Jack Burns Movies

Happy Birthday, Bugs: 50 Looney Years is a television special celebrating 50 years of Bugs Bunny cartoons, complete with testimonials from various celebrities and a terrific end-piece "50 Years of Bugs in 3 Minutes," which features a manic collection of highlights compiled by Academy Award-winner Chuck Workman (he won for his animated short, Precious Images). ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

This 1977 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Jack Burns and features musical guest Santana. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide

Narrator Rudy Vallee announces that he knows we are a "real high class audience," thus he has "some swell story to tell." Thus begins The Night They Raided Minsky's, set in the rarefied world of burlesque in the 1920s. Amish girl Rachel Schpitendavel (Britt Ekland) comes to New York in hopes of securing work as a dancing interpreter of religious stories. She gets a job at Minsky's burlesque house, where the dance numbers are "Biblical" only when some gum-chewing stripper performs Salome's Dance of the Seven Veils. The many subplots leading up to Rachel's accidental invention of the striptease during a midnight Minsky's show involve many: top banana Chick Williams (Norman Wisdom) and womanizing straight-man Raymond Paine (Jason Robards Jr.); Billy Minsky (Elliot Gould), whose efforts to stage girlie shows at the National Winter Garden are looked down upon by Minsky Sr. (Joseph Wiseman), who holds the lease on the theater; gangster Trim Houlihan (Forrest Tucker), who intends to shut down Minsky's if he can't get a piece of the action; Ekland's preacher father Harry Andrews, who shows up in New York just in time to see his daughter bare all in front of a cheering audience; and Vance Fowler (Denhom Elliot), self-appointed protector of public morals, whom Paine hopes to embarrass by having Rachel perform her religious dance. A straightforward adaptation of Rowland Barber's novel The Night They Raided Minsky's would seem to be called for here, but novice director William Friedkin and film editor Ralph Rosenblum seem determined to turn the film into a kaleidoscope Hard Day's Night clone. Happily, producer Norman Lear is able to accommodate several nostalgic re-creations of such burlesque chestnuts as "Crazy House" and "Meet Me Round the Corner," as well as six delightful in-period songs penned by Bye Bye Birdie's Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, the best of which is the ribald "Perfect Gentleman." Bert Lahr makes his last appearance on screen in the role of washed-up funnyman Professor Spats; he died during production, and had to be extensively doubled throughout. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Aunt Bee loses a valuable brooch, deputy Warren surmizes that the item was stolen. As a result of Warren's suspicions, Bee receives a huge insurance settlement. You guessed it-no sooner has the check arrived than Bee finds the missing brooch. "Lost and Found" was written by John L. Greene and Paul David. Given the amount of episode-shuffling during The Andy Griffith Show's sixth season, it is somewhat suprising that this episode, the 178th to be filmed, was also the 178th to be shown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hoping to succeed where his predecessor Barney had failed, Deputy Warren Ferguson tries to reform town drunk Otis Campbell. Reasoning that Otis needs a hobby, Warren channels the old tosspot into mosaic art. As it turns out, however, Otis does his best artwork when he's three sheets to the wind! This episode was scripted by stalwart Andy Griffith Show contributors Fred Freeman and Lawrence J. Cohen. "Otis the Artist" originally aired on January 3, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Too shy to ask a girl on a date, Deputy Warren envies the womanizing techniques demonstrated by the hero of his favorite TV spy show. Then, suddenly, Warren begins to emulate his TV idol-but only when he is walking in his sleep. Unfortunately, the bold "new" Warren has selected Andy's girlfriend Helen as the object of his affections. First telecast on December 20, 1965, "Girl-Shy" was written by Bill Idelson and Sam Bobrick. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hoping to contribute to the Taylor household's bank account, Aunt Bee takes a job as a part-time receptionist. Little does she suspect that the print shop where she works is the headquarters of a counterfeiting gang. Even Andy is a bit slow on the uptake in this episode! The supporting cast includes Milton Frome as Kingsley, James Milhollin as Finch and Herbie Faye as Clark. Written by Bill Idelson and Sam Bobrick, "Aunt Bee Takes a Job" first aired on December 6, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Andy's new deputy Warren Ferguson is convinced that he, Warren, has psychic powers. When Andy and Helen refuse to heed his warnings of an impending accident, Warren decides to teach them a lesson by carefully staging the aforementioned mishap. Written by Fred Freeman and Lawrence J. Cohen, "A Warning from Warren" was filmed after The Andy Griffith Show's "Hollywood arc" (the three episodes wherein Andy goes to Hollywood with Aunt Bee and Opie), but telecast earlier, on October 18, 1965. In fact, it was originally slated to air on October 11, until the producers opted to "introduce" the character of Warren with the episode titled "The Bazaar." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The pilot for the long-running CBS sitcom The Andy Griffith Show was seen on February 15, 1960, as an episode of The Danny Thomas Show, "Danny Meets Andy Griffith." As originally conceived, Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) was not only the sheriff of the sleepy North Carolina town of Mayberry, but he was also the mayor, justice of the peace, and newspaper editor. Child actor Ronny Howard (who, as Ron Howard, would in adulthood enjoy a spectacularly successful career as a film director) was seen in the pilot as the widowed Andy's son Opie, but Frances Bavier played an entirely different role than she would in the actual series, while Frank Cady rather than Hal Smith was cast as town drunk Otis Campbell. While there would be changes in concept and casting, the laid-back character of Andy Taylor "clicked" with TV audiences, ensuring that The Andy Griffith Show would join the Monday night CBS lineup come October 3, 1960. Introduced as regulars during season one were of course Andy Griffith, Ronny Howard, and Frances Bavier (now as Aunt Bee, housekeeper for Andy and Opie Taylor), with the significant and salutary addition of Don Knotts as Andy's tightly wound deputy Barney Fife. The rapport between Andy and Barney contributed mightily to the series' success during its shakedown season, with nominal leading character Andy often voluntarily taking a back seat to Barney's overzealous antics. Subsequent additions to the cast included Jim Nabors as bucolic gas station attendant Gomer Pyle (later spun off into his own series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.); George Lindsey as Gomer's cousin, Goober Pyle; Howard McNear as dithery barber Floyd Lawson; and Hal Smith as the aforementioned Otis Campbell. Taking advantage of Andy Taylor's widower status, the series' writers tried to pair the character off with a number of eligible young ladies, beginning in the first season with Elinor Donahue as drugstore sales clerk Ellie Walker. But only when Aneta Corsaut joined the cast as Opie's schoolteacher Helen Crump did Andy find the "right" girl. Indeed, Andy and Helen would become engaged during the series' final season. Conversely, Barney Fife had but one steady girlfriend, Thelma Lou, played by Betty Lynn.
Don Knotts left the series at the outset of its sixth season (the show switched from black-and-white to color at the same time); it was explained that Barney had accepted a deputy position in Raleigh, permitting Knotts to make a handful of memorable return guest appearances. Barney was briefly replaced by Deputy Warren Ferguson, played by Jack Burns; later on, Goober Pyle became Andy's unofficial deputy. The post-Don Knotts episodes brought forth several other new recurring characters: Jack Dodson as town clerk Howard Sprague, Paul Hartman as handyman Emmet Clark, and Hope Summers as Aunt Bee's best friend, Clara. During the Emmy-winning series' eighth season, Andy Griffith decided to leave the show. At this point, Ken Berry was added to the cast as widowed farmer and later town councilman Sam Jones, with Buddy Foster as Sam's son Mike and Arlene Golonka as Sam's girlfriend, Millie Hutchins. After the final telecast of The Andy Griffith Show on September 16, 1968, the series continued for three additional seasons under the title Mayberry RFD, with Ken Berry taking over as star and with most of the familiar Andy Griffith Show supporting characters still in attendance. One of the most consistently popular sitcoms of all time, The Andy Griffith Show lasted 249 half-hour episodes, and also spawned the high-rated 1986 TV movie Return to Mayberry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide