Chris Burke

Chris Burke is an actor best known for his role as "Corky" on the moderately successful 1989-1993 family drama Life Goes On. Burke is unique among actors in that he is suffering from Down Syndrome. Despite his handicaps, he has managed to accomplish quite a bit during his life and acting career.




Chris Burke should be commended for doing what he's done, overcoming his conspicuous disabilities. He is an inspiration to all people suffering from mental handicaps. This post focuses on Burke's career, not his mental handicaps over which he has no control.

Burke was born on August 26, 1965 in Point Lookout, New York. His parents were told to institutionalize him when he was born, but they decided to raise him at home and nurture his talents. During the early 1980's, public schools were not mainstreaming students with disabilities into the general population and there were no good private education programs for disabled students in the area, so Burke was sent to board at the Don Guanella School in Springfield, Pennsylvania and he graduated in 1985. After graduation he worked as an elevator operator and did volunteer work.

Burke first set his sights on becoming a tap dancer. He later switched to acting while at the Don Guanella School. He was further inspired by attending night classes, going through auditions, writing scripts, and reading books.

Burke's his first acting work was in the ABC movie Desperate. ABC network executives were moved by his performance and created Life Goes On with Burke's character as the main role.

In Life Goes On, Burke's Corky character was sent to a public high school with normal kids. The show generally focused on Corky's troubles and how he strived to be accepted and fit in with the other kids. In one of the episodes, Corky was shown lip-synching and dancing to Public Enemy song, Fight The Power:


Burke also achieved literary success while he was on Life Goes On. In 1992, Burke wrote an autobiography, the New York Times Best-Seller, A Special Kind of Hero.

Burke has acted sporadically since the cancellation of Life Goes On in 1993, primarily appearing in minor roles on TV shows and movies. His more notable roles include his role as a custodian in Mona Lisa Smile in 2003 and a role in 2002 on ER.

Burke has been touring with a band in recent years. His band mates are twins Joe and John Demasi (collectively, "the Demasi twins"):

Unfortunately, it appears as though the Demasi twins are taking advantage of Burke's fame for their own selfish needs. The Demasi twins also look like a couple of freaky weirdos. Here is a video of Burke and the Demasi twins performing. Even though Burke is supposedly the star of the band, the Demasi twins are hogging the camera time. I sure hope that Burke keeps his wits about himself and protects the children from the Demasi twins!

Edit - June 25, 2007

The original video I had linked was of Chris and the DeMasi twins singing to some mentally handicapped kids at a camp or school. Unfortunately, that video was deleted from YouTube. Here is a different clip of Chris and the DeMasi twins performing:


The Demasi twins are even worse than I thought! According to a Down Syndrome website, Chris Burke "met the DeMasi twins, 47, when he was 13 and they were music counselors at a day camp." I sure hope that Chris is a chaperone at this camp and protects the kids from the weirdo DeMasi twins!!

Chris Burke's career peaked with Life Goes On and he has accomplished far more than anyone could have expected when he was born. However, by hooking up with the Demasi twins who appear to be taking advantage of him, Burke has become one washed-up celebrity!