Lonnie Burr
Encyclopedia
Lonnie Burr was born on May 31, 1943, in Dayton, Kentucky
. He is an American actor, dancer/choreographer, singer, director and author of Danish, French, Scots-Irish and German descent, best known for having been a star on the original Mickey Mouse Club
television show from 1955 to 1959. His parents were Howard Babin and Dorothy Burr, a vaudeville dance team that performed in film and on stage as "Dot and Dash".
sitcom (1950–1951), guested on a dozen episodes of The Colgate Comedy Hour
, The Roy Rogers Show
, The Alan Young Show
, Donald O'Conner Show, Father Knows Best
, and other series. He was the child lead on the soap opera Dr. Paul and the voice of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee for two years, both on radio. His stage career began at the Pasadena Playhouse at age six.
Lonnie landed his first guest star role as the title character on a segment of The Range Rider
and the same year, his eighth, he performed his first stage lead in The Strawberry Circle. His film roles include Queen for a Day (1951), Hans Christian Andersen
-to whom he is related- (1952), The Greatest Show on Earth
(1952) and Apache
(1954).
His early television commercials include Space Patrol
and The Lone Ranger
.
as one of twenty-four original Mouseketeers. He was made a member of the show's first string unit, the Red Team, and appeared in the show's Roll Call and Alma Mater segments daily for the first two seasons. (A facial injury suffered during rehearsal kept him off-camera during the filming of Roll Call and Alma Mater for the third season). While on the show Lonnie performed in skits and musical variety numbers, both as a soloist and with others. He was generally acknowledged to be one of the show's three top dancers and his slightly husky singing voice caused other Mouseketeers to nickname him "The Velvet Smog" for at twelve he also resembled "The Velvet Fog", singer Mel Tormé
.
stopped filming in 1958, Lonnie finished high school, turning fifteen a few days before getting his diploma, and achieved a B.A.
and M.A.
in Theatre Arts from UCLA by age twenty. He then completed a year toward a Ph.D.
in English Literature
. He resumed performing in the 1960s in plays and musicals including Broadway
, films, television, commercials and industrial films.
His 25 films include Sweet Charity
(1968), The Hospital
(1971), The Prisoner of Second Avenue
(1975), Hook
(1991), Lionheart
(1991), Newsies
(1992), Mr. Saturday Night
(1992), and Police Academy: Mission To Moscow
(1994).
His over 60 TV credits as an adult include guest roles on The Beverly Hillbillies
, Hill Street Blues
, Hunter, a recurring role on Falcon Crest
, Murder She Wrote, Chicago Hope
, L.A. Heat
and Homicide: Life on the Streets. Lonnie also has a total of over 100 radio performances.
His 49 stage roles range from Mack and Mabel on Broadway, the first National Company with Joel Grey
and the Las Vegas
production on his own of George M!
, the Los Angeles
company of 42nd Street
and Tamara
.
Lonnie also directed for radio, TV, and theater and choreographed plays, musicals, commercials, industrial films, and live performances—one that he also wrote and appeared in at Disneyland. He has written two books of poetry, the non-fiction book TWO FOR THE SHOW: Great 20th Century Comedy Teams (2000), five plays (Icons Are Not in Vogue, Occam's Razor, Over the Hill, Children Are Strangers and Exeunt All), and the book and lyrics for the musical Fantasies, which have been staged in Los Angeles and New York City
. In February 2009, his autobiography, Confessions of an Accidental Mouseketeer, was published.
Lonnie published articles on various subjects for eighteen national and regional magazines, newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times
, The Village Voice
, The Washington Times
, and Cincinnati Enquirer, and also for e-zines. He has written for the screen, TV and has had 22 produced radio scripts that aired in the U.S. on a 500-station syndicate for Heartbeat Theatre and American Radio Theater.
Lonnie also appeared on two game shows, The Big Showdown
and Wordplay
. Most notably after his loss on WordPlay on his second appearance, the celebrity panelists put on mouse ears and sang the ending theme version of the Mickey Mouse March
.
Dayton, Kentucky
Dayton is a city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States, along a bend of the Ohio River. The population was 5,966 at the 2000 census. It is less than from downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.-Geography:Dayton is located at ....
. He is an American actor, dancer/choreographer, singer, director and author of Danish, French, Scots-Irish and German descent, best known for having been a star on the original Mickey Mouse Club
Mickey Mouse Club
The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
television show from 1955 to 1959. His parents were Howard Babin and Dorothy Burr, a vaudeville dance team that performed in film and on stage as "Dot and Dash".
Early performances
At age four Lonnie started dance lessons and was soon making live appearances on local TV shows as well as acting on radio and turned professional at five. By six he began working on national TV and radio, acting in commercials and landed his first film appearance in A Yank in Korea (1950). He had his first recurring TV role as the next door neighbor Oliver Quimby on The RugglesThe Ruggles
The Ruggles is an early American family-oriented situation comedies. The series, broadcast live on ABC, with a few episodes recorded on kinescope, began November 3, 1949--a month after radio hit The Life of Riley moved to television on NBC---and ended on June 19, 1952...
sitcom (1950–1951), guested on a dozen episodes of The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show stars many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou...
, The Roy Rogers Show
The Roy Rogers Show
The Roy Rogers Show is an American Western television series that broadcast 100 episodes on NBC for six seasons between December 30, 1951 and June 9, 1957. The show starred Roy Rogers as a ranch owner, Dale Evans as the proprietor of the Eureka Cafe in fictional Mineral City, and Pat Brady as...
, The Alan Young Show
The Alan Young Show
The Alan Young Show is an American radio and television series presented in diverse formats over a nine-year period and starring Canadian-English actor Alan Young.-Radio:...
, Donald O'Conner Show, Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best is an American radio and television comedy series which portrayed a middle class family life in the Midwest. It was created by writer Ed James in the 1940s.-Radio:...
, and other series. He was the child lead on the soap opera Dr. Paul and the voice of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee for two years, both on radio. His stage career began at the Pasadena Playhouse at age six.
Lonnie landed his first guest star role as the title character on a segment of The Range Rider
The Range Rider
The Range Rider is an American Western television series that aired in syndication from 1951-1953. A single lost episode was first shown in 1959...
and the same year, his eighth, he performed his first stage lead in The Strawberry Circle. His film roles include Queen for a Day (1951), Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen (film)
Hans Christian Andersen is a 1952 Hollywood musical film directed by Charles Vidor, with words and music by Frank Loesser. The story was by Myles Connolly, its screenplay was by Moss Hart and Ben Hecht , and was produced by The Samuel Goldwyn Company...
-to whom he is related- (1952), The Greatest Show on Earth
The Greatest Show on Earth
The Greatest Show on Earth is a 1952 drama film set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The film was produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture...
(1952) and Apache
Apache (film)
-Plot:Following the surrender of Geronimo, Massai, the last Apache warrior is captured and scheduled for transportation to a Florida reservation. On the way he manages to escape and heads for his homeland to win back his girl and settle down to grow crops...
(1954).
His early television commercials include Space Patrol
Space Patrol
Space Patrol has been the title of several science fiction works:*Space Patrol , the United States 1950s TV series with a concurrent radio version...
and The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
.
Mickey Mouse Club
In 1955 Lonnie was signed to a seven-year contract by Walt Disney StudiosWalt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
as one of twenty-four original Mouseketeers. He was made a member of the show's first string unit, the Red Team, and appeared in the show's Roll Call and Alma Mater segments daily for the first two seasons. (A facial injury suffered during rehearsal kept him off-camera during the filming of Roll Call and Alma Mater for the third season). While on the show Lonnie performed in skits and musical variety numbers, both as a soloist and with others. He was generally acknowledged to be one of the show's three top dancers and his slightly husky singing voice caused other Mouseketeers to nickname him "The Velvet Smog" for at twelve he also resembled "The Velvet Fog", singer Mel Tormé
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
.
Roles as an adult
After the Mickey Mouse ClubMickey Mouse Club
The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
stopped filming in 1958, Lonnie finished high school, turning fifteen a few days before getting his diploma, and achieved a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and M.A.
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Theatre Arts from UCLA by age twenty. He then completed a year toward a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
. He resumed performing in the 1960s in plays and musicals including Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, films, television, commercials and industrial films.
His 25 films include Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon. It is based on Federico Fellini's screenplay for Nights of Cabiria...
(1968), The Hospital
The Hospital
The Hospital is a 1971 black comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring George C. Scott as Dr. Herbert Bock. The script was written by Paddy Chayefsky, who was awarded the 1972 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.-Plot:...
(1971), The Prisoner of Second Avenue
The Prisoner of Second Avenue
The Prisoner of Second Avenue is an American black comedy play by Neil Simon, later made into a film released in 1975.The play ran on Broadway from November 1971 until September 1973, with Peter Falk and Lee Grant starring as Mel and Edna Edison, and Vincent Gardenia as Mel's brother Harry. The...
(1975), Hook
Hook (film)
Hook is a 1991 American fantasy film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, and features Maggie Smith, Caroline Goodall, Charlie Korsmo, Amber Scott, and Dante Basco. Hook acts as a sequel to Peter Pan's original adventures, focusing...
(1991), Lionheart
Lionheart
Lionheart may refer to:People*"Richard the Lionheart", a name for Richard I of England*" Brendon 'Lionheart' Hartley" is a nickname given to motor racing driver Brendon Hartley*"Corazon de Leon", former ringname of professional wrestler Chris Jericho...
(1991), Newsies
Newsies
Newsies is a 1992 Disney musical film starring Christian Bale, David Moscow, and Bill Pullman. Robert Duvall and Ann-Margret also appeared in supporting roles. The movie is widely claimed to have gained a cult following after its initial failure at the box office...
(1992), Mr. Saturday Night
Mr. Saturday Night
Mr. Saturday Night is a 1992 film that marks the directorial debut of its star, Billy Crystal.It focuses on the rise and fall of Buddy Young Jr., a fictional stand-up comedian. Crystal produced and co-wrote the screenplay with the writing duo Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz...
(1992), and Police Academy: Mission To Moscow
Police Academy: Mission to Moscow
Police Academy: Mission to Moscow is a 1994 comedy crime film starring George Gaynes, Michael Winslow, David Graf, and Claire Forlani . It is the seventh and final film in the Police Academy series. It was directed by Alan Metter and written by Randolph Davis and Michele S...
(1994).
His over 60 TV credits as an adult include guest roles on The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
, Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
, Hunter, a recurring role on Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced....
, Murder She Wrote, Chicago Hope
Chicago Hope
Chicago Hope is an American medical drama series created by David E. Kelley that ran from September 18, 1994, to May 5, 2000. It takes place in a fictional private charity hospital.-Premise:The show stars Mandy Patinkin as Dr...
, L.A. Heat
L.A. Heat
L.A. Heat is an American action series starring Wolf Larson and Steven Williams as Los Angeles police detectives, in the tradition of films like Lethal Weapon. The series aired on TNT from March 15, 1999.-Show history:...
and Homicide: Life on the Streets. Lonnie also has a total of over 100 radio performances.
His 49 stage roles range from Mack and Mabel on Broadway, the first National Company with Joel Grey
Joel Grey
Joel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...
and the Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
production on his own of George M!
George M!
George M! is a Broadway musical based on the life of George M. Cohan, the biggest Broadway star of his day who was known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." The book for the musical was written by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine Pascal. Music and lyrics were, of course, by George M...
, the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
company of 42nd Street
42nd Street (musical)
42nd Street is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin, and music by Harry Warren. The 1980 Broadway production, directed by an ailing Gower Champion and orchestrated by Philip J. Lang, won the Tony Award for Best Musical and became a long-running hit...
and Tamara
Tamara
Tamara may refer to:People:* Tamara * Saint Tamar of Georgia, Queen of Georgia Films and stage plays:* Tamara , an American horror film* Tamara , a Hungarian film...
.
Lonnie also directed for radio, TV, and theater and choreographed plays, musicals, commercials, industrial films, and live performances—one that he also wrote and appeared in at Disneyland. He has written two books of poetry, the non-fiction book TWO FOR THE SHOW: Great 20th Century Comedy Teams (2000), five plays (Icons Are Not in Vogue, Occam's Razor, Over the Hill, Children Are Strangers and Exeunt All), and the book and lyrics for the musical Fantasies, which have been staged in Los Angeles and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In February 2009, his autobiography, Confessions of an Accidental Mouseketeer, was published.
Lonnie published articles on various subjects for eighteen national and regional magazines, newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
, and Cincinnati Enquirer, and also for e-zines. He has written for the screen, TV and has had 22 produced radio scripts that aired in the U.S. on a 500-station syndicate for Heartbeat Theatre and American Radio Theater.
Lonnie also appeared on two game shows, The Big Showdown
The Big Showdown
The Big Showdown is a game show that aired on the ABC television network from December 23, 1974 to July 4, 1975. Jim Peck, making his national television debut, was host with Dan Daniel, then a disc jockey on New York City's WHN radio, as announcer....
and Wordplay
Wordplay (game show)
Wordplay is an American game show which ran on NBC from December 29, 1986 to September 4, 1987. It was hosted by Tom Kennedy and announced by Charlie O'Donnell...
. Most notably after his loss on WordPlay on his second appearance, the celebrity panelists put on mouse ears and sang the ending theme version of the Mickey Mouse March
Mickey Mouse March
Mickey Mouse March , is the opening theme for the The Mickey Mouse Club TV show, broadcast weekday afternoons in the US from October 1955 to 1959, on the ABC television network...
.