Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (1909 - 1995)

Born 14 Jun 1909 in Jasper, Illinois, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Helen Ehrlich — married 24 Oct 1945 (to Sep 1970) in Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Husband of Dorothy K (Koster) Ives — married Apr 1971 in London, England, United Kingdom

Died 14 Apr 1995 at age 85 in Anacortes, Skagit, Washington, United States

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Biography

Burl Ives is Notable.

Burl Ives was a well known Grammy Award-winning American folk singer, author, and Academy Award winning actor. He is best known for his Christmas songs and lending his voice to the snowman from the cartoon Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.^[1]

Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was born June 14, 1909 near Hunt, Jasper County, Illinois to Levi and Cordelia Ives.^[1][2][3][4] The couple were tenant farmers of Irish-English descent.^[1] His parents were known to sing to their son often.^[1] During his school years, Burl learned to play the banjo.^[2] He was also a football player.^[2] He had hoped to turn that passion into a coaching career, and enrolled in the Eastern Illinois State Teachers College, but later dropped out.^[2][5] He hit the road, and traveled from town to town, taking on odd jobs here and there and using his musical abilities as a street musician.^[2]

Burl enlisted in the army during World War II.^[6][7]

Burl married Helen Erlich October 24, 1945 in Queens, New York.^[8] They had one son together, and were divorced in Los Angeles, California, in 1971.^[9] Burl married second Dorothy Koster, and they had three children together.^[2]

Burl's entertaining career took off when friends helped him gain a role in Rodgers and Hart's "The Boys From Syracuse".^[1] The role led to Burl getting his own radio show, broadcasting from New York.^[1] Burl was a multi-talented entertainer. His roles ranged from the beloved voice of the snowman in the children's television special, "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" to Big Daddy in Broadway's "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof".^[1] He also made folk songs memorable, bringing them to popularity on country radio.^[1] In addition to stage and song, Burl also wrote his autobiography, "Wayfaring Stranger".^[1]

At the culmination of his career, Burl had appeared in 30 movies, 12 Broadway productions, recorded over 100 albums, as well as numerous TV and radio appearances.^[2]

Burl died April 14, 1995 of oral cancer at his home in Anacortes, Washington, in the company of his wife and three of his children.^{[1][3][4][10]} His ashes are interred in Mound Cemetery in Hunt City Township, Illinois.^[2] He had been struggling with coronary issues, including congestive heart failure, as well.^[1]

Some sources claim that Burl has been honored with a Hollywood Star on the Walk of Fame, but the Hollywood Walk of Fame website^[11] does not have him listed. He was honored with a memorial bridge on Highway 130 in Jasper County, Illinois.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10} Denver Post, The, obit for "Mightiest' balladeer dead Award-winning actor, singer Burl Ives was 85, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/0F97F89E322F75A3 : accessed 13 December 2018)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8} Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 13 December 2018), memorial page for Burl Ives (14 Jun 1909–14 Apr 1995), Find A Grave: Memorial #1591, citing Mound Cemetery, Hunt City, Jasper County, Illinois, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave .
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Ancestry Record 60901 #31923490
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2014. Number: 061-16-7025; Issue State: New York; Issue Date: Before 1951 Ancestry Record 3693 #30002194
5. ↑ Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Year: 1930; Census Place: Hunt, Jasper, Illinois; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0007; FHL microfilm: 2340256 Ancestry Record 6224 #26492923
6. ↑ "United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8RD-MVC : 5 December 2014), Burl I Ives, enlisted 27 Apr 1942, Ft Jay, Governors Island, New York, United States; citing "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946," database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (AAD) (http://aad.archives.gov : National Archives and Records Administration, 2002); NARA NAID 1263923, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
7. ↑ Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Ancestry Record 2441 #6743992
8. ↑ Ancestry.com. New York, New York, Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017. New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Queens Ancestry Record 61406 #2055699
9. ↑ Ancestry.com. California, Divorce Index, 1966-1984 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Ancestry Record 1141 #529441
10. ↑ Ancestry.com. Washington, Death Index, 1940-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2002. Ancestry Record 6716 #1720998
11. ↑ http://www.walkoffame.com/

See also:

• Burl Ives on Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
• Wikidata: Item Q315723, en:Wikipedia
• "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVPZ-VTT7 : 15 March 2018), Burl Ives, 1950; citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2H71-QZ3 : 15 March 2018), Burle Icle Ives, 1953; citing Immigration, New York City, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• (A pagination error puts Burl and a sister with the incorrect family in 1910) Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Year: 1910; Census Place: Hunt, Jasper, Illinois; Roll: T624_293; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0082; FHL microfilm: 1374306. Ancestry Record 7884 #113168529
• Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Year: 1920; Census Place: Hunt, Jasper, Illinois; Roll: T625_372; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 103 Ancestry Record 6061 #89728085
• Ancestry.com. California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2017. California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Register of Voters, 1900-1968 Ancestry Record 61066 #46863531