Ronnie Burns played "Atomic Passion" dies at 72

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Ronnie Burns, 72; TV actor played himself on parents' comedy show

November 16, 2007


Ronnie Burns, 72, the son of George Burns and Gracie Allen who appeared occasionally with the comedy team on television in the 1950s, died of cancer Wednesday at his Pacific Palisades home, said his wife, Janice.

Burns played himself on "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show," which ran on CBS from 1950 to 1958, and "The George Burns Show," which ran for one season after Allen retired from show business in 1958.

He studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and appeared in other TV shows in the 1950s and early '60s, including "The Honeymooners," "The Jack Benny Program" and "Playhouse 90" and headlined his own short-lived series, "Happy," in 1960.

Burns and Allen adopted Ronnie a few months after he was born July 9, 1935, and about a year after they adopted his sister, Sandra.

"He had a pretty charmed life growing up," his wife said Thursday, describing it as a happy one filled with "parties, pony rides, a typical old-style Hollywood lifestyle."

Besides acting, he also did some production work on "Wendy and Me," a 1964-65 sitcom starring his father.

After growing tired of the limelight, his wife said, Burns left the entertainment business and turned to racing boats.

He later invested in real estate, oversaw merchandising related to his parents and bred Arabian horses in Santa Ynez, Calif.

He had three sons with his first wife, Peggy, and married Janice in 1977.

Allen died in 1964 of a heart attack at 58, and George Burns died in 1996 at 100