Iris Burton - Biography

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

Personal life and early career

Burton was born as Iris Burstein in Manhattan, New York City in 1930, and made a career as a child dancer, later appearing in several Broadway musicals under the name Iris Burton. 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).

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

Later career

Burton was well-known for discovering the Phoenix brothers (River Phoenix and Joaquin Phoenix, and their sisters Rain, Liberty and Summer) when she noticed them busking on a Hollywood street corner. Other discoveries included Kirsten Dunst and Henry Thomas, with her clients including Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Drew Barrymore, Tori Spelling, Fred Savage, Jerry O'Connell, Kirk Cameron, Candace Cameron, Adam Rich, and Josh Hartnett.

Death

Iris Burton died on April 5, 2008, aged 77, from pneumonia and complications of Alzheimer's disease in Woodland Hills, California.

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