Gorshin does 'Say Goodnight Gracie'

NEW YORK -- Deep in the bowels of the Helen Hayes Theatre, down a winding metal staircase and past a cramped corridor, George Burns is coming back to life.

First, a red turtleneck and wool suit are slipped on. Then a steel-gray wig is attached. A dab of makeup follows and then a pair of black, round glasses.

The final touch is, of course, a cigar.

Undergoing this transformation is Frank Gorshin, the 69-year-old star of "Say Goodnight Gracie," a one-man Broadway show that traces the life of Burns, the gravelly voiced master of the one-liner who died in 1996.

Gorshin, a veteran of film, nightclubs, theater and television, depends on little makeup and no prosthetics for the role. As he transformed into Burns before a performance one recent night, he showed no indication of nerves.

"I don't know how to explain it. It just comes," he says. "I wish I could say, 'This is step A, B and C.' But I can't do that. I do it, you know. The ironic thing is I've done impressions all my life -- I never did George Burns."

The play crams Burns' 100-year life into a mere 90 minutes, examining the performer's Manhattan childhood, his entry into vaudeville, his love affair with Gracie Allen and his career in radio, TV and movies.

"This is the toughest thing I've ever had to do, to learn that much dialogue for an hour and a half," says Gorshin.

Learning the dialogue caused a certain amount of panic, he said. Gorshin would tell himself, "I don't know what I'm doing! I'm never going to make it!" Then, suddenly, one day he simply got it. "Now, I look forward to it. Every night, I can't wait to do it," he said.

Producer William Franzblau credits the actor with creating a suspension of disbelief early on. The crowds, he says, make an audible gasp of recognition when Gorshin first appears.

"It's not an impersonation, really," Franzblau says. "It's not just a guy doing schtick. I said to him, 'Everybody in their lives has one role that was sort of meant for them.' This is his."

Gorshin graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology -- now Carnegie Mellon University -- in Pittsburgh before serving in the Army as an entertainer during the Korean War.

After the war, he appeared in the films "The Proud and Profane," "Bells Are Ringing," "Ring of Fire" and "Where the Boys Are." Gorshin made his Broadway debut in 1970 as the star of "Jimmy," a short-lived musical based on the life of New York mayor Jimmy Walker.

He later appeared in touring companies of "What Makes Sammy Run?" "Promises, Promises," "Peter Pan," "The Prisoner of Second Avenue," "Deathtrap," "Guys and Dolls" and "On the 20th Century," among others. His recent film roles include "12 Monkeys," "Meteor Man" and "Manna From Heaven."

Gorshin has earned two Emmy nominations, one for a guest shot on "Star Trek," and the other for perhaps his most famous work: playing the green suited-Riddler on the 1960s series "Batman."

"It really was a catalyst for me," recalls Gorshin of the campy role. "I was nobody. I had done some guest shots here and there. But after I did that, I became a headliner in Vegas, so I can't put it down."

The idea to do a show about Burns had its origins in Gorshin's two-minute impression of the performer from an unreleased 1998 movie. The impression was so spot-on that Franzblau traveled to Atlantic City with writer Rupert Holmes to catch Gorshin in action during his nightclub act.

"When they saw me, they thought, 'Yeah. Let's do it,"' says Gorshin.

The show made its debut in 2000 with a two-month run in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., then had a three-week stint in Cleveland last year before returning to Florida at the Coconut Grove Playhouse.

"People would come back after the show and tell me, 'George Burns is channeling through you,"' Gorshin says. "I loved hearing all that."

Then Gorshin had to put his Burns act away for five months while money was raised for a Broadway run.

"I couldn't understand why the bill was so big," Gorshin recalls with a chuckle. "It's just one guy in the show!"

Gorshin says he went through the show in his head every week -- just in case.

"I thought, 'If I don't do it for five months, I don't want to have to be encumbered with having to learn the whole thing all over again."'

The play itself represents somewhat of a challenge for Gorshin, a performer more accustomed to spending only a few minutes impersonating Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, James Cagney, Jack Nicholson or Marlon Brando.

"A lot of it was just instinct. That's the way I've always done my impressions through the years," he says.

One easy adjustment was the cigars. Gorshin, a cigarette smoker, shifted his tobacco habit for the show and now lights up on stage with Burns' trademark stogies.

"He always smoked cheap cigars," Gorshin says. "The reason he did it was that they always stayed lit. Expensive cigars you have to keep lighting."

So what type does Gorshin smoke to be historically accurate? "Somewhere in between," he says with a smile, "not cheap, not expensive."