Stephan William Burns (November 15, 1954 – February 22, 1990; also credited as Stephan W. Burns, Stephen W. Burns, and Stephan Burns) was an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

best known for playing Pete Stancheck in ''

Herbie Goes Bananas ''Herbie Goes Bananas'' is a 1980 American comedy adventure film and the fourth installment of ''The Love Bug'' film series made by Walt Disney Productions starring Herbie – the white Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own. Plot ...

'' and Jack Cleary in the miniseries ''

The Thorn Birds ''The Thorn Birds'' is a 1977 novel by Australian author Colleen McCullough. Set primarily on Drogheda – a fictional sheep station in the Australian Outback named after Drogheda, Ireland, the story focuses on the Cleary family and spans 1 ...

''.

Early life and career

Burns was born on November 15, 1954 in

Elkins Park, Pennsylvania Elkins Park is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington Townships in the northern suburbs outside of Philadelphia, which it borders along Cheltenham Avenue roughly from Ce ...

and grew up in the small town of

Chews Landing, New Jersey Chews Landing (or Chews) is an unincorporated community within Gloucester Township, in Camden County, New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and ea ...

. As soon as he graduated high school, Burns moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

to study theater. He worked odd jobs during the day to pay for his rent and the acting classes he attended at night. Auditions eventually led to an offer for the lead role in the national touring production of the Broadway hit '' Grease''. Burns moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

and within six months, he was offered the role of

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written and drawn b ...

in the 1978 TV special ''Li'l Abner in Dogpatch Today''. During his short career, Burns starred as Pete Stancheck in Walt Disney Productions' ''

'' and appeared on several television shows, as well as starring in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

series ''

240-Robert ''240-Robert'' is an American drama series that ran on ABC from August 28, 1979, to March 21, 1981. The series title is a reference to the call-sign designation for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department's search and rescue/paramedic teams. The ser ...

'' and ''

'' miniseries. Other credits include ''

Eight Is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, w ...

'', '' Heart of the City'' and ''

Simon & Simon ''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who oper ...

''.

Death

After being involved in a serious car accident in 1984, Burns received an emergency blood transfusion. Unfortunately, the blood was contaminated, infecting Burns with

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

.Stephen Burns @rhsclassof1985
Retrieved 12-13-2015. Burns died on February 22, 1990, in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coa ...

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Stephan W. Burns
on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Stephan W. 1954 births 1990 deaths American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Pennsylvania Male actors from New Jersey People from New Jersey People from Santa Barbara, California AIDS-related deaths in California 20th-century American male actors Burials at Santa Barbara Cemetery