Stephan W. Burns

Stephan William Burns (November 15, 1954 – February 22, 1990; also credited as Stephan W. Burns, Stephen W. Burns, and Stephan Burns) was an American actor best known for playing Pete Stancheck in Herbie Goes Bananas and Jack Cleary in the miniseries The Thorn Birds.

Stephan W. Burns
Born(1954-11-15)November 15, 1954
Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedFebruary 22, 1990(1990-02-22) (aged 35)
Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1978–1987

Early life and career

Burns was born on November 15, 1954 in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania and grew up in the small town of Chews Landing, New Jersey. As soon as he graduated high school, Burns moved to New York City to study theater. He worked odd jobs during the day to pay for his rent and the acting classes he attended at night. Auditions eventually led to an offer for the lead role in the national touring production of the Broadway hit Grease.

Burns moved to Hollywood and within six months, he was offered the role of Li'l Abner in the 1978 TV special Li'l Abner in Dogpatch Today. During his short career, Burns starred as Pete Stancheck in Walt Disney Productions' Herbie Goes Bananas and appeared on several television shows, as well as starring in the ABC series 240-Robert and The Thorn Birds miniseries. Other credits include Eight Is Enough, Heart of the City and Simon & Simon.

Death

After being involved in a serious car accident in 1984, Burns received an emergency blood transfusion. The blood was contaminated, infecting Burns with HIV.[1] Burns died on February 22, 1990, in Santa Barbara, California.

Filmography
Film and television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1978Li'l Abner in Dogpatch TodayLi'l AbnerTV movie
1979Eight Is EnoughDixonEpisode - "The Better Part of Valor"
1979When She Was Bad...OrderlyTV movie
1980Herbie Goes BananasPete StancheckFeature film[2][3]
1981240-RobertDeputy Brett CuevaEpisodes: "A Cool Welcome", "First Loss", "Hostages"
1982The Day the Bubble BurstTV movie
1983The Thorn BirdsJack ClearyTV miniseries (3 episodes)
1986SpikerSonny RestonFeature film[4]
1987Heart of the CityDel RuthEpisode - "Beauty and a Couple of Beasts"
1987Simon & SimonDavid JennerEpisode - "Walking Point"
1987WerewolfBrother MarkEpisode - "Let Us Prey" (final role)

References
  1. Stephen Burns @rhsclassof1985 Retrieved 12-13-2015.
  2. "Stephan W. Burns". www2.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on March 4, 2023.
  3. "Stephan W Burns - Turner Classic Movies". www.tcm.com.
  4. "Stephen W. Burns". mubi.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.