Avery Schreiber

Avery Schreiber's 1960s and 1970s partner on the comedy stage was Jack Burns, the slimmer, chatty, clean-cut, better-looking dunderhead. Avery Schreiber was the Oliver Hardy counterpart who bore the brunt of Burns' verbal drone. This rumpled, gap-toothed, hefty-sized master of the slow boil stood out among the crowd with his huge trademark walrus mustache, thick thatch of curly black hair, slim teddy bear eyes and mischievous grin. Together the pair became a staple of TV variety shows, mainstays on such classic entertainment as "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Dean Martin Show" and "The Hollywood Palace." Born in 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, of modest means, Schreiber's father was a common laborer while his mother made do as a secretary. At 17 Schreiber enlisted in the Armed Services and eventually became a part of the All-Army Talent Show. This satisfaction of putting on variety shows and entertaining prompted his move into a career of comedy. Winning a scholarship to the Pasadena Playhous