Once called by poet Carl Sandburg "the mightiest ballad singer of this or any other century," Burl Ives grew up the youngest of six children born to a Scotch-Irish farming family in Jasper County, Illinois. As a very young boy, he sang in church and at town gatherings and listened closely to the songs of his pipe-smoking grandmother who taught him many of his famous ballads. He played fullback in high school and was planning to become a football coach when wanderlust overcame him during his senior year of college. Dropping out, he grabbed his guitar and hit the road, collecting experiences and singing with the likes of Josh White and Woody Guthrie before taking his music to New York City at the end of the Depression. There the imposing bear of a man (6'2", 270-lbs.) began his acting career, appearing on Broadway in "The Boys From Syracuse" (1938), "This Is the Army" (1942) and "Sing Out Sweet Land" (1944), among other productions. He made his feature debut in "Smoky" (1946), singing such staples from his folk repertoire as "The Foggy, Foggy Dew" and "Blue-Tail Fly".
Ives starred on Broadway as Cap'n Andy in the 1954 Broadway revival of "Showboat" and the following year created his signature role of Big Daddy Pollitt for the original Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tim Roof", helmed by Elia Kazan, who also directed him as Sam the sheriff in the feature "East of Eden" (1955). After playing himself in Kazan's "A Face in the Crowd" (1957), he enjoyed his peak year in the business, appearing in four substantial features in 1958. He portrayed Ephraim Cabot, the cuckold of Sophia Loren, in "Desire Under the Elms" and Cottonmouth, the outlaw hunter of Nicholas Ray's "Wind Across the Everglades". He also reprised Big Daddy for Richard Brooks' film version of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his rough but fair-minded ranch owner Rufus Hannassey in William Wyler's "The Big Country". Other memorable feature roles from this period include his villainous turn in Andre de Toth's "Day of the Outlaw" (1959) and his stint as the captain in "Ensign Pulver" (1964).
Though often the big baddie for film, his troubadour persona was just the opposite as he earned the reputation of a sweet, gentle giant, singing songs like "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" and "I Gave My Love a Cherry". He narrated the Christmas cartoon perennial "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (NBC, 1964), singing its title song and others, and became more recognizable for his TV work during subsequent decades. His TV series debut came as Prater Beasley in NBC's "Daniel Boone", and he played the title role of the short-lived ABC series "O.K. Crackerby" (1965-66), as well as Walter Nichols in NBC's "The Lawyers", seen as one-third of the rotating segments of "The Bold Ones" (1969-72). He acted in two landmark miniseries, "Captains and Kings" (NBC, 1976) and "Roots" (ABC, 1977), and wrapped up his small-screen career as F W Woolworth in the miniseries "Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story" (NBC, 1987). Ives continually appeared in concerts around the world, singing for Golda Meir in Israel, a US President in Alaska and Queen Elizabeth II in a special command performance.
Family
FATHER: Frank Ives. Farmer.
MOTHER: Cordella Ives.
SON: Alexander Ives. Survived him; adopted with first wife Helen Peck Erlich.
STEP-SON: Kevin Ives. From wife Dorothy's previous marriage; survived him.
STEP-SON: Robbie Ives. From wife Dorothy's previous marriage; survived him.
Companion
WIFE: Helen Peck Erlich. Married in 1945; when they split up in 1960, she got custody of their son Alexander; had directed Ives on radio show.
WIFE: Dorothy Ives. Co-wrote with Ives, "The Mystic Trumpeter-Walt Whitman at 70", a stage vehicle in which he performed the title role at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbera, California in 1988; married in 1970; survived him.
Milestone
Performed as a child singing at church and community gatherings
1938: Made his NYC stage debut in the Rodgers and Hart musical "I Married an Angel"
Appeared in several Broadway shows, including "The Boys From Syracuse" (1938, by Rodgers and Hart), "This Is the Army" (1942, Irving Berlin) and "Sing Out, Sweet Land" (1944)
1946: Feature debut with a singing role in "Smoky"
1948: First starring role in the children's feature "So Dear to My Heart"
1954: Starred on Broadway in a revival of "Showboat"
1955: Collaborated with Elia Kazan on "East of Eden" (as Sam, the town sheriff) and on the original Broadway stage production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", for which he created his signature role of Big Daddy Pollitt
1956: TV debut with a guest spot on the Western series "Zane Grey Theater"
1957: Appeared as a panelist on the game show "High Low Quiz"
1958: Reprised his role as Big Daddy Pollitt in Richard Brooks' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
1958: Won Supporting Actor Oscar for "The Big Country"
1959: Hosted the first of many holiday televised specials, "Holiday U.S.A."
1964: TV series debut as Prater Beasley on "Daniel Boone" (NBC)
1964: Narrated English-language version of "Mediterranean Holiday"; also performed songs on the soundtrack
1964: Credited as the host, narrator, voice and song performer for the animated classic, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
1965 - 1966: Portrayed title role of short-lived ABC series "O.K. Crackerby"
1968: Played Gepitto in "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation of "Pinocchio" (NBC)
1968: TV-movie debut, "The Sound of Anger" (NBC), portraying lawyer Walter Nichols
Reprised Nichols in "The Lawyers", seen as one-third of the rotating segments of "The Bold Ones" (NBC)
1976: First TV miniseries, "Captains and the Kings" (NBC)
1977: Acted in acclaimed ABC miniseries "Roots"
1978: Final TV-movie, "The Bermuda Depths" (ABC)
1978: Provided the voice of the Great Easter Bunny in CBS' "The First Easter Rabbit"
1987: Final small screen appearance as F W Woolworth in the miniseries, "Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story" (NBC)
1988: Last feature acting credit, "Two Moon Junction"
Education
The Juilliard School - New York, New York
Eastern Illinois State Teachers College physical education - 1927-1930 - dropped out during senior year to roam "the country from one end to the other with my guitar over my shoulder"; donated the suit he wore as Big Daddy in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" to his alma mater; school name later changed to Eastern Illinois University
Bibliography
"The Wayfaring Stranger" Burl Ives 1948
Discography
"The Wayfaring Stranger" - Burl Ives - Columbia - 1949 - first album
"I got into a brawl one night in a saloon in Greenwich Village. Elia Kazan, a great director, saw me put out a couple of hecklers and figures there was some Big Daddy in me, just lyin' dormant. And out it came. People still do call me Big Daddy, but to me, inside, I'm no Big Daddy at all." --Burl Ives, a 1978 quote reprinted in USA TODAY, April 17, 1995
Ives was the recipient of the Minnesota Heritage Award, the Carl Sandburg Award, the National Boy Scouts Award and the Crystal Humanitarian Award (given by the Crystal Cathedral), as well as being the Lincoln Laureate (State of Illinois). He also received an Honorary Doctor of Law from Farleigh Dickinson University, an Honorary Doctor of Music from Carl Sandburg College and the US Navy's "E" Award.
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