Trivia

Frequent benefits for Indian reservations, peace academies, Boy Scouts, environmental groups, arts foundations, children's medicine

During the first season The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991) episode "Stimpy's Invention" featured a record, "Happy Happy Joy Joy," which contained a variety of spoken-word segments meant to parody some of Ives' albums from the 1960s. When Ives saw the episode, he contacted Ren and Stimpy Show creator John Kricfalusi and said that he would have been willing to do the voice over work for it.

He was a 33rd Degree Mason.

Burl Ives was the voice of Sam the Eagle, the narrator of the classic Disneyland attraction "American Sings" (1974-1988) in Tomorrowland.

He died from complications of mouth cancer at his home in Anacortes, WA. His wife and three step-children were with him when he died.

He strongly opposed the United States entering World War II until the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, after which he avidly campaigned for the US to declare war on Germany and Italy.

Was a licensed amateur (ham) radio with the call sign KA6HVA. When he passed away, he became, in ham radio parlance, a "silent key."

He adopted a son, Alexander, with his first wife, Helen. When they separated in 1960, she got the custody. He also had three stepchildren with his second wife, Dorothy Koster: Kevin Murphy, Rob Grossman, and Barbara Vaughn; and five grandchildren.

Was inducted into the DeMolay Hall of Fame on June 24th, 1994.

A string of Ives' hit records, mostly for American Decca and primarily under the supervision of the legendary Owen Bradley, included such songs as "The Blue-Tail Fly" (his all-time biggest hit), "A Little Bitty Tear," "(It's Just My) Funny Way of Laughin'," "Mr. In Between" , "A Holly Jolly Christmas," and, of course, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.".

Interred at Mound Cemetery, Jasper County, Illinois, USA.

Received the DeMolay Legion of Honor in 1986.

He was the visual inspiration for the original illustrations of DC Comics super-villain Hector Hammond (created in 1961), one of the Hal Jordan/Green Lantern's archenemies. Ives was 60 years old at the point. Eventually, Hammond was played by Peter Sarsgaard in Green Lantern (2011).

Ives was identified in the 1950 pamphlet "Red Channels" and blacklisted as an entertainer with Communist ties.

Pete Seeger publicly ridiculed Ives for attempting to distance himself from pro-Communist organizations he had supported during the 1930s and early 1940s.

An activist liberal Democrat, in 1952 he named fellow folk singer Pete Seeger and others as possible Communists to the House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) in order to avoid being blacklisted.

Was initiated into DeMolay at the George N. Todd Chapter in Charleston Illinois, in 1927.

After undergoing several operations in 1994 he declined to have further surgery for his oral cancer.

After the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Ives and the Almanacs rerecorded several of their songs to reflect the group's new stance in favor of US entry into World War II. Among them were "Dear Mr. President" and "Reuben James" (the name of a US destroyer sunk by the Germans in the Battle of the Atlantic before the official US entry into the war).

He officially retired on his 80th birthday, but continued to perform occasionally until 1993.

His wife Dorothy Koster was an interior designer, and is not to be confused with the actress or the casting director of the same name.

Pete Seeger later forgave Ives for naming names. However, others whose careers did not survive the blacklist were far less forgiving towards Ives.

Son of Levi Franklin (1880-1947), born in Illinois, and Cordellia "Dellie" (née White) Ives (1883-1954), born in Indiana. Both died in Jasper County, Illinois. He had Scots-Irish/Northern Irish and English ancestry.

Maternal grandson of Cyrus G. (1860-1938) and Sarah Catherine (née Flinn) White (1858-1928). Both were born in the state of Indiana and died in the state of Illinois.

Prior to Operation Barbarossa he was a major supporter of the American Peace Mobilization (APM), a far left group opposed to American entry into World War II and Lend-Lease. They recorded such songs as "Get Out and Stay Out of War" and "Franklin, Oh Franklin".

Ives signed the petition of the Committee for the First Amendment, organized by William Wyler, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and John Huston, to protest the House Un-American Activities Committee's investigation of the Hollywood Ten. He supported the presidential candidacy of Progressive candidate Henry A. Wallace.

He had a collection of hats which he picked up on his travels.

He had a collection of over 100 hats which he picked up on his travels.around the world,.