Milton Berle
| Milton Berle | |
|---|---|
Berle circa 1950
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| Born |
Mendel Berlinger July 12, 1908 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 27, 2002 (aged 93) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Colon cancer |
| Resting place | Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Other names | Mr. Television, Uncle Miltie |
| Education | Professional Children's School |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian |
| Years active | 1914–2000 |
| Spouse(s) | Joyce Mathews (1941–1947; 1949–1950) Ruth Cosgrove Rosenthal (1953–1989) Lorna Adams (1991–2002; his death) |
| Children | 3 |
Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American comedian and actor. As the host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater (1948–55), he was the first major American television star and was known to millions of viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr. Television" during TV's golden age.
Milton Berle was born into a Jewish family in a five-story walkup at 68 W. 118th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. His given name was Mendel Berlinger. He chose Milton Berle as his professional name when he was 16. His father, Moses Berlinger (1873–1938), was a paint and varnish salesman. His mother, Sarah (Sadie) Glantz Berlinger (1877–1954), eventually became stagestruck and changed her name to Sandra Berle when Milton became famous.
Berle entered show business at the age of five when he won an amateur talent contest. He appeared as a child actor in silent films, beginning with The Perils of Pauline, filmed in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The director told Berle that he would portray a little boy who would be thrown from a moving train. In Milton Berle: An Autobiography, he explained, "I was scared shitless, even when he went on to tell me that Pauline would save my life. Which is exactly what happened, except that at the crucial moment they threw a bundle of rags instead of me from the train. I bet there are a lot of comedians around today who are sorry about that."
By Berle's account, he continued to play child roles in other films: Bunny's Little Brother, Tess of the Storm Country, Birthright, Love's Penalty, Divorce Coupons and Ruth of the Range. Berle recalled, "There were even trips out to Hollywood—the studios paid—where I got parts in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, with Mary Pickford; The Mark of Zorro, with Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., and Tillie's Punctured Romance, with Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand and Marie Dressler." In 1916, Berle enrolled in the Professional Children's School.
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