‘Life Goes On’ indeed

About 20 years ago, before he was a star of a hit television show, or did a public service announcement with President George H.W. Bush, or marched in Bill Clinton’s inaugural parade, before he was signing head shots of himself or singing in a rock band, and before he became the most recognizable person with Down syndrome in America, Chris Burke was taken aside by his older brother J.R., who said, “Chris, I want you to put all thoughts of Hollywood out of your mind.”

“He said, ‘Get out there and get a real job,’ ” says Burke, 40, his speech just a little hard to understand over the telephone. And even though Burke did get a job with the Board of Education in New York City (“a very nice job,” according to his mother), he never did put thoughts of Hollywood out of his head. In the mid-’80s he auditioned for a television pilot called “Desperate,” and although it was never picked up, ABC was impressed with Burke’s work and asked writer Michael Braverman to create a show around him.

Two years later, that show was picked up. It was called “Life Goes On,” it aired for four years, and it made Burke a star. On Tuesday, Warner Bros. will release the first season on DVD.

“Life Goes On” was the story of the Thacher family -- a contractor dad, flighty mom, opinionated little sister, moody older sister and brother with Down syndrome named Corky, played by Burke. The initial premise is that Corky’s parents have decided to take him out of a special education school and enroll him in their suburban town’s public high school. Despite the late-’80s outfits -- giant glasses, weird mullets -- the show still manages to feel progressive. Seventeen years have gone by since the show’s premiere, yet it is still almost unheard of to have an actor with a disability playing a major role on prime-time television.

Burke says that although he did put a lot of himself into Corky there are differences between them. “I have a great sense of humor, and I don’t think that character does,” Burke says. “But I loved playing the character. I am very honored to play that character.”

“I think he did a very good job of depicting Corky, but his life was very different from Corky’s,” says Marian Burke, Chris’ mother. “He had not been included in school as Corky was. Believe it or not, there were no decent schools he could go to in New York City at that time.”

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In demand

“Life Goes On” went off the air in 1993. Burke says he wasn’t disappointed when the show got canceled. “Life goes on, then life goes off,” he jokes, but there are a lot of people who have tried desperately to get their hands on copies of “Life Goes On” episodes -- especially new parents of kids with Down syndrome, or parents who want to show their 9- or 10-year-old kids with Down syndrome that despite having an intellectual disability, they like Corky (and Burke) can be a valuable member of society.

“People have been asking us for copies of the show since my first day here five years ago,” says John Coleman, director of the National Down Syndrome Society. “Chris actually has them all taped, so we could tape those, but it was very much a grass-roots endeavor.”

In January 2005, Gail Williamson, the executive director of the Down Syndrome Assn. of Los Angeles, spearheaded a letter-writing campaign to persuade Warner Bros. to put the show out on DVD. After several months, the studio agreed.

Burke is pleased the show will be available, but he has clearly moved on with his life. “Chris has a wonderful ability to always look forward,” says Marian Burke. “We’re very grateful for that.”

Less than a year after the show was canceled, Burke was hired by the National Down Syndrome Society as a “goodwill ambassador,” and he still works there, editing the organization’s teen magazine, UpBeat, giving speeches and helping out around the office. “I’m the office boy,” he says.

The society’s headquarters are in Lower Manhattan, right near SoHo, and Burke can walk or take the bus from his apartment in the East Village. Although he still lives with his parents, Burke makes his own lunch at night, makes his own breakfast in the morning and can take the bus to work on his own. “He lets Mommy and Daddy sleep in in the morning,” says Burke’s mother. “We are two retired parents who are taking things a little more slowly these days.”

The Burkes also have a house on Point Lookout in the south shore of Long Island. “He comes on his own and takes the train and takes care of himself,” says Marian Burke. “He’s learning how to be independent.”

These days Burke spends a lot of time fronting his band with Joe and John DeMasi, identical twin brothers he met in the ‘70s when they were his music counselors at a summer camp. Since 1993 they’ve released four albums and maintained a busy touring schedule. “I love doing music,” says Burke. “My message is that anybody can sing with a band, anybody can be an actor, anyone can do anything they want to do.”

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Making plans

Although he says he is not acting currently, Burke did a host of guest spots in the last 10 years, on shows including “The Division,” “ER” and “The Commish,” and for a while he had a recurring role as Taylor, the angel of faith on “Touched by an Angel.” His last acting gig was in 2003 when he played a custodian in the film “Mona Lisa Smile.”

Though Burke has not been on TV for a while, he is still a celebrity, getting stopped on the streets of New York on a daily basis. But in the Down syndrome community, he is more than just a ‘90s pop culture figure, he is a hero. “Especially for teenagers and young adults with Down syndrome, the impact of the show cannot be underestimated,” Coleman says. “It was enormous.”

Burke says he’s not sure what’s going to come next for him, but one project he is interested in spearheading is a movie remake of the show that made him famous. “I’m hoping to get NDSS to help me to produce a film based on the ‘Life Goes On’ series with different actors, like the central character wouldn’t be me, although I might be having more of a small part in the film,” he says.

The idea came to him because of the recent spate of film versions of old television shows.

“I am determined to do that,” he says. “Really. Believe me.”