Milton
Berle - Milton Berle was nicknamed "Uncle Miltie"
who hosted the Milton Berle Television Show.
Elvis appeared twice on the Milton Berle Show
April 3 and June 5 1956 when Berle played Elvis' twin
brother Melvin Presley in a comedy skit
Milton Berle, the
cigar-chomping comedian whose domination of television in the early
'50s as the host of NBC's "Texaco Star Theatre" earned him
the title "Mr. Television," died Wednesday after a lengthy
illness. He was 93.
Berle's career began when he was 5
years old and spanned more than 80 years in stage, film, radio, and
television. He also penned some 400 published songs. But
it was on television in the 1940s and '50s that Berle made his most
lasting mark.
Milton Berle died in his sleep at 2:45
p.m. at his home in Los Angeles with his wife, Lorna, and other family
members at his side, Berle's long-time publicist Warren Cowan said.
Berle had been diagnosed with colon cancer last year and had been under
hospice care for the past few weeks.
Elvis appeared on the Milton
Berle Show on April 3 (from the deck of the aircraft carrier, the
USS Hancock.) and June 5 1956. Among his selections on his second
appearance was a playfully sensuous performance of "Hound
Dog" that drive the kids in the audience wild, and, the next day,
has the press and some of the adult viewers appalled. It is one of his
most controversial performances.
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Milton
Berle's career is one of the longest
and most varied in show business,
spanning silent film, vaudeville,
radio, motion pictures, and
television. He started in show
business at the age of five, appearing
as a child in The Perils of Pauline
and Tillie's Punctured Romance.
Through the 1920s, Berle moved up
through the vaudeville circuit,
finding his niche in the role of a
brash comic known for stealing the
material of fellow comedians. He also
became a popular master of ceremonies
in vaudeville, achieving top billing
in the largest cities and theatres.
During the 1930s, Berle appeared in a
variety of Hollywood films and further
polished his comedy routines in night
clubs and on radio.
Berle is best known for his role as
host of Texaco Star Theatre,
television's most popular program
during its early years. The show had
begun on the ABC radio network in the
spring of 1948, and Berle took part in
a television test version for Texaco
and NBC in June of that year. He was
selected as host, and the first East
Coast broadcast of the TV series began
in September. Within two months, Berle
became television's first super-star,
with the highest ratings ever attained
and was soon referred to as "Mr.
Televi-sion," "Mr. Tuesday Night," and
"Uncle Miltie." Restaurants, theatres,
and nightclubs adjusted their
schedules so patrons would not miss
Berle's program at 8:00 P.M. on
Tuesday nights. Berle is said to have
stimulated television sales and
audience size in the same way Amos 'n'
Andy had sparked the growth of radio.
Although the budget for each program
was a modest $15,000, many well-known
entertainers were eager to appear for
the public exposure Texaco Star
Theatre afforded, providing further
viewer appeal and popularity for the
program. The one-hour live shows
typically included visual vaudeville
routines, music, comedy and sketches.
Other regular features included the
singing Texaco station attendants and
the pitchman commercials by Sid Stone.
Berle was noted for interjecting
himself into the acts of his guests,
which, along with his opening
appearance in out-landish costumes,
became a regular feature. His use of
sight gags, props, and visual style
seemed well-suited for the TV medium.
In 1951, Berle signed a contract With
NBC granting him $200,000 a year for
30 years providing he appear on NBC
exclusively.
His was one of the first television
shows to be promoted through
merchandising, including Uncle Miltie
T-shirts, comic books and chewing gum.
When other programs evolved to compete
with Berle's popularity, his dominance
of the television audience began to
wane, and Texaco ended its
sponsorship. In the 1953-54 season,
the Buick-Berle Show was set into the
8:00 P.M. Tuesday time slot. Facing
greater competition and sensing the
need for more determined effort to
compensate for the dwindling novelty
of both the program and the medium,
Berle's staff and writers changed
focus from the zany qualities of the
show's early days to a more structured
format. Berle continued to attract a
substantial audience, but he was
dropped by Buick at the end of the
season in 1955. Hour long variety
shows had become more difficult to
orchestrate due to higher costs,
in-creasing salary demands, and union
complications. Also, Berle's persona
had shifted from the impetuous and
aggressive style of the Texaco Star
Theatre days to a more cultivated, but
less distinctive personality, leaving
many fans somehow unsatisfied. The
next year, a new Milton Berle Show was
produced in California for the 1955-56
season, but it failed to capture
either the spirit or the audience of
Uncle Miltie in his prime. Berle was
feature-red on Kraft Music Hall in the
late 1950s and Jackpot Bowling, a
1960s game show. In 1965, Berle
renegotiated his 30-year contract with
NBC, allowing him to appear on any
network. He later made guest
appearances in dramas as well as
comedy programs. In addition to
television, Berle's career in the
later years included film, night
clubs, and benefit shows. He has been
the subject of nearly every show
business tribute and award, including
an Emmy and TV specials devoted to his
contributions and legacy in
broadcasting. (B.R. Smith)
MILTON BERLE. (Mendel Berlinger). Born
in New York City, New York, U.S., 12
July 1908. Attended Professional
Children's School. Married 1) Joyce
Mathews (twice) (divorced, twice); two
children; 2) Ruth Gosgrove Rosenthal,
1953; children: Vicki and Billy. Began
career by winning contest for Charlie
Chaplin imitators, 1913; children's'
roles in Biography silent film
productions; cast member of E.W.
Wolf's vaudeville children's acts; in
theatre since Floradora, Atlantic
City, New Jersey, 1920; debuted in New
York City with Floradora, 1920; in
radio, 1930s; toured with Ziegfeld
Follies, 1936; television series and
specials from 1948; lyricist of more
than 300 songs; contributor to Variety
magazine. Honorary H.H.D., McKendree
College, Lebanon, Illinois, 1984.
Member: ASCAP; American Guild of
Authors and Composers; Grand Street
Boys; Friar's (re-elected honorary
abbot emeritus, 1968; president [Los
Angeles] from 1978). Recipient:
Yiddish Theatrical Alliance
Humanitarian Award, 1951; Look
magazine TV Award, 1951; National
Academy of Arts and Sciences Award,
Man of the Year, 1959; Emmy Award
Nominee, 1961; AGVA Golden Award,
1977; Special Emmy Award for Lifetime
Achievement, 1978/79. (Source: the
Museum of Broadcast Communications
