Burl Ives: Burl Ives. Actor: The Big Country. Burl Ives was one of six children born to a farming family in Hunt City, Jasper, Illinois, the son of Cordellia "Dellie" (White) and Levi Franklin Ives. He first sang in public for a soldiers' reunion when he was age 4. In high school, he learned the banjo and played fullback, intending to become a football coach when he enrolled at Eastern Illinois State...
Known For: The Big Country (Rufus Hannassey), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Big Daddy Pollitt), Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Sam the Snowman(voice)), True Romance (Soundtrack("A Little Bitty Tear"))