Milton Berle Biography (1908-2002)

Born Mendal Berlinger, July 12, 1908, in New York, NY; son of Moses and Sarah(maiden name, Glantz) Berlinger; married Joyce Mathews, 1941 (divorced, 1947); remarried Joyce Mathews, 1949 (divorced, 1950); married Ruth Cosgrove Rosenthal, December 9, 1953 (died, 1989); married Lorna Adams (a clothing designer and publisher), 1991; children: (first marriage) two children; (third marriage) Vicki, Billy; (fourth marriage) Susan Moll (stepchild; a clothing designer). Addresses: Agent: Media Artists Group, 8383 Wilshire Blvd., SuiteF, Studio City, CA 91604.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Comedian, actor, producer, writer, lyricist, songwriter
Birth Details: July 12, 1908; New York, New York, United States
Death Details: March 27, 2002; Beverly Hills, California

Famous Works

CREDITS
Stage Appearances
Floradora, Globe Theatre, Atlantic City, NJ, then Century Theatre,New York City, both 1920
Earl Carroll Vanities, 1932
Windy Walker, Saluta, Imperial Theatre, New York City, 1934
Arthur Lee, See My Lawyer, Biltmore Theatre, New York City, 1939
I'll Take the High Road, Ritz Theatre, New York City, 1943
Seventeen, Broadhurst Theatre, New York City, 1951
Max Silverman, The Goodbye People, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City, 1968
Noah, Two by Two, State Fair Music Hall, Dallas, TX, 1971
The Milton Berle Show, Westbury Music Fair, Long Island, NY, 1971
Barney Cashman, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Westbury Music Fair, 1971
Ben Chambers, Norman, Is That You&quest;, Westchester County Playhouse, Westchester County, NY, 1973
The Best of Everybody, Studebaker Theatre, Chicago, IL, 1975
The Sunshine Boys, Arlington Park, IL, 1976
Charles Busch's Dressing Up, Town Hall, New York City, 1994
Stage Producer
(With Clifford Hayman) I'll Take the High Road, Ritz Theatre,1943
(With Sammy Lambert and Bernie Foyer) Seventeen, Broadhurst Theatre, 1951
Major Tours
Life Begins at 8:40, U.S. cities, 1935
Walter Gribble, Spring in Brazil, U.S. cities, 1945
Jerry Biffle, Top Banana, U.S. cities, 1963
Barney Cashman, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, U.S. cities, 1970
Ben Chambers, Norman, Is That You&quest;, U.S. cities, 1975
Also toured with the Ziegfeld Follies, 1936; and toured with his own company.
Cabaret Appearances
Las Vegas, NV
Desert Inn, 1964
Desert Inn, 1972
Caesar's Palace, 1972
Frontier Hotel, 1974
Sands Hotel, 1974
Other Cabaret Appearances
Playboy Plaza, Miami Beach, FL, 1972
Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Chicago, IL, 1975
Film Appearances
A small child, Tillie's Punctured Romance (silent; also knownas For the Love of Tillie, Marie's Millions, Tillie's Big Romance, and Tillie's Nightmare), Keystone Film Company,1914
(As Milton Berlinger) Child, The Perils of Pauline, 1914
(Uncredited) Man, The Mask of Zorro, 1920
(As Milton Berlinger) Birthright, 1920
Elmer Brown, Poppin' the Cork (short), 1933
(Uncredited) Himself, Hollywood Hobbies, 1934
Wellington Wedge, New Faces of 1937, RKO, 1937
Teddy Jordan, Radio City Revels, RKO, 1938
Frosty, Tall, Dark, and Handsome, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1941
Nifty Allen, Sun Valley Serenade, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1941
Seabiscuit, Rise and Shine, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1941
H. H. Van Buren, Whispering Ghosts, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1942
Lucky Cullen, A Gentleman at Heart, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1942
Jason Cordry, Over My Dead Body, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1943
Moe Finkelstein, Margin for Error, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1943
Kip Cooper, Always Leave Them Laughing, Warner Bros., 1949
(Uncredited) Himself, Let's Make Love (also known as The Billionaire and The Millionaire), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1960
Himself and a bellboy, The Bellboy, Paramount, 1960
J. Russell Finch, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, United Artists, 1963
Mr. Kenton, The Loved One, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1965
Star Spangled Salesman (documentary), U.S. Treasury Department, 1966
Kappy Kapstetter, The Oscar, Embassy, 1966
Cameo appearance, Don't Worry , We'll Think of a Title, 1966
Luther Burton, Who's Minding the Mint&quest;, Columbia, 1967
Fred, The Happening, Columbia, 1967
Film director, Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (also known as Where Angels Go ... Trouble Follows), Columbia, 1968
Mr. Parker, For Singles Only, Columbia, 1968
Goodtime Eddie Filth, Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness&quest;, Regional, 1969
Voice of the Cowardly Lion, Journey Back to Oz (animated), Filmation, 1971
Mr. Meyer, Lepke, Warner Bros., 1974
Blind man, Won Ton Ton, The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (also known asWon Ton Ton), Paramount, 1976
Mad Man Mooney, The Muppet Movie, Associated Films, 1979
Female patient, Cracking Up (also known as Smorgasbord), Warner Bros., 1983
Himself, Broadway Danny Rose, Orion, 1984
(Uncredited) Himself, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Warner Bros., 1985
(Uncredited) Himself, Babes Ahoy, 1989
Hotel clerk, Driving Me Crazy (also known as Trabbi Goes to Hollywood), Motion Picture Corporation of America, 1991
Himself, A Century of Cinema (documentary), 1994
Illuzor, Storybook, Republic Pictures, 1995
The History of Rock 'N' Roll, Volume 2 (also known as Good Rockin' Tonight), 1995
Himself, The Legend of Forrest Tucker, 1997
Himself, Let Me In, I Hear Laughter, 1999
Also appeared in numerous Biograph films as a child.
Host and Narrator of Educational Films
Health in the Later Years, Churchill Films, 1983
Nutrition in the Later Years, Churchill Films, 1983
Physical Fitness in the Later Years, Churchill Films, 1983
Stress in the Later Years, Churchill Films, 1983
Television Appearances
Series
The Texaco Star Theater (also known as The Milton Berle Show), NBC, 1948-53
The Milton Berle Show (also known as The Buick-Berle Show),NBC, 1953-55
The Milton Berle Show, NBC, 1955-56
Milton Berle Starring in the Kraft Music Hall (also known as Kraft Music Hall), NBC, 1958-59
Host, Jackpot Bowling Starring Milton Berle (also known as Jackpot Bowling), NBC, 1960-61
The Milton Berle Show, ABC, 1966-67
Guest performer, The Jackie Gleason Show, 1967-70
Movies
Sam Fuller, Seven in Darkness, ABC, 1969
Harry Fern, Evil Roy Slade, NBC, 1972
Jesse, The Legend of Valentino, ABC, 1975
Henry Foster, Off Your Rocker, 1980
Isaiah, Family Business, 1983
Abe Mercer, Side by Side, CBS, 1988
Episodic
Himself, The Colgate Comedy Hour, 1952
Max Liebman Presents, NBC, 1955
"Material Witness," Kraft Television Theater, NBC, 1958
Person to Person, CBS, 1959
Himself, "Milton Berle Hides Out at the Ricardos," The Lucy Ball-DesiArnaz Show, CBS, 1959

The Music Shop, NBC, 1959
"Danny and Milton Quit Show Business," The Danny Thomas Show (alsoknown as Make Room for Daddy), CBS, 1959
"The Milton Berle Show," The Jack Benny Show, CBS, 1960
"Dear Charlie," The Barbara Stanwyck Show, NBC, 1961
Eddie Doyle, "Doyle against the House," The Dick Powell Show, NBC,1961
The Andy Williams Show, 1962 , 1964
"A Show of His Own," The Joey Bishop Show, NBC, 1962
"Thunder in a Forgotten Town," The Dick Powell Show, NBC, 1963
Host, "Charlie's Duet," The Dick Powell Show, NBC, 1963
"Joey and Milton and Baby Makes Three," The Joey Bishop Show, NBC,1963
"The Candidate," Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater, NBC, 1963
"Dead End on Flugel Street," Trials of O'Brien, CBS, 1965
"Lucy Saves Milton Berle," The Lucy Show, CBS, 1965
Wise Owl, "The Great Troop Robbery," F-Troop, ABC, 1966
Lofty (Batclimb cameo), "Ma Parker," Batman, 1966
"Murder at NBC," Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater, NBC, 1966
Josiah Freeman, "A Flock of Trouble," The Big Valley, ABC, 1967
Charlie, "Second Greatest Con Artist in the World," I Dream of Jeannie, NBC, 1967
Louie the Lilac, "Louie the Lilac," Batman, ABC, 1967
Himself, "Lucy Meets the Berles," The Lucille Ball Show, 1967
Louie the Lilac, "Louie's Lethal Lilac Time," Batman, ABC, 1968
Motel clerk, "Don't Look Back," Get Smart, NBC, 1968
"I, the People," Ironside, NBC, 1968
Cheerful Charlie, "Lucy and the Used Car Dealer," Here's Lucy,CBS, 1969
"Love and the Older Boyfriend," Love, American Style, ABC, 1970
Make Room for Granddaddy, ABC, 1971
"Those Friars," That Girl, ABC, 1971
"Love and the Vacationers," Love, American Style, ABC, 1971
"And a Little Child Shall Bleed Them," The Mod Squad, ABC, 1971
"Night Shade," Mannix, CBS, 1971
"Give My Regards to Broadway," McCloud, NBC, 1972
"A Purge of Madness," The Bold Ones: The Doctors, NBC, 1972
Himself, "Milton Berle Is the Life of the Party," Here's Lucy,1974
Don Adams' Screen Test, syndicated, 1975
"Gotcha," The Love Boat, ABC, 1977
The Muppet Show, syndicated, 1977
"The Harder They Fall," The Love Boat, ABC, 1979
Himself, "The Great 5K Star Race and Boulder Wrap Party: Parts 1 & 2," CHiPs, NBC, 1980
Himself, "The Rich Get Richer," The Fall Guy, ABC, 1981
"Zeke and Zelda," The Love Boat, ABC, 1981
Mickey Miller, General Hospital, ABC, 1981
"Family Business," American Playhouse, PBS, 1983
"CPR, I.O.U.," The Love Boat, ABC, 1983
Fantasy Island, ABC, 1983
"The Kids from Fame Concert," Fame, 1983
Rabbi Morris, "The Bar Mitzvah Boy," Diff'rent Strokes, NBC, 1984
Leopold, "Grandpa's Secret Life," Gimme a Break, NBC, 1984
Lew Feldman, "Broadway Malady," Murder, She Wrote, CBS, 1985
Nathan Adler, "Coco Returns," Fame, syndicated, 1985
"Vladimir Zworykin," An American Portrait, CBS, 1985
Lionel Cooper, "Hidden Treasure," The Love Boat, ABC, 1985
Himself, "Fine Tuning," Amazing Stories, NBC, 1985
"Who Killed Maxwell Thorn&quest;," The Love Boat, ABC, 1987
Max Jakey, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, NBC, 1991
Alan King: Inside the Comedy Mind, Comedy Central, 1991
Max, "Ill Will," The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, 1992
Harvey Chase, "Last Laugh," Matlock, ABC, 1993
Saul Howard, "Sentenced to Life," Beverly Hills, 90210, Fox, 1994
"Milton Berle: Mr. Television," Biography, Arts and Entertainment,1994
"Who Killed the Host at the Roast&quest;," Burke's Law, 1994
Uncle Manny, "The Party's Over," The Nanny, CBS, 1995
Shelley Litvak, "Body Language," Due South, CBS, 1995
Leoc, Fudge, ABC and CBS, 1995
Edgar Boggs, "The Volunteers," Sister, Sister, ABC, 1995
Roseanne, ABC, 1995
The History of Rock 'n' Roll (also known as Good Rockin' Tonight), syndicated, 1995
Voice of himself, "I Can't Believe It's a Clip Show," The Critic (animated), 1995
Interviewee, "Liberace: Mr. Showmanship," Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 1995
Interviewee, "Danny Thomas: Make Room for Danny," Biography, Artsand Entertainment, 1996
Interviewee, "Sonja Henie: Fire on Ice," Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 1997
Interviewee, "Phil Silvers: Top Banana," Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 1997
Also appeared as a guest host, Hollywood Palace, ABC; as a guest host, Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC's Saturday Night, Saturday Night, and SNL), NBC; as Wise Owl, "Celebrity Roast," Kraft Music Hall, NBC; in "Jack Adopts a Son," The Jack Benny Program; and in Johnny Mann's Stand Up and Cheer, syndicated.
Specials
Host, Damon Runyon Memorial Fund (telethon), NBC, 1949
Host, Damon Runyon Memorial Fund (telethon), NBC, 1950
The Big Time, NBC, 1955
Milton Berle Special (two specials), NBC, 1959
Milton Berle Special, NBC, 1962
Joys (also known as Bob Hope Special: Bob Hope in "Joys"),NBC, 1976
"Have I Got a Christmas for You," Hallmark Hall of Fame, NBC, 1977
Actor in archival footage, The Great Standups (also known as The Great Standups: Sixty Years of Laughter), 1984
Bob Hope Buys NBC&quest;, NBC, 1985
NBC's 60th Anniversary Celebration, NBC, 1986
George Burns' 90th Birthday Special (also known as Kraft Salutes the George Burns 90th Birthday Special), CBS, 1986
"Jonathan Winters: On the Ledge" (also known "The Jonathan Winters Show"), Showtime Comedy Spotlight, Showtime, 1987
It's Howdy Doody Time: A 40-Year Celebration (also known as Howdy Doody's 40th Anniversary and Howdy Doody's 40th Birthday Special), syndicated, 1987
Mr. Fox, NBC Investigates Bob Hope, NBC, 1987
Milton Berle: The Second Time Around, syndicated, 1988
Happy Birthday, Bob--50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC (alsoknown as Happy Birthday, Bob! 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC),NBC, 1988
The 75th Anniversary of Beverly Hills (also known as Beverly Hills 75th Diamond Jubilee), ABC, 1989
"The World of Jewish Humor," Great Performances, PBS, 1990
Himself, Happy Birthday, Bugs: 50 Looney Years (also known as Happy Birthday, Bugs! 50 Looney Years and Hollywood Celebrates Bugs Bunny's 50th Birthday), CBS, 1990
Bob Hope's Don't Shoot, It's Only Me, NBC, 1990
"Just for Laughs: The Montreal International Comedy Festival" (also knownas "Just for Laughs IV," "Juste pour Rire IV," and "The Montreal International Comedy Festival"), Showtime Comedy Spotlight, Showtime, 1991
George Burns' 95th Birthday Party, CBS, 1991
Elvis: The Great Performances, CBS, 1992
The Class of the 20th Century, Arts and Entertainment, 1992
A Celebration of Eddy Arnold, TNN, 1992
Bob Hope and Other Young Comedians: The World Laughs, Young and Old (also known as The Comedy Olympics: Starring Bob Hope and Other Young Comedians), NBC, 1992
More of the Best of the Hollywood Palace, ABC, 1993
Laughing Matters (also known as Funny Business), Showtime,1993
Bob Hope: The First Ninety Years, NBC, 1993
Actor in archival footage, The Unknown Marx Brothers, 1993
TV Nation: Year-in-Review Special, NBC, 1994
The Ed Sullivan All-Star Comedy Special (also known as Ed Sullivan's All-Star Comedy Special and The Very Best of Ed Sullivan IV), CBS, 1995
Voice of Jerry Labello, Jingle Bell Rock (animated), ABC, 1995
Funny, ABC, 1996
Interviewee, "Nichols and May--Take Two," American Masters, PBS, 1996
Steve Allen's 75th Birthday Celebration, PBS, 1997
50 Years of Television: A Celebration of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Golden Anniversary, HBO, 1997
Comic Relief VIII, HBO, 1998
NYTV: By the People Who Made It, PBS, 1998
James Bacon: The E! True Hollywood Story, E! Entertainment Television, 1999
Let Me In, I Hear Laughter: A Salute to the Friars, Comedy Central, 1999
Norman Jewison on Comedy in the 20th Century: Funny Is Money, Showtime, 1999
The Rat Pack, HBO, 1999
AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Laughs (also known as AFI's 100Years, 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies), CBS, 2000
Awards Presentations
The Television Academy Hall of Fame, NBC, 1986
The 38th Annual Emmy Awards, 1986
The 41st Annual Emmy Awards, 1989
The Television Academy Hall of Fame (also known as The 6th Annual Television Academy Hall of Fame), Fox, 1990
The 9th Annual Television Academy Hall of Fame, The Disney Channel, 1993
The First Annual Comedy Hall of Fame (also known as The ComedyHall of Fame), NBC, 1993
Presenter, 1993 MTV Video Music Awards (also known as MTV VideoMusic Awards), MTV, 1993
The Second Annual Comedy Hall of Fame (also known as The 2nd Annual Comedy Hall of Fame), NBC, 1994
Presenter, The 1996 Emmy Awards, 1996
Pilots
Sheila, CBS, 1977
Other Television Appearances
Appeared in The Best of Everybody.
Television Work
Specials
Producer, Milton Berle: The Second Time Around, syndicated, 1988
Radio Appearances
Host, The Texaco Star Theater, 1947-49
Host, The Philip Morris Playhouse, 1947
Also appeared as the host of other shows, including the Berle-Buick Show.
RECORDINGS
Music Videos
Appeared in Ratt's "Round and Round," 1989.
WRITINGS
Nonfiction
Laughingly Yours, 1939
Out of My Trunk, 1945
Earthquake, 1959
(With Haskel Frankel) Milton Berle: An Autobiography, Delacorte (New York City), 1974
B.S. I Love You, 1987
Milton Berle's Private Joke File: Over 10,000 of His Best Gags, Anecdotes, and One-Liners, Crown Publishers (New York City), 1989
More of the Best of Milton Berle's Private Joke File: 10,000 of the World's Funniest Gags, Anecdotes, and One-Liners, edited by Milt Rosen, Morrow (New York City), 1993
Also contributed to periodicals, including Sport and Variety.
Television Episodes
Provided jokes for Picket Fences, CBS.
Film Songs
Title song, Li'l Abner (also known as Trouble Chaser),1940
Film song lyrics
(Uncredited) Title song lyrics, For Singles Only, 1968
"I'd Give a Million Dollars," Manifesto, 1988
Song Lyrics
Wrote the song lyrics to I'm So Happy I Could Cry, Leave the Dishes in the Sink, Ma, and Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long.

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

Entertainment Weekly, December 31, 1993, p. 67.
People Weekly, October 27, 1997, pp. 99-100.

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