I typoed in the previous message and have now fixed the error. Broadway legend David Burns died around eight years after he won the Tony Award for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum not, as Davy Jones said, a few months. Burns was one of those performers who literally died on- (or almost on-) stage. He was in Philadelphia with the tryout of the Kander-Ebb musical 70 Girls 70 when he was stricken with a heart attack.
In-between that and Forum, he did a few things of note. He originated and played the role of Horace Vandergelder opposite Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly! and he appeared in Arthur Miller's play, The Price…and won an Emmy for the TV presentation of it. Before Forum, he appeared in the original The Man Who Came to Dinner, Pal Joey, Oklahoma!, Out of This World, A Hole in the Head and Do Re Mi. That is not a complete list. For instance, I also left out his other Tony award-winning role: He originated the part of Mayor Shinn in The Music Man. It really is one of the most amazing careers of any actor, past or present. Since he didn't spend much of that career before TV or movie cameras, he's not as well known today as he oughta be but those who knew him (or just saw him perform) still talk fondly of the guy.
That's him at left in the above photo, taken years ago on a Manhattan street corner. The kid on the right is my friend Jim Brochu, who was mentored by Burns and was very close to him. I've mentioned Jim here before many times. He's the guy with the great show where he plays Zero Mostel and creates for you an imaginary (but hilarious and moving) evening with that much-loved actor. Through March 11, he's Zeroing in at the Bathurst St. Theatre in Toronto. For details on that and other places he'll be, check out this website.