Born on Mott Street in the Manhattan Chinatown of New York City. He made his Broadway debut in Face the Music in 1932, Cole Porter's Nymph Errant (1936) was his London debut, and he appeared in many comedies and musicals over an almost 50 year career. He won two Tony Awards for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, for his performances as "Mayor Shinn" in The Music Man and as "Senex" in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Burns introduced the hit song "It Takes a Woman" from Hello, Dolly as the original "Horace Vandergelder".
He died on stage, of a heart attack, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during a tryout for Kander and Ebb's 70, Girls, 70.
He also appeared in the original Broadway casts of:
Film Roles
Posthumous nomination for Leading Actor in a Musical
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"David Burns (actor)".
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