (1971-His Death) 3 Children


Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives ( 14 June 1909 – 14 April 1995 ) was an Academy Award winning American actor and acclaimed Folk Music singer and author. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the movie The Big Country .


LIFE AND CAREER


Early life

Born near Hunt City in Jasper County, Illinois , Ives is probably best remembered for his music. The prominent music critic John Rockwell has been quoted in the New York Times as saying that "Ives's voice... had the sheen and finesse of opera without its latter-day Puccini an vulgarities and without the pretensions of operatic ritual. It was genteel in expressive impact without being genteel in social conformity. And it moved people."John Rockwell, quoted in book review of ''Outsider, John Rockwell on the Arts, 1967-2006'', by John Rockwell, the New York Times Book Review, 24 December 2006, page 13

From 1927 to 1929 Ives attended Eastern Illinois State Teachers College in Charleston (now Eastern Illinois University ), where he played football.Betsy Cole, "Eastern Mourns Burl Ives," ''Daily Eastern News'', April 17, 1995. One day during his junior year, he was sitting in English class, listening to a lecture on ''Beowulf'', when he suddenly realized that he was wasting his time. So he got up to leave, but as he walked out the door, the professor made a snide remark, so Ives slammed the door behind him.Burl Ives, ''Wayfaring Stranger'', New York: Whittlesey House, 1948, pp. 108-109 Sixty years later, the school named a building after its most famous dropout.Associated Press, "Eastern Illinois University Honors Famed Dropout Burl Ives," ''St. Louis Post Dispatch'', May 3, 1990, p., 71. Accessed via NewsBank.


1930s-1940s

Ives traveled about the U.S. as an itinerant singer during the early radio in Terre Haute, Indiana . He also went back to school, registering for classes at Indiana State Teachers College (now Indiana State University ).Burl Ives, ''Wayfaring Stranger'', New York: Whittlesey House, 1948, p. 145.

In 1940 Ives began his own Radio show, titled ''The Wayfaring Stranger'' after one of his ballads. The show was very popular. In the 1940s he popularized several traditional folk songs, such as “ Lavender Blue ” (his first hit, a folk song from the 17th Century ), “ Foggy Foggy Dew ” (an English/Irish folk song), “ Blue Tail Fly ” (an old Civil War tune) and “ Big Rock Candy Mountain ” (an old Hobo ditty).

  • A---S---H_(TV_series)" class="copylinks">M---A---S---H '' many years later. In December 1943, Ives returned to New York City and went to work again for CBS radio for $100 a week."Testimony of Burl Icle Ives, New York, N.Y. May 20, 1952 ," ''Hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Eighty-Second Congress, Second Session on Subversive Infiltration of Radio, Television, and the Entertainment Industry''. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1952. Part 2, p. 206.


On Dec. 6, 1945 , Ives married 29-year-old script writer Helen Peck Ehrlich."Burl Ives Weds Script Writer," ''New York Times'', Dec. 8, 1945, p. 24. Accessed via ProQuest Historical Newspapers. The next year, Ives was cast as a singing cowboy in the Film ''Smoky''. Other movie credits include '' East Of Eden '' ( 1955 ); '' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof '' ( 1958 ); '' The Big Country '' ( 1958 ), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; and '' Our Man In Havana '' ( 1959 ), based on the Graham Greene novel; and many others. His autobiography, ''The Wayfaring Stranger'', was published in 1948 . He also wrote or compiled several other books, including ''Burl Ives Song Book'' ( 1953 ); ''Tales of America'' ( 1954 ); ''Sea Songs of Sailing, Whaling, and Fishing'' ( 1956 ); and ''The Wayfaring Stranger's Notebook'' (1962).


Broadway roles

Ives' Broadway career included appearances in '' The Boys From Syracuse '' (1938-39), ''Heavenly Express'' ( 1940 ), '' This Is The Army '' ( 1942 ), ''Sing Out Sweet Land'' ( 1944 ), '' Paint Your Wagon '' (1951-52), and ''Dr. Cook's Garden'' ( 1967 ); his most notable Broadway performance was as Big Daddy in '' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof '' (1955-56), a role written specifically for Ives by Tennessee Williams .


1950s: Communist "blacklisting"

Ives was identified in the infamous and named fellow folk singer Pete Seeger and others as possible Communists ."Testimony of Burl Icle Ives, New York, N.Y. May 20, 1952 ," ''Hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Eighty-Second Congress, Second Session on Subversive Infiltration of Radio, Television, and the Entertainment Industry''. 2 parts. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1952. Part 2, pp. 205-228.

His cooperation with the HUAC ended his blacklisting, allowing him to continue with his movie acting. Forty-one years later, Ives and Seeger were reunited in a benefit concert in New York City; they sang "Blue Tail Fly" together.Dean Kahn, "Ives-Seeger Rift Finally Ended with 'Blue-Tail Fly' Harmony: Skagitonians Ives, Murros Were on Opposite Sides," ''Knight Ridder Tribune Business News'' ''Bellingham Herald'', Washington , Mar 19, 2006, p. 1. Accessed via ProQuest ABI/Inform.


1960s-1990s

In the '' (1965-1966) and '' The Bold Ones : The Lawyers'' (1969-1972).

Ives and Helen Peck Ehrlich were divorced in 1971 ."Burl Ives Divorced," ''New York Times'', Feb. 19, 1971, p. 27. Accessed via ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Ives then married Dorothy Koster Paul in London in that same year.UPI, "Burl Ives Weds," ''Evening Sentinel'', Holland, Michigan, April 17, 1971, p. 3. Accessed via Access NewspaperARCHIVE. In his later years, Ives and his wife, Dorothy, lived with their children in a home located alongside the water in Anacortes , in the Puget Sound area of Washington .

In 1995 Ives died of cancer of the mouth at the age of 85, and he is interred in Mound Cemetery in Jasper County, Illinois.Richard Severo, "Burl Ives, the Folk Singer Whose Imposing Acting Won an Oscar, Dies at 85," ''New York Times'', April 15, 1995, p. 10. Accessed via ProQuest Historical Newspapers.


POPULAR CULTURE REFERENCES

Ives's " released the EP ''Burl'' in 1986 , which they dedicated “in loving memory of” Ives, who was still alive (and evidently still remembered) at the time.

''.


DISCOGRAPHY


Albums



Singles (Selected)

  • Grandfather Kringle / Twelve Days Of Christmas (1951, 10 in., 78 rpm, Columbia MJV-124)

  • That's My Heart Strings / The Bus Stop Song (c. 1956, 7 in., 45 rpm, Decca 30046)

  • I'm the Boss / The Moon Is High (c. 1963, 7 in., 45 rpm, Decca 31504)

  • Salt Water Guitar / The Story of Bobby Lee Trent (1964, 7 in., 45 rpm, Decca 31811)

  • Evil Off My Mind / Taste of Heaven (c. 1967, 7 in., 45 rpm, Decca 31997)

  • Gingerbread House / Tumbleweed Snowman (c. 1970?, 7 in. 45 rpm, Big Tree BT-130)

  • The Tail of the Comet Kohoutek / A Very Fine Lady (1974, 7 in., 45 rpm, MCA 40175)

  • It's Gonna Be a Mixed Up Xmas / The Christmas Legend of Monkey Joe (1978, 7 in., 45 & 33 1/3 rpm, Monkey Joe MJ1)

  • The Night Before Christmas / Instrumental (1986, 7 in., 45 rpm, Stillman/Teague STP-1013)



RADIO WORK (SELECTED) VINCENT TERRACE, ''RADIO'S GOLDEN YEARS: THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RADIO PROGRAMS, 1930-1960'', SAN DIEGO: BARNES AND COMPANY, 1981, PP. 43, 147; JOHN DUNNING, ''ON THE AIR: THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OLD-TIME RADIO'', NEW YORK: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, P. 123; DAVE GOLDIN, ''RADIOGOLDINDEX'': LINK . ''UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, THE INFORMATION IN THIS SECTION COMES FROM THESE SOURCES.''


  • ''The Wayfarin' Stranger'', CBS & WOR (1940s)

  • ''Back Where I Came From'', CBS (Sept. 30, 1940-Feb. 28, 1941)

  • ''Burl Ives Coffee Club'', CBS (July 5, 1941-Jan. 24, 1942)

  • ''The Columbia Workshop'', CBS

  • ---"Roadside" (Mar. 2, 1941)

  • ---"The Log of the R-77," second installment of ''Twenty-Six by Corwin'' (May 11, 1941)

  • ---"The People, Yes," third installment of ''Twenty-Six by Corwin'' (May 18, 1941)

  • ---"A Child's History of Hot Music" (Mar. 15, 1942)

  • ''Columbia Presents Corwin'', CBS

  • ---"The Lonesome Train" (Mar. 21, 1944)

  • ---"El Capitan and the Corporal" (July 25, 1944)

  • ''The Theatre Guild on the Air'', ABC

  • ---"Sing Out, Sweet Land" (Oct. 21, 1945)

  • ''Hollywood Star Time'', CBS

  • ---"The Return of Frank James" (Mar. 10, 1946)

  • ''The Burl Ives Show'', Syndication (1946-1948)

  • ''Hollywood Fights Back'', ABC (Nov. 2, 1947)

  • ''The Kaiser Traveler'', ABC (July 24-Sept. 4, 1949)

  • ''Burl Ives Sings'', Syndication (1950s)



THEATER APPEARANCES (SELECTED)INTERNET BROADWAY DATABASE: BURL IVES CREDITS ON BROADWAY: LINK . ''UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, THIS DATABASE IS THE SOURCE OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS SECTION.''

  • ''Pocohontas Preferred'' (1935-1936)''Guide to the Burl Ives Papers, 1913-1975'', New York Public Library for the Performing Arts: link

  • '' The Boys From Syracuse '' (Nov. 23, 1938 - June 10, 1939)

  • ''Heavenly Express'' (April 18-May 4, 1940)

  • ''This Is the Army'' (July 4-Sept. 26, 1942)

  • ''Sing Out Sweet Land'' (Dec. 27, 1944 - Mar. 24, 1945)

  • ''She Stoops to Conquer'' (1950)"Old Play in Manhattan," ''Time'', Jan. 09, 1950,

    • link

  • '' Knickerbocker Holiday '' (1950)"Along the Straw Hat," ''New York Times'', July 30, 1950, p. X3. Includes photo of Ives. Accessed via ProQuest Historical Newspapers.

  • ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' (1951)"Along the Straw Hat Trail," ''New York Times'', Sept. 2, 1951, p. 54. Includes photo of Ives. Accessed via ProQuest Historical Newspapers.

  • '' Paint Your Wagon '' (Nov. 12, 1951 - July 19, 1952)

  • ''Show Boat'' (1954)L.F., "The Theatre: 'Show Boat,' ''New York Times'', May 6, 1954, p. 44. Includes photograph of Ives and co-stars. Accessed via ProQuest Historical Newspapers.

  • '' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof '' (Mar 24, 1955 - Nov 17, 1956)

  • ''Dr. Cook's Garden'' (Sept. 25-30, 1967)



FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTED)


Television



Films



CONCERTS (SELECTED)

  • Royal Winsor, New York City, April 28, 1939John Martin, "The Dance: Folk Fetes," ''New York Times'', April 23, 1939, p. 128. Accessed via ProQuest Historical Newspapers.

  • Town Hall, New York City, Dec. 1, 1945''Guide to the Burl Ives Papers, 1913-1975'', New York Public Library for the Performing Arts: link

  • Opera House, San Francisco, Feb. 9, 1949"Burl Ives to Be in S. F. February 9," ''San Mateo Times'', San Mateo, CA, Jan. 29, 1949, p. 5. Accessed via Access NewspaperARCHIVE.

  • Columbia University, New York City, Oct. 19, 1950Display ad, ''New York Times'', Oct. 8, 1950, p. X3. Accessed via ProQuest Historical Newspapers.

  • Royal Festival Hall, London, May 10, 1952"Burl Ives Packs London Hall," ''New York Times'', May 11, 1952, p. 95. Accessed via ProQuest Historical Newspapers.

  • Albert Hall, London, Oct. 20, 1976UPI, "Ives Returns London ," ''Syracuse Herald Journal'', Syracuse, NY, Oct. 1, 1976, p. 33. Accessed via Access NewspaperARCHIVE.

  • Chautauqua, New York, 1982 ( VHS )

  • Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois, April 27, 1990Associated Press, "Eastern Illinois University Honors Famed Dropout Burl Ives," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', May 3, 1990, p. 71. Accessed via NewsBank.

  • Brodniak Hall, Anacortes, Washington, 1991 ( VHS )

  • Mt. Vernon, Washington, February 1993 ( VHS )

  • Folksong U.S.A., 92nd Street Y, New York City, May 17, 1993Stephen Holden, "The Cream of Folk, Reunited for a Cause," ''New York Times'', May 19, 1993, p. C15. Includes photo of Ives, Seeger, and others. Accessed via ProQuest Historical Newspapers.



BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • ''The Wayfarin' Stranger: A Collection of 21 Folk Songs and Ballads with Guitar and Piano Accompaniment''. New York: Leeds Music, 1945.

  • ''Wayfaring Stranger''. New York: Whittlesey House, 1948 (autobiography)

  • ''Favorite Folk Ballads of Burl Ives: A Collection of 17 Folk Songs and Ballads with Guitar and Piano Accompaniment''. New York: Leeds Music, 1949

  • ''Burl Ives Song Book''. New York: Ballantine Books, 1953

  • ''Sailing on a Very Fine Day''. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1954

  • ''Burl Ives Folio of Australian Songs'', collected and arranged by Percy Jones, 1954.

  • ''Song in America: Our Musical Heritage'', co-authored with Albert Hague. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, n.d.

  • ''Tales of America''. Cleveland: World Publishing, 1954

  • "Introduction" to Paul Kapp's ''A Cat Came Fiddling and Other Rhymes of Childhood'', New York: Harcourt Brace, 1956.

  • ''The Ghost and Hans Van Duin'' from ''Tales of America'' . Pittsburgh: Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1956

  • ''Sea Songs of Sailing, Whaling, and Fishing''. New York: Ballantine Books, 1956

  • ''The Wayfaring Stranger's Notebook''. Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill, 1962

  • ''Irish Songs''. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, n.d.

  • '' The Burl Ives Sing-Along Song Book : A Treasury of American Folk Songs & Ballads'', 1963

  • ''Albad the Oaf''. London: Abelard-Schuman, 1965.

  • ''More Burl Ives Songs''. New York: Ballantine Books, 1966

  • ''Sing a Fun Song''. New York: Southern Music Publishing, 1968

  • ''Burl Ives: Four Folk Song and Four Stories'', co-authored with Barbara Hazen. N.p.: CBS Records, 1969

  • ''Spoken Arts Treasury of American Ballads and Folk Songs'', co-authored with Arthur Klein and Helen Ives, n.d.

  • ''Easy Guitar Method''. Dayton, Ohio : Heritage Music Press, 1975

  • ''We Americans: A Musical Journey with Burl Ives''. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1978 (pamphlet)

  • "Foreword" to Martin Scot Kosins's ''Maya's First Rose''. West Bloomfield, MI: Altweger and Mandel Publishing, 1991



REFERENCES



EXTERNAL LINKS



  Title Academy Award For Best Supporting Actor
  Before Red Buttons <br>for '' Sayonara ''
  Years 1958<br>'''for '' The Big Country '' '''
  After Hugh Griffith <br>for '' Ben-Hur ''