Being brought up in a multi-lingual household, David Burke used his language skills as a tour guide at Universal Studios in Hollywood, California, giving tours in English, French, Italian, and sign language. His love of language inspired him to delve into the intricacies of words and led him to become a prominent author of more than 100 books on understanding slang and idioms in different languages, as well as books that teach kids foreign languages through fairy tales. His materials on slang and idioms are currently used as course curriculum by Berlitz International, UCLA, Harvard University, NYU and Hewlett Packard, and even by the writers of The Simpsons to give Bart his coolness.

 

Having been trained since the age of four as a classical pianist, David became the in-house music director for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee where he composed and scored documentaries, commercials, and public service announcements featuring top stars in Hollywood. 

 

In 1986, David founded Slangman Publishing which specializes in materials that teach children foreign languages, as well as products teaching teens and adults slang and idioms in a variety of languages. 

 

In 1999, David became known as “Slangman” to an audience of over 250 million people in 120 countries due to his regular 6-year segment on Voice of America (VOA), the broadcast network of the United States government.

 

In 2007, David co-founded Cosmic Toast Studios, specializing in full-length feature films and children's animation. Clients include notable companies such as Hasbro, Vin Di Bona Productions, Skechers, Clorox, Zynga, MGA Entertainment, Andy Licht, Maker Studios, Moonscoop, Fishbowl Media, Steve Waterman, Kickstart Entertainment, and more.

 

Currently, David has fused all of his language, musical, and performing talents together to create Hey Wordy!, a children’s TV show, which introduces children ages 3+ to the world of foreign languages and cultures in an environment of music, animation, and magic. 

 

David also hosts a weekly TV show for adults and teens called Live From Hollywood as "Slangman" bringing American pop culture to the VOA audience on a daily basis.