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With his impeccable timing and trademark cigar, George Burns practically spanned the history of 20th-century comedy. He rose through the ranks of vaudeville as the ultimate straight man to wife Gracie Allen's muddleheaded blonde persona. Burns & Allen would become household names with a tremendously popular radio show that was later adapted into one of television’s early hits. Burns's popularity waned in the 1960s with Allen’s retirement from showbiz, but his star was revived with his Oscar-winning performance in the 1975 movie THE SUNSHINE BOYS. In the decades that followed, Burns remained firmly in the public eye, poking fun at his own aging, remaining a superstar well into his 90s. Just months shy of his long-promised 100th birthday extravaganza, Burns slipped in the shower; while he survived to his centennial, he was unable to attend. Wikipedia