August 2, 1890

Bob Burns, a popular radio and movie personality of the 1930s and 1940s, was born either in Greenwood or Van Buren (Sebastian County). (There are conflicting reports, but his family was living in Van Buren when he was about three years old.) Burns was talented musically, especially on brass instruments. In his early teens, he played in his own band and used spare gas pipe fittings to create a unique instrument that sounded like a “wounded moose” but earned him much popularity. During his career he worked in radio, played on Paul Whiteman’s show, appeared with Bing Crosby on NBC’s Kraft Music Hall radio show, starred in movies, and appeared with many other well-known performers such as Rudy Vallee and Dick Powell.