Actor and musician Roger V. Burton died November 30 at his home in Santa Monica, Deadline has learned. He was 90.
At 11 years old, Burton established himself as a professional musician. He was a jazz trombonist in big bands and studio film soundtracks. After graduating from USC, he played with many musical icons including Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole, Johnny Ray, The Ink Spots, and many more. He was a regular on Ernst Gold studio recordings for films, as well as The Hoagy Carmichael Show on NBC.
In addition to music, Burton was invited to pursue graduate studies in the field of psychology, and given a full scholarship to Harvard University. Burton became a developmental psychology researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health, with a specialty in the development of morality. He would also go on to become a full professor at Suny Buffalo in Moral Development and Childhood Social Development.
At 11 years old, Burton established himself as a professional musician. He was a jazz trombonist in big bands and studio film soundtracks. After graduating from USC, he played with many musical icons including Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole, Johnny Ray, The Ink Spots, and many more. He was a regular on Ernst Gold studio recordings for films, as well as The Hoagy Carmichael Show on NBC.
In addition to music, Burton was invited to pursue graduate studies in the field of psychology, and given a full scholarship to Harvard University. Burton became a developmental psychology researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health, with a specialty in the development of morality. He would also go on to become a full professor at Suny Buffalo in Moral Development and Childhood Social Development.
- 12/4/2018
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Five Sisters Prods.
NEW YORK -- There's a truly heartwarming story in "Manna From Heaven". Five sisters named Burton get together and decide to make a film. Each of them serves as a producer, one of them as the star, and the screenplay is written by their mother. Even the father gets into the act, serving as a co-producer. They involve the inhabitants of their hometown community in Buffalo, N.Y., in the making of the film and later travel around the country in their "Manna Van" promoting the effort in grass-roots fashion. They even donate a portion of the proceeds from each area's opening-night screening to Habitat for Humanity.
Unfortunately, this is the story behind the making of the film, and not the plot of the film itself. That story, about a nun gathering together the members of her extended family to return a mysterious windfall of cash that fell into their lap 20 years earlier, is far less interesting. And the net result, which opens today in New York and Los Angeles, is unlikely to repeat the word-of-mouth success of the similarly homespun "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", though the plethora of familiar performers on display should guarantee extensive television exposure.
As the film begins, a cache of $20 bills from an unknown source rains down upon a Buffalo neighborhood. An angelic young girl named Theresa decides that the money is a gift from God, an idea to which her numerous family members and friends readily subscribe. Cut to many years later, when Theresa (Ursula Burton), now a nun, decides that the gift was really a loan and that the money should be paid back. She informs those who benefited from the money, a motley group who, needless to say, don't have the funds to return. Thus, a series of dubious fund-raising events is set in motion, including a raffle and a dance contest, which has the ultimate effect of redeeming the lives of all concerned.
Too cute by half and at least a half-hour too long, this determinedly old-fashioned film is most notable for its extensive roster of veteran performers, which includes no less than three Academy Award winners (Shirley Jones, Cloris Leachman, Louise Fletcher) as well as such familiar faces as Frank Gorshin, Jill Eikenberry, Shelley Duvall, Seymour Cassel and Wendie Malick. It seems safe to say that all of these performers, none of whom are seen to their best advantage here, are now bemusedly contemplating the shifting tides of show business careers.
NEW YORK -- There's a truly heartwarming story in "Manna From Heaven". Five sisters named Burton get together and decide to make a film. Each of them serves as a producer, one of them as the star, and the screenplay is written by their mother. Even the father gets into the act, serving as a co-producer. They involve the inhabitants of their hometown community in Buffalo, N.Y., in the making of the film and later travel around the country in their "Manna Van" promoting the effort in grass-roots fashion. They even donate a portion of the proceeds from each area's opening-night screening to Habitat for Humanity.
Unfortunately, this is the story behind the making of the film, and not the plot of the film itself. That story, about a nun gathering together the members of her extended family to return a mysterious windfall of cash that fell into their lap 20 years earlier, is far less interesting. And the net result, which opens today in New York and Los Angeles, is unlikely to repeat the word-of-mouth success of the similarly homespun "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", though the plethora of familiar performers on display should guarantee extensive television exposure.
As the film begins, a cache of $20 bills from an unknown source rains down upon a Buffalo neighborhood. An angelic young girl named Theresa decides that the money is a gift from God, an idea to which her numerous family members and friends readily subscribe. Cut to many years later, when Theresa (Ursula Burton), now a nun, decides that the gift was really a loan and that the money should be paid back. She informs those who benefited from the money, a motley group who, needless to say, don't have the funds to return. Thus, a series of dubious fund-raising events is set in motion, including a raffle and a dance contest, which has the ultimate effect of redeeming the lives of all concerned.
Too cute by half and at least a half-hour too long, this determinedly old-fashioned film is most notable for its extensive roster of veteran performers, which includes no less than three Academy Award winners (Shirley Jones, Cloris Leachman, Louise Fletcher) as well as such familiar faces as Frank Gorshin, Jill Eikenberry, Shelley Duvall, Seymour Cassel and Wendie Malick. It seems safe to say that all of these performers, none of whom are seen to their best advantage here, are now bemusedly contemplating the shifting tides of show business careers.
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