Bob Burns was a well-known national radio and film personality during the 1930s and 1940s. He was known such as “The Arkansas Traveler” and “The Arkansas Philosopher” because he wove tales of life in the Arkansas hills with his musical performances.
On March 10, 1938, he hosted the tenth Oscar ceremony, becoming the first Arkansan to do so. At that ceremony the big winner was The Life of Emile Zola. The first version of A Star Is Born became the first color motion picture nominated for Best Picture. It was also the first time the Irving Thalberg Award was presented. At the time, Burns had made a few movies and was ruling the airwaves as a popular radio star. Since the Oscars were broadcast on the radio, he was an appropriate choice to host the awards.
He earned his nickname, “Bazooka,” from an instrument he invented and named as a young man in a plumbing shop. The instrument, which was a simple device made of spare gas fittings and a whiskey funnel, eventually lent its name to the World War II anti-tank weapon due to its similar looks and Burns’ popularity among the troops who employed it in combat.
Burns was born in Arkansas (there are conflicting sources as to where) and grew up in Van Buren. As a youth, he started playing in bands. Among the instruments he played was his Bazooka invention. Eventually he came to the attention of a radio program in California. His originally non-paying assignment as a radio comic eventually led to appearances on Paul Whiteman’s coast-to-coast radio program and regular appearances on Rudy Vallee’s shows.
He eventually starred on NBC’s Kraft Music Hall radio program with Bing Crosby while also making more movies. From 1941 to 1947 he starred in his own radio show – The Arkansas Traveler which eventually became The Bob Burns Show. During the same time period, he wrote a column for Esquire and syndicated newspaper column.
He was feted several times when he returned to Arkansas in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1956, Burns died of cancer and is buried in California.
One of the hits at the Arkansas Cinema Society’s August 2018 Filmland event was Arkansas made film Antiquities.
Oscars nominations are announced today. In the days leading up to the ceremony, this blog will look at Arkansas to the Academy Awards.
Before it was a musical or a movie with Claude Rains, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA was a 1925 silent movie starring Lon Chaney.
After becoming the breakout of “Welcome Back, Kotter,” John Travolta’s first starring role was in the made-for-TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. Tonight the CALS Ron Robinson Theater offers the chance to see this movie on the big screen.
Little Rock Culture Vulture 