Description: |
One typed page including photograph; biography of Burl Ives, "the mightiest ballad singer of this or any other century." Other individuals mentioned include Carl Sandburg, Clara Lyon, Fred MacMurray, Anne Baxter, Dorothy Koster Paul. ABASH VALLEY WP R O F I L E SA series of tributes to hometown heroes who have made a difference.Burl Ivesuthor-poet Carl Sandburg hailed Burl Ives as "the mightiest ballad singer of this or any other century." Others remember him as an Academy Award-winning actor. Born June 14, 1909, in Hunt, Ill., a small farming community in Jasper County, Burl learned folk ballads from his tobaccochewing grandmother and made his stage debut at age 4 with his six siblings at a soldier's reunion. He learned the banjo at Newton High School, graduating in 1927, but made a bigger impact on the gridiron. Enrolling at Eastern Illinois in Charleston to play football, he earned all-conference recognition as a lineman in 1929 on the college's first undefeated squad. That winter, however, he withdrew from school to tour the country, earning his way by singing and doing odd jobs. In 1931 he hitched a ride to Terre Haute with a Chicago gangster and decided to try college once again, enrolling at Indiana State. Almost immediately he landed a radio job, earning $10 a week as "The Blond Tenor with His Guitar" on WBOW while also working at a downtown drug store. Upon saving enough to buy a Harley-Davidson motorcycle with a side car, he spent more time performing in area speakeasies than attending classes. He also sang in a quartet at Washington Ave. Presbyterian Church and took lessons from Madam Clara Lyon, a French-born voice teacher. The pair became good friends and when Lyon relocated to Elkhart Lake, Wis., with her ailing husband in 1932, Burl followed, abandoning his motorcycle in a parking lot. In a few months, Ives trekked to New York City, became a waiter, took more singing lessons and enrolled at the Juilliard School of Music. In 1938 he landed a role in The Boys from Syracuse, a Rodgers and Hart Broadway musical. The folk song, The Wayfaring Stranger, became Burl's theme and later the title of his autobiography. After receiving a medical discharge from the Army during World War II, Corp. Ives made concert and stage appearances, receiving the Donaldson Award in 1945 as Best Supporting Actor on Broadway in Sing Out Sweet Land. The first Ives record to hit the top 30 chart was Blue Tail Fly. In 1948 he landed a movie role in Smoky, with Fred MacMurray and Anne Baxter. The versatile Ives' dual careers skyrocketed. He made at least 30 movies, notably East of Eden, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof (re-creating his acclaimed Broadway performance as "Big Daddy") and The Big Country (earning the Oscar as best supporting actor). He also starred in the television series O.K. Crackerby, The New Adventures of Heidi and The Bold Ones as well as several specials. Many of his records, including Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly), Riders in the Sky, On Top of Old Smoky, A Little Bitty Tear, Jimmy Crack Corn and Big Rock Candy Mountain, were best-sellers. People of all ages know his voice from his role as the narrator on the Christmas classic, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. In 1965 he donated a massive amount of memorabilia to the Library of Congress. Until late in life, Burl gave benefits, including several at Eastern Illinois, which designated him a Distinguished Alumnus in 1987 and named Art Studio Hall in his honor. Ives died April 14, 1995, in Anacortes, Wash., of mouth cancer. His wife since 1971, the former Dorothy Koster Paul, made the decision to bury him at Mound Cemetery in Jasper County, Ill., near his native home. In late 1995 the Burl Ives Bridge was dedicated on Highway 130 north of Newton.ATERRE HAUTE(812) 238-6000NATIONAL BANKAlways Close to HomeDate Published: Aug. 23, 2001Filename: Ives, Burl profile |
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Origin: | 2001-10-26 |
Created By: |
McCormick, Mike |
Publisher: |
Terre Haute Tribune-Star |
Source: |
http://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/vchs/id/549 |
Collection: |
Vigo County Historical Society |
Rights: | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/ |
Copyright: |
Copyright Undetermined |
Subjects: |
Ives, Burl, 1909-1995 Musicians Singers Social Life People |
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