*Includes pictures *Includes Burns' own quotes about his life and career *Includes a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents “You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old.” – George Burns “I'm very pleased to be here. Let's face it, at my age I'm very pleased to be anywhere.” – George Burns A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. Vaudeville comedy was one of the most important forms of entertainment in the history of the United States, though its hegemony faded during the early 20th century with the advent of radio, cinema, television, and finally social media. Still, in the years leading up to the development of the film industry in the last years of the 19th century, vaudeville was the leading form of mass entertainment, with a public comprised of a more working-class clientele than the traditionally bourgeois institutions of theater or opera. Moreover, the importance of vaudeville makes evident why the life and career of George Burns are significant. Not only was Burns one of the great vaudeville entertainers of the first few decades of the 20th century, he carried its legacy forward through his later work in radio, television, and film.