Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (14 June 1909 – 14 April 1995) was an American actor, writer and folk music singer.
As an actor, Ives' work included comedies, dramas and voice work in theater, television and motion pictures. Referring to Ives' singing, the prominent music critic John Rockwell said "Ives' voice . . had the sheen and finesse of opera without its latter-day Puccinian vulgarities and without the pretensions of operatic ritual. It was genteel ...
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Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (14 June 1909 – 14 April 1995) was an American actor, writer and folk music singer.
As an actor, Ives' work included comedies, dramas and voice work in theater, television and motion pictures. Referring to Ives' singing, the prominent music critic John Rockwell said "Ives' voice . . had the sheen and finesse of opera without its latter-day Puccinian vulgarities and without the pretensions of operatic ritual. It was genteel in expressive impact without being genteel in social conformity. And it moved people."
Ives was born in 1909 near Hunt City, an unincorporated town in Jasper County, Illinois, the son of Levi "Frank" Ives (1880–1947) and Cordelia "Dellie" White (1882–1954). He had six siblings: Audry, Artie, Clarence, Argola, Lillburn, and Norma. His father was a farmer and a contractor. One day Ives was singing in the garden with his mother, and his uncle overheard them. He invited his nephew to sing at the old soldiers' reunion in Hunt City. The boy...
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