Bart Burns, an actor who appeared on Broadway, in movies and TV shows
for five decades, has died. He was 89.
Burns died of natural causes on Wednesday at his home in the West
Hills area, his son Brendan Burns said.

Burns made several Broadway appearances, including appearing with
Henry Fonda in a production of "Mr. Roberts."

On television, he played Pat Chambers on the "Mike Hammer" series in
the 1950s and made hundreds of guest appearances on shows ranging from
"Gunsmoke" to "The Rockford Files."

His movie roles included Ernest Farmer in the 1982 Jessica Lange
feature "Frances." He had small roles in many other films, including
"Seven Days in May," "Legal Eagles" and "Tora, Tora, Tora."

Burns wrote the four-part "Kilroy Was Here" feature for the 1950s TV
show "Disneyland."

Burns was born George Joseph Burns in New York City. To avoid
confusion with comic George Burns, he took the name Bart when he began
his acting career in 1947.

During World War II, Burns was a Marine captain in the Pacific, where
he was wounded twice. He won a Silver Star for leading a tank through
a minefield to destroy a Japanese pillbox on Iwo Jima.

In addition to his son, Burns is survived by his wife, Fern; sons
Timothy and Sean; daughter Siobhan Burns Walden, and a granddaughter.