David Burtka (although an actor in his own right) is most noted for being married to Neil Patrick Harris — and along with being married, the men also share a similar work résumé. In fact, Harris and Burtka joined American Horror Story for the season finale of Freak Show. But when his time came, he played Michael Beck — a junior vice president of casting in Los Angeles while Elsa was trying to make it big. Unfortunately, that didn't spell a whole lot of screen time for Burtka. What a shame.
Beck was nice to Elsa when no one else was and she went all Blanche DuBois on him saying his was the first kind face she's seen in months. (He allegedly sympathized with her when others wouldn't since he is of German descent — and you know, people weren't feeling very warm and fuzzy toward Germans back in the 1950s.) And after a time jump to 1960, we found out that Michael and Elsa got married (oooh! that's promising) and she was a star. But the years were not kind to the couple and they detested each other. Elsa revealed to Massimo that she and Michael cheated on each other and lied to one another. But Elsa! He's so good-looking! And he had been nice to you? That's all you need for a long-lasting marriage, right? (Ha, said no one ever.)
Well, as soon as we found out they were married, Burtka was gone. Elsa's past was revealed and her career ruined — the video of the torture porn in which she lost her legs included. Michael saw the video and apparently was mad that she lied about how she lost her legs. (Uh, I think I would have more sympathy for my wife if I found out she lost her legs in such a heinous fashion rather than just a rail accident — but guess that's just me.) And with that, he finally left her (and Elsa died shortly after).
So, that was the end of Burtka. I'm happy he was on the show, but just wish we'd seen more of him. But there's always next season, right? Please? Pretty please, Ryan Murphy?
