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George Burns: sage advice on 'How To Live To Be 100 Or More'

By VERNON SCOTT, UPI Hollywood Reporter

HOLLYWOOD -- George Burns' new book, 'How To Live To Be 100 Or More,' is on the best-seller lists and doing more than getting laughs.

In addition to the chortles elicited by George's observations on aging, he provides solid advice on how to attain the century mark.

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Burns himself falls somewhat short. Thirteen years to be exact. He won't reach 100 until 1996.

More importantly, George's pointers on longevity include how to attain a healthy venerability. It no fun reaching antiquity as a senile, doddering old party.

Burns is spry, glowing with health, mentally razor sharp. His memory is astounding. He has total recall of hundreds of lyrics of long-forgotten songs. He remembers a thousand humorous anecdotes.

There is, moreover, a tranquility about Burns that defies the stresses of show business that have driven many another star to alcoholism and drugs.

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His first prescription for longevity is to be happy in your work.

'I absolutely love show business,' he said. 'Since I was seven years old I wanted to entertain people. I look forward to it every day of my life.

'I have a good attitude about enjoying life. Even when I wasn't doing well, I still loved trying to succeed.

'You'll be happier and live longer if you find a job you love; that way you avoid stress.

'Never take stress to bed with you. Work on it in the morning. I don't worry. I pay my secretary, Jack Langdon, to worry.

'There's no way I can stand in one place for three hours and smoke a cigar. Impossible. But put me in front of an audience and I can do it every night.'

George weighs about 130 pounds and stands 5-foot-7. He's rarely been overweight, convinced fat people die young.

'I'm not a big eater,' he said. 'I only eat one good meal a day. For breakfast I have fruit and coffee. At lunch usually just a cup of soup, like right now. And I eat lightly but a well-balanced dinner.'

For more than 20 years George has arisen early. He does 45 minutes of floor exercises and stretches -- situps and the like -- and tops it off with a brisk 15-minute walk around the neighborhood.

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The exercise gives him muscle tone and keeps his waistline as slim as a chorus girl's, some of whom, incidentally, also contributed to longevity.

George has two or three drinks a day, sometimes more in an evening, but can't remember ever being drunk. He's never smoked cigarettes but is rarely without an expensive cigar -- which he doesn't inhale.

Every afternoon, usually about 3:30, George gets into his pajamas and goes to bed for an hour and a half and drops off like a baby.

'Just as important as loving what you do is keeping busy,' George said.

'I wasn't too active until Irving (Fein) took over as my manager. My agents thought I was too old. Irving thought otherwise and keeps me busy.'

In less than a decade George has starred in four movies, toured the country in concert, written three books, cut a couple of records and regularly stars in TV specials.

'I feel as good as I did when I was 40,' he said. 'I can say that after undergoing open heart surgery. I held the record as the oldest heart by-pass patient when I was 79.'

He claims records for oldest star of a TV special, oldest to headline Las Vegas, oldest star to record a singing album and oldest star of a feature film, 'Going in Style' at age 85.

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'I'm popularizing old age,' George said, grinning. 'Now people can hardly wait to get old.'

'To stay young you have to keep moving and doing. At 87 I can't afford to die. It would break me. I go out to dinner, a few drinks and a show two or three times a week.

'I just closed four days in Las Vegas and I'm leaving for a concert in Washington. I'm back here for a personal appearance and then to Indiana for four concerts. After that I'm booked at Lake Tahoe. Then I make another movie, 'Oh, God III.'

'I don't believe a lot of this medical stuff. They say everything you eat and drink causes cancer. Don't pay too much attention to that. I had a physical and my doctor feels fine.

'The other day I gave a copy of my book to Estelle Winwood. She's 100 and I told her taking her out was like dating five 20-year-olds.

'Will I reach 100? Sure. I'm booked into the London Paladium in January of 1996.

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