Iris Burton

Iris Burton (born Iris Burstein, September 4, 1930 – April 5, 2008)[1] was an American dancer and talent agent, who discovered and represented many famous child actors during her career.

Iris Burton
Born
Iris Burstein

(1930-09-04)September 4, 1930
Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
DiedApril 5, 2008(2008-04-05) (aged 77)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Dancer
Talent agent
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1956; div. 1967)​
ChildrenBarry Miller

Early career

Burton danced in the Broadway shows Music in My Heart (1947) and Pardon Our French (1950).[2] She also danced on television, earning $125 per week in 1951 for performing on Milton Berle's program.[3] In the early 1950s, she moved to Hollywood, appearing as a dancer in several films such as Top Banana (1954) and The Ten Commandments (1956).[4]

Tony Award-winning actor Barry Miller (Saturday Night Fever, Fame) is Burton's son from her brief marriage to actor/director Sidney Miller.[4]

Later career

Burton began her agency in 1977, becoming one of the few women at high levels in talent agencies.[3] She was well known for discovering the Phoenix brothers (River Phoenix and Joaquin Phoenix), and their sisters (Rain, Liberty and Summer) whom she spotted singing for spare change in Westwood, Los Angeles. She worked with River throughout his short career.[4][5]

Burton and her relationship with Greg Sestero is described in a chapter of Sestero's 2013 memoir The Disaster Artist. Sestero portrays Burton as a warm, quick-witted agent who took on representing him despite his lack of experience and ultimately led him to his first big roles.[6] This chapter was dramatized briefly in the 2017 film adaptation of the book, with Burton portrayed by Sharon Stone.

Death

Iris Burton died on April 5, 2008, aged 77, from pneumonia and complications of Alzheimer's disease in Woodland Hills, California[4] at the Motion Picture and Television Country House.[3]

References
  1. "Iris Burton, 77, an Agent for Child Actors". The New York Times. April 25, 2008. p. B7. ProQuest 433822146. Iris Burton, a chorus girl in the 1940s and '50s who later started a talent agency that represented many of the top juvenile actors in Hollywood, including River and Joaquin Phoenix and Henry Thomas, the wide-eyed little boy in "E.T.: The Extraterrestrial," died on April 5 in Los Angeles. She was 77. [...] Iris Burstein was born in Manhattan on Sept. 4, 1930. By the time she was 16, with Burton as her stage name, she was dancing on Broadway and earning $75 for eight performances a week.
  2. "Iris Burton". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  3. Hevesi, Dennis (April 25, 2008). "Iris Burton, 77, an Agent for Child Actors". The New York Times. p. B 7. ProQuest 897187328. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  4. Obituary: Iris Burton, Hollywood agent, The Age, April 17, 2008.
  5. Garrett, Dianne (April 8, 2008). "Children's agent Iris Burton dies at 77". Variety. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  6. Sestero, Greg; Bissell, Tom (2014-10-07). The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781476730400.
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