Burl Ives

about

Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American musician and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own radio show, The Wayfaring Stranger, which popularized traditional folk songs. In 1942, he appeared in Irving Berlin's This Is the Army and became a major star of CBS Radio. In the 1960s, he successfully crossed over into country music, recording hits such as "A Little Bitty Tear" and "Funny Way of Laughin'". Ives was also a popular film actor through the late 1940s and '50s. His film roles included parts in So Dear to My Heart (1948) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), as well as the role of Rufus Hannassey in The Big Country (1958), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Ives is often associated with the Christmas season. He did voice-over work as Sam the Snowman, narrator of the classic 1964 Christmas television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Ives also worked on the special's soundtrack, including the songs "A Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", both of which continue to chart annually on the Billboard holiday charts into the 2020s. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

top songs

albums

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Christmas Eve

Christmas Number 1's

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Traditional Christmas Classics

A Holly Jolly Christmas

The Very Best of Burl Ives Christmas

20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Burl Ives

Christmas Classics Featuring Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty The Snowman & The Little Drummer Boy

Fantastic Mr. Fox (Original Soundtrack)

Burl Ives Sings Little White Duck And Other Children'S Favorites

In Memoriam - Burl Ives

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