Jack Burns, 'The Muppet Movie' and 'Muppet Show' Writer, Dies at 86

hollywoodreporter.com ^ | 01/29/2020 | Katie Kilkenny

[massmike]

Jack Burns, one of the original writers for The Muppet Show and a comedy partner to George Carlin, has died. The writer, actor and comedian was 86.

The funnyman was living in senior care for the past two years and celebrated his 31st year of sobriety in December, manager Peter Santana on Tuesday told The Hollywood Reporter. Burns died Monday of respiratory failure in Toluca Lake.

Kicking off his career as one half of a comedy duo with George Carlin, Burns performed with Carlin — who would go on to become the first host of Saturday Night Live and film 14 comedy specials with HBO — at The Playboy Club in Los Angeles and on The Tonight Show With Jack Paar. He met his next comedy partner, Avery Schreiber, at Chicago's Second City comedy troupe, and the pair went on to perform on Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, The Merv Griffin Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Ed Sullivan Show, among other variety shows.

Burns gained further airtime when Andy Griffith hired him to fill in for the departing Don Knotts on The Andy Griffith Show as a new character, Deputy Sheriff Warren Ferguson. Unfortunately, his deputy was an unpopular character and he only lasted 11 episodes.

[massmike]

[dp0622]

I loved the muppet show.

The one with animal taking up overhand bowling was great.

The one with the chinese acrobats :)

Sylester Stallone :)

Good memories

[freedumb2003]

Just dang!

The brilliant funny and talented people who keep dying continues to be so sad and tragic.

:(

[Skywise]

Wow - total deja vu - I had just come across him this morning with this ancient preview of saturday morning cartoons (coz it was the doritos guy) and then was tracking down who his partner was who I was surprised to find he was still alive - except he wasn’t!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvx7GhLnzdQ

[lee martell]

I think I remember him. Didn’t he have a very loud voice?
It was naturally loud, but perfect for a ‘tryin too hard’ cop.

[rfp1234]

Any relation to George Burns?

[Daaave]

Thanks for posting. I didn’t remember the name. It took me a while. Then I read he was partnered with Avery Schreiber. Oh, that guy! I liked him on Andy Griffith. I thought Burns and Schreiber were funny. And I always watched The Muppet Show. I liked him and his comedy writing. Thank you Mr. Burns.

[Charles Henrickson]

I remember him best as half of the Burns and Schreiber comedy team, doing their very funny taxi bits.

[Nothingburger]

I respectfully suggest that a full life of 86 years and many accomplishments can’t be called “tragic.”

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[jmacusa]

The repartee between Burns and Schreiber would often consist of Burns asking a kind of rapid fire question to which Schreiber would answer “Yeah’’. And Burns would just as quick say “Huh?”’ and Schreiber would again say Yeah’’. And then would come an even more rapid exchange between the two, “Huh” “Yeah’’, ‘’Huh?’’ “Yeah’’ at the end of which Schreiber would kind of exasperatedly way reapeat the asnwer to the question.

[SES1066]

I too was and are a fan of his writing and other talents. The Muppet Show was the last but a great effort at the old variety show format comedy division.

I will say that 31 years as a (presume) “Friend of Bill W” in Hollywood’s party town is a record I greatly respect!

[Bender2]

Funny, funny guy when writing. One of the world’s worse actors when attempting to act—