Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; Yiddish: â€ ×ž×¢× ×"על
×'×¢×¨×œ×™× ×'ער‎; July 12, 1908 â€" March 27, 2002) was an
American comedian and actor. Berle's career as an entertainer spanned
over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor,
then in radio, movies and television. As the host of NBC's Texaco Star
Theatre (1948â€"1955), he was the first major American television star
and was known to millions of viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr.
Television" during the first Golden Age of Television. He was honored
with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in both
radio and TV.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
(1873â€"1938), was a paint and varnish salesman. His mother, Sarah
(Sadie) Glantz Berlinger (1877â€"1954), changed her name to Sandra
Berle when Milton became famous. He had three older brothers (from
oldest to youngest): Phil, Frank and Jack Berle. For many years, the
latter two worked as Berle's TV production staff members, while Phil
Berle was a program executive at NBC.Berle entered show business in
1913 at the age of five when he won a children's Charlie Chaplin
contest. He appeared as a child actor in silent films. He claimed The
Perils of Pauline as his first film appearance, playing the character
of a young boy, though this has never been independently verified. In
Milton Berle: An Autobiography, he explained that the director told
him that he would portray a little boy who would be thrown from a
moving train. He said, "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
Hollywoodâ€"the studios paidâ€"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." However, Berle's claim to have
appeared in Tillie's Punctured Romance has been disputed by film
historians, among them Glenn Mitchell, who in his book, The Chaplin
Encyclopedia, writes that Berle's alleged role was most likely played
by child actor Gordon Griffith.
×'×¢×¨×œ×™× ×'ער‎; July 12, 1908 â€" March 27, 2002) was an
American comedian and actor. Berle's career as an entertainer spanned
over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor,
then in radio, movies and television. As the host of NBC's Texaco Star
Theatre (1948â€"1955), he was the first major American television star
and was known to millions of viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr.
Television" during the first Golden Age of Television. He was honored
with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in both
radio and TV.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
(1873â€"1938), was a paint and varnish salesman. His mother, Sarah
(Sadie) Glantz Berlinger (1877â€"1954), changed her name to Sandra
Berle when Milton became famous. He had three older brothers (from
oldest to youngest): Phil, Frank and Jack Berle. For many years, the
latter two worked as Berle's TV production staff members, while Phil
Berle was a program executive at NBC.Berle entered show business in
1913 at the age of five when he won a children's Charlie Chaplin
contest. He appeared as a child actor in silent films. He claimed The
Perils of Pauline as his first film appearance, playing the character
of a young boy, though this has never been independently verified. In
Milton Berle: An Autobiography, he explained that the director told
him that he would portray a little boy who would be thrown from a
moving train. He said, "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
Hollywoodâ€"the studios paidâ€"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." However, Berle's claim to have
appeared in Tillie's Punctured Romance has been disputed by film
historians, among them Glenn Mitchell, who in his book, The Chaplin
Encyclopedia, writes that Berle's alleged role was most likely played
by child actor Gordon Griffith.
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