Burl Ives (Celebrity In Spotlight)

Burl Ives (14 June 1909 – 14 April 1995) was an Academy Award winning American actor and acclaimed folk music singer and author. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the movie The Big Country; however, he is probably better remembered for his music. The prominent music critic John Rockwell has been quoted in the New York Times as saying that "Ives's voice... had the sheen and finesse of opera without its latter-day Puccinian vulgarities and without the pretensions of operatic ritual. It was genteel in expressive impact without being genteel in social conformity.

In the 1960s Ives began singing country music with greater frequency. In 1962 he released three songs which became country music hits, “A Little Bitty Tear,” “Call Me Mr In-Between,” and “Funny Way of Laughing.” All three songs also topped the pop charts. In the 1960s and 1970s, Ives had a number of television roles. He played the narrator, Sam the Snowman, in the Rankin-Bass animated television special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). He performed in other television productions, most notably Pinocchio (1968) and Roots (1977). He starred in two television series: O.K. Crackerby! (1965-1966) and The Bold Ones: The Lawyers (1969-1972).

Ives's "A Holly Jolly Christmas” remains a popular tune during the Christmas season; it was featured in the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special. Frank Black of the Pixies is a contemporary fan of Ives according to Apple's iTunes Music Store. In a contribution to “Celebrity Playlists”, Black includes no fewer than 15 of Ives' hits in his playlist. Madison, Wisconsin, punk rock band Killdozer released the EP Burl in 1986, which they dedicated “in loving memory of” Ives, who was still alive and evidently still remembered at the time.