Milton Berle

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Milton Berle (1989)
Milton Berle and his wife at the premiere of Bette Midler's The Rose 1979 (Photo: Alan Ligh≤≤t)

Milton Berle (real name: Mendel Berlinger ; born July 12, 1908 in New York City , New York , † March 27, 2002 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American actor , entertainer and comedian . His career ranged from the silent film era to the year 2000. Berle was considered the first star on American television in the 1950s .

Life

Milton Berle was already on stage at the age of five. He made his first film experiences in 1914 at the age of six in the silent film The Perils of Pauline . His nickname at the time was The Boy Wonder . He played small roles in two films with Mary Pickford . In the following years he made a career in nightclubs and theaters , including in New York on Broadway . He also appeared as a supporting actor in a number of films, such as the nervous band manager of Glenn Miller in Adopted Happiness (1941). In the 1940s, Berle received his own radio show, which significantly increased his popularity. Berle's comedy was mainly characterized by skits and gags, some of which Berle had previously performed in vaudeville shows.

Berle reached the peak of his popularity in the late 1940s, when he turned to the new medium of television, which was just beginning to reach a wide audience. Berle is also often seen as the first major television star in American entertainment history. From 1948 to 1956 Berle was as moderator of NBC telecast Texaco Star Theater (renamed Buick-Berle Show in 1955 only after a change of sponsor in 1953, Milton Berle Show to see). There his nicknames were for example Mr. Television , The Thief of Bad Gags or Uncle Miltie . Berle won an Emmy Award in 1950 for his show, and in 1984 he was one of the first to be inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame . "Uncle Miltie" wrote music history on April 3, 1956, when Elvis Presley had one of his first television appearances on the Milton Berle Show . By this point in time, in the mid-1950s, he had already passed the zenith of his popularity and the moderation offers were waning.

From the 1960s onwards, Berle increasingly turned back to acting roles in film and television. His most famous role in Germany is probably that of J. Russell Finch in Eine total, totally crazy world . Berle had another appearance in the Jerry Lewis film The Bellboy , in which he and Jerry Lewis have a double déjà vu experience as themselves and as a page. In later years Berle had numerous shows in Las Vegas and also took on many appearances for charitable purposes. He continued acting well into old age and last appeared in 2000, at the age of 90, in the television series Kenan & Kel .

Milton Berle died of colon cancer in 2002 at the age of 93. He was married three times and had three children. His nephew Warren Berlinger is a busy actor, as is his son-in-law Richard Moll .

Filmography (selection)

literature

  • David Quinlan: Quinlan's illustrated directory of film comedy stars. Batsford, London 1992, ISBN 0-7134-6149-7 .

Web links

Commons : Milton Berle  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lawrence Van Gelder: Milton Berle, TV's First Star As 'Uncle Miltie,' Dies at 93 . In: The New York Times . March 28, 2002, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed June 11, 2020]).
personal data
SURNAME Berle, Milton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Berlinger, Mendel (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor, entertainer, and comedian
DATE OF BIRTH July 12, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH New York , New York
DATE OF DEATH March 27, 2002
Place of death Los Angeles , California