Bob Burns (humorist)
| Bob Burns | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Robin Burn August 2, 1890 Greenwood, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Died | February 2, 1956 (aged 65) Encino, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Film, radio actor, comedian |
| Years active | 1930-1945 |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Fisher (1921-1936; her death; 1 child) Judy Canova (1936-1939; divorced) Harriet M. Foster (1939-1956; his death; 3 children) |
| Children | William Robin Burns, Stephen Burns, Robert Burns Jr., Barbara Ann Burns |
Robin "Bob" Burns (August 2, 1890 – February 2, 1956) was an American musical comedian, who appeared on radio and in movies from 1930 to 1947. Burns played a novelty musical instrument of his own invention, which he called a "bazooka". During World War II, the US Army's handheld anti-tank rocket launcher was nicknamed the "bazooka".
He was born Robin Burn in Greenwood, Arkansas. When he was three years old, his family moved to Van Buren, Arkansas. As a boy, Burns played trombone and cornet in the town's "Queen City Silver Cornet Band". At 13, he formed his own string band. Practicing in the back of Hayman's Plumbing Shop one night, he picked up a length of gas pipe and blew into it, creating an unusual sound. With modifications, this became a musical instrument he named a "bazooka" (after "bazoo", meaning a windy fellow, from the Dutch bazuin for "trumpet"). A photograph shows him playing his invention in the Silver Cornet Band. Functioning like a crude trombone, the musical bazooka had a narrow range, but this was intentional.
Burns also studied civil engineering and worked as a peanut farmer, but by 1911 was primarily an entertainer.
During World War I Burns enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He sailed to France with the Marine 11th Regiment. As a sergeant, he became the leader of the Marine Corps's jazz band in Europe. Burns made another "bazooka" from stove pipes and a whiskey funnel, which he sometimes played with the Corps band. In September 1919, he and his "Marine Corps Melody Six" jazz band, with Burn playing his bazooka, were attached to the Marine Corps Recruiting Station in Manhattan.
After the war, Burns returned to the stage, often playing the bazooka as part of his act. He used it as a prop when telling hillbilly stories and jokes. Burns became known as The Arkansas Traveler and The Arkansas Philosopher. His stage persona was a self-effacing, rustic bumpkin with amusing stories about "the kinfolks" back home in Van Buren. His character was patterned after Sanford Faulkner (1806–74), composer of the popular fiddle tune, "The Arkansas Traveler". A caricature of Burns on the cover of the book The Arkansas Traveler appears in the Looney Tunes cartoon "Book Revue" (1945).
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