I Wish I Was 18 Again

At a bar down in Dallas an old man chimed in,
And I thought he was out of his his head.
Just being a young man I just laughed it off
When I heard what that old man had said.

He said I'll never again turn the young ladies heads,
Or go running off into the wind.
I'm three quarters home from the start to the end.
And I wish I was 18 again.

I wish I was 18 again.
And going where I've never been.
But old folks and old oaks
Standing tall just pretend.
I wish I was 18 again.

Now time turns the pages
And oh, life goes so fast.
The years turn the black hair all grey.
I talked to some young folks,
Hey, they don't understand
The words this old man's got to say.

I wish I was 18 again.
And going where I've never been.
But old folks and old oaks
Standing tall just pretend.
I wish I was 18 again.

Lord, I wish I was 18 again!

Sung by George Burns - 1980

Comedian - Actor George Burns is a show business legend.
When he died at the age of 100 in 1996, he had spent 90 years as a comic entertainer,
making numerous television and film appearances and earning an enduring popularity
with his obligatory-cigar-in-hand comedy routines.

Spouse
Gracie Allen (7 January 1926 - 27 August 1964) (her death)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trade mark
His ever present cigar.

Played the straight man to his wife, Gracie Allen.
After her death and his retirement period,
he created a new image as an remarkably active amiable old comedian.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trivia
As a child, he attended P.S. 22 and left after the fourth grade due to economic reasons.

Interred along with his wife Gracie Allen at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California,
in the Freedom Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Heritage.

Father of actor Ronnie Burns.

Uncle of Lou Weiss, chairman emeritus of William Morris Agency,
who got his mail-room start in agency business with help of 'Uncle Nate'.

Was a regular on the "Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts."
He was even a guest of honor in 1978.

"The Burns & Allen Show" (on CBS and NBC from 1934 to 1950)
was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1994.

He is the oldest recipient of an Oscar.
He was 80 when he won the 1976 Oscar for Best Supporting Actor
for The Sunshine Boys (1975).

Best friends with fellow comedian Jack Benny,
who also served as best man at his and Gracie's wedding.
George loved playing jokes on Benny--almost as much as watching him laugh
(and pound the floor) afterwards.

Actually wore a hairpiece for most of his performing career;
appears briefly without it in The Sunshine Boys (1975).

George and Gracie continued to play single, even years after they were married;
declining ratings prompted George to "update" the act on-air.
He said later, "We were the only couple on radio who got married because we had to."

Took the name "Burns" from the Burns Brothers Coal Company,
whose trucks he'd stolen lumps from growing up,
to help heat the family home.
"George" was a sobriquet his brother occasionally used.

Until his death he smoked as many as ten cigars a day.

His first marriage was in name only.
In the early 1920s, George was doing a ballroom dancing act with Hannah Siegal,
and they were offered a 36-week contract to go out on the road.
When her dad objected to her traveling with a young man outside the bonds of matrimony,
George and Hannah got married so as not to turn down the offer.
When they returned from their three-month engagement, they divorced.

In the beginning of their partnership,
Gracie played the straight character and George had the funny lines.
When George realized Gracie got more laughs, he switched their roles.

Daughter, Sandra, adopted 1934, son, Ronnie, adopted 1935.

Discovered Ann-Margret and made her his opening act in Las Vegas.

He was in very fragile health and could not attend his 100th birthday celebration in person.

Was originally supposed to deliver the eulogy at the funeral of his best friend, Jack Benny,
but he was so overcome with emotion after trying that he let someone else do it.

George and Gracie

Share with Friends