Burt's big break with Marlene Dietrich

After his discharge, he returned to New York and attempted to start his music career, eventually touring with Vic Damone, the Ames Brothers, and Polly Stewart, who became his first wife.

His big break came after a friend was unable to make a Marlene Dietrich show in Las Vegas and asked him to step in, and Burt then travelled the world with her for over a decade.