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George Burns Drank 5 Martinis A Day - 60 Minutes

by Billy Ingram

George Burns on 60 Minutes… Drinks five Martinis a day and smokes 10-15 cigars a day. Burns talks to Ed Bradley about Gracie Allen, Burns and Allen, his show at Caesars Palace, Susan Anton, Walter Matthau, The Sunshine Boys…

This 1988 interview took place when the legendary comedian was 92 years old. Burns is shown rehearsing for his run at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

George Burns was touring the country with Susan Anton as his clueless gag gal, the part his late wife Gracie Allen played. "I think that, if you can fall in love with what you do for a living, you're very fortunate," Burns says. "Pretty nice to be 92 and get up out of bed in the morning and like what I'm going to do that day."

The team of Burns & Allen was a huge hit in vaudeville, on radio and even made the transition into television and made a few movies. "I kept changing names and partners until I was 27. I started to play some good theaters and people discovered I had a talent. Had a big talent. I was married to her for 38 years."

Burns explained about his former partner, "If Gracie said something sarcastic they didn't like it. They liked silly things that she said." In the late 1930s, the Burns & Allen radio program's audience numbered more than 40 million. Here's an example of the George Burns & Gracie Allen Show for television in the 1950s:

George Burns famously said, when he signed the contract in 1996, that there’s no money in dying so he’ll be playing Caesars Palace on his 100th birthday. "I don’t believe in dying - I died in Altoona, I died in Schenectady - I’m not going to die again."

Declining health ended Burns' performing career after being injured in a fall in July 1994, six years after this 60 Minutes interview. Truth was, by that time, Burns would often take an extended amount of time to get through a joke, his act was painful to watch. His TV appearances had to be edited one line at a time.

George Burns died just weeks after turning 100 in 1996. Earlier that year, Burns was unable to attend his 100th birthday party after previously canceling scheduled centennial performances at London's Palladium and Caesars Palace. When he turned 100 the comic released a statement that said: "What do you give a man who's been so blessed? Another 100 years? A night with Sharon Stone?"

"It takes only one drink to get me drunk. The trouble is, I can't remember if it's the thirteenth or the fourteenth." - George Burns

"This is the sixth book I've written, which isn't bad for a guy who's only read two." - George Burns

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