#uncle miltie

[angstystoryteller]

MILTON BERLE as NIFTY ALLEN in SUN VALLEY SERENADE (1942)

[papermoonloveslucy]

MILTON BERLE

July 12, 1908

Milton Berle was born Milton (Mendel) Berlinger in New York City on July 12, 1908. He started performing at the age of five. He perfected his comedy in vaudeville, early silent films, and then on radio, before taking his act to the small screen, where he would be proclaimed “Mr. Television” and later “Uncle Miltie.” He hosted “Texaco Star Theater” on NBC from 1948 to 1956. The variety show was re-titled "The Milton Berle Show” in 1954 when Texaco dropped their sponsorship. The program was briefly revived in 1958, but lasted only one season. One of his classic bits was to dress in drag. 

Berle won two Emmy Awards in 1950 for Most Kinescoped Personality and Best Kinescope show - a category that only existed in 1950. Here they are used as set dressing for his office on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in 1959. Desilu also reproduced his TV Guide cover from earlier in the year. The caricature is by Al Hirschfeld. Berle received an honorary Emmy in 1979 engraved “Mr. Television”. 

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz appeared on “The Milton Berle Show” on February 22, 1949, although Berle was out sick, replaced by Walter O’Keefe, delaying a Berle and Ball collaboration until 1950, when Berle hosted “Show of The Year: Cerebral Palsy Telethon” on June 10 and Lucy and Desi were guests.  In the decade that followed, Berle (on NBC) and Ball (on CBS) both became the biggest stars of television. 

Like Lucille Ball, Uncle Miltie had his own comic book!  This is the first issue dated December 1950. 

Ball and Berle returned for a second season of their respective TV shows in 1952, sharing the cover of this regional TV Guide. 

Lucille Ball was atop the TV totem pole on the cover of this April 1953 TV Guide while Milton Berle stands on the shoulders of Imogene Coca and Sid Caesar, flanked by the Texaco gas pump and holding a jester’s staff. This was only the third National issue and the second to feature Lucille Ball. 

‘Mr. Television’ and ‘The Queen of Comedy’ finally came together in 1959 on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” episode “Milton Berle Hides Out at the Ricardos” (LDCH E11). Berle plays himself, promoting his new novel “Earthquake”.  As the above photo shows, Berle does his drag act while hiding out to finish his next book. That same year, Lucy and Milton both participated in a tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt on her Diamond Jubilee. It was broadcast on NBC. 

Also in 1959, Lucy and Desi returned the favor by appearing on “Sunday Showcase: The Lucy-Desi Milton Berle Special” on NBC.  The special was set in Las Vegas and the Arnaz’s played the Ricardos.  

In December 1965, shortly after Lucy Carmichael moved to Los Angeles on “The Lucy Show,” “Lucy Saves Milton Berle” when she thinks he has taken to drink. Berle (playing himself) is doing research for a movie, and tells Lucy that the drunk she saw was actually his brother Arthur!  

In payback, Lucille Ball appears on the first episode of Berle’s new variety show, “The Milton Berle Show” on September 9, 1966. The show only lasts one season. 

A few weeks later, once again trading appearances, Milton Berle does a brief wordless cameo in “Lucy and John Wayne” on “The Lucy Show.” 

Two seasons later, Lucy Carmichael will again meet Milton Berle for the first time in "Lucy Meets the Berles”. This time, however, she meets both Milton and his wife, Ruth Cosgrove Berle, who also plays herself. 

On “Here’s Lucy,” Berle finally gets to play a character different than himself as used car dealer Cheerful Charlie in a November 1969 installment that also features his real-life brother Jack (right).

For the opening of season 24 of “The Ed Sullivan Show” Ed hosts the ‘Georgie Awards’ for Entertainer of the Year, from Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas. Lucille Ball and Milton Berle are on hand to present awards.

“The 23rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards” were broadcast on NBC on . May 9, 1971. Lucy attended the Awards with her husband Gary, her daughter Lucie, and her son-in-law Phil Vandervoort. Milton Berle was also in attendance.

“Zenith Presents: A Salute to Television’s 25th Anniversary” on September 10, 1972, brought together many of the most popular names of early broadcasting and included classic film clips, kine-scopes, video tape segments, and the personal memories of those who were a vital part of entertainment history.  Naturally this included Ball, Berle, and Hope. 

In late 1973, the Friars Club celebrated presented “A Show Business Salute To Milton Berle”. Sammy Davis Jr. hosted with guests Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope, Kirk Douglas, Red Foxx, and Carol O’Connor.  

A few months later, Berle made his only appearance on “Here’s Lucy” (once again playing himself) in “Milton Berle is the Life of the Party”.  Lucy Carter bids on Berle’s appearance on a telethon in order to enliven one of her dreary parties. 

When “The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast” feted Lucille Ball in 1975, Milton Berle was one of the many colleagues on hand to roast and toast the Queen of Comedy. 

While America was celebrating its bicentennial in 1976, the National Broadcast Corporation was celebrating 50 years in show business with “NBC: The First 50 Years.”  Naturally, “Mr. Television” (an NBC star) and Lucille Ball (then very associated with CBS) were there to mark the occasion.  A few days later, CBS honored Lucille Ball for a quarter century of television with “CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years”.  Berle hopped over to the Tiffany Network to help pay tribute. 

Less than a month later, Lucy and Milton were back on “The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast” to rib their mutual friend Danny Thomas, who spent time on both NBC and CBS during his career. 

On March 26, 1978, Lucille Ball, Joey Bishop, George Carlin, Johnny Carson, Angie Dickinson, Kirk Douglas, Jim Henson, Bob Hope, Gabe Kaplan, Gene Kelly, Donny and Marie Osmond, Gregory Peck, and Carl Reiner were all on hand for “A Tribute to Mr. Television, Milton Berle”. 

Lucy and Milton were back in Vegas for yet another “Dean Martin Celebrity Roast” to honor actor Jimmy Stewart in 1979.  

In 1980, Lucy and Miltie were present for “Sinatra: The First 40 Years” at Caesar’s Palace Las Vegas. 

“Bob Hope’s 30th Anniversary Television Special” on January 18, 1981, was a retrospect of Bob Hope’s first 30 years on TV. Celebrating with Bob are guests Lucille Ball, Milton Berle, Danny Thomas, George Burns, Sammy Davis Jr., and many others.

Milton Berle (in drag) joined Lucille Ball for “Bob Hope’s Women I Love - Beautiful But Funny” on February 28, 1982.  Other than Bob, Milton was the only other biological male in the show! 

Appropriately, Milton Berle and Lucille Ball were among the first inductees into “The First Annual Television Academy Hall of Fame Awards” on March 4, 1984. Steve Allen introduces Berle while Carol Burnett does the honors for Ball.

That same year “Bob Hope’s Unrehearsed Antics of the Stars”.  Ball tells Hope about her disastrous audition for Gone With the Wind. 

Berle and Ball (now an NBC employee) are there for the special “Bob Hope Buys NBC?” in 1985. Former President Gerald Ford also makes an appearance! 

As President of the Friars Club, Milton Berle was present for most all of their events, including their tribute to Gene Kelly in late 1985.  Lucille Ball and Gary Morton also attending the honoring. 

Lucille Ball was a presenter at “The 38th Primetime Emmy Awards” on September 21, 1986.  Milton Berle was also in attendance. 

The final performance of Lucille Ball on television was in “Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years at NBC” on May 16, 1988. She sang “Comedy is No Joke”.  Milton Berle was also in attendance. 

For the “AFI Life Achievement Award: A Salute to Jack Lemmon” on March 10, 1988 The audience is full of celebrity friends, including including Lucille Ball and Milton Berle.

“The Princess Grace Foundation Special Gala Tribute to Cary Grant” on October 19, 1988. Lucille Ball attends with her husband, Gary Morton. Milton Berle is also there. 

This would be the last time Ball and Berle shared the same television marquee.  Lucille Ball died six months later. A week before her passing, Ruth Cosgrove Berle died. In 1991, he married again to Lorna Adams. They remained married until Milton Berle died of colon cancer in 2002 at age 93.   

“I live to laugh, and I laugh to live.” ~ Milton Berle

[papermoonloveslucy]

The NAB Honors Lucy & Miltie

April 10, 1988

On April 10, 1988, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) initiated Lucille Ball and Milton Berle into their Broadcasting Hall of Fame. The awards were announced at the Annual NAB Convention. Ironically, the ceremony was not broadcast or recorded. Although the Award had been bestowed since 1977, Lucy and Uncle Miltie were the first television broadcasters to be so honored. Previously, the recipients were all radio broadcasters, although fittingly, the first award went to CBS Chairman William Paley, along with Lucy’s pals Bob Hope and Jack Benny, for their radio programs.  

Two weeks earlier, Ball and Berle were photographed together at the March 28,1988 Friar's Club Roast honoring Liza Minnelli's Lifetime Achievement in Entertainment, held at the Century Plaza Hotel. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante / Getty Images)

After Ball’s passing in 1989, he said he and Lucy had dated casually in the 30's, when she was a Goldwyn Girl and he was doing stand-up on the comedy circuits. Later, Miss Ball and Mr. Berle's wife, Ruth, became close friends. After viewing footage of their work together, Berle said of Miss Ball: "I was amazed... at the rapport we had. You could tell we liked each other personally. A lot of it was ad libbed."

A 1952 regional TV Guide touted the fall return of Ball and Berle’s TV offerings. 

The following year, the new National TV Guide put Lucy and Berle on the totem pole of TV icons. Both Berle and Ball hold their sponsors products: she, Philip Morris cigarettes, and he a Texaco gas pump. 

Although Lucille Ball guest starred on Berle’s Show “Texaco Star Theatre” in 1948, Berle was off sick, replaced by Walter O'Keefe filled in for an ailing Milton Berle. Berle’s absence delays the first meeting of superstars-to-be Ball and Berle until 1950, when he hosted...

“Show of the Year: Cerebral Palsy Telethon” ~ June 10, 1950

(Photo, left to right: Gabby Hayes, Roger Clipp, UCP Poster Child, Jane Pickens, and Dennis James.) The telethon was broadcast live from New York City with remotes from Philadelphia. Lucy and Desi were in New York City on their ‘vaudeville tour’ designed to try-out material for “I Love Lucy” and prove to the network and sponsors that they had good chemistry together. 

After this chance encounter, Berle and Ball went their separate ways building a TV empire: He for NBC, she on CBS. It was more than a decade until the two TV stars performed together in...

“Milton Berle Hides Out at The Ricardos” (LDCH E11) ~ September 25, 1959

This was one of the last episodes of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” with Berle essentially playing himself, promoting his new book “Earthquake” and, of course, dressing up as Mildred. 

In return, as was common at the time, Lucy and Desi did a show for Milton Berle on NBC....

“Sunday Showcase: The Lucy-Desi Milton Berle Special” ~ November 1, 1959

Lucy and Desi play the Ricardos (although no mention of Little Ricky or the Mertzes), filmed at the Rancho Mirage Casino Hotel in Las Vegas. 

In between the two specials was a televised all-star tribute to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt on her Diamond Jubilee. Both Lucy and Milton were on the dais, as were many more celebrities. A similar program was aired the following year with Lucy in attendance, Milton Berle was not involved.

Six years went by before their next collaboration, this time on “The Lucy Show” with...

“Lucy Saves Milton Berle” (TLS S4;E12) ~ December 6, 1965

Milton Berle disguises himself as a drunk to do research for a role. He tells Lucy Carmichael that he is Milton Berle’s twin brother and Lucy vows to get even with Berle for neglecting his brother.

“The Milton Berle Show” (S1;E1) ~ September 9, 1966

Lucille Ball helps Milton Berle kick off his new variety show filmed at the Hollywood Palace. Despite much hype, this new ABC-TV show lasted just seven episodes.

Meanwhile...

“Lucy and John Wayne” (TLS S5;E10) ~ November 21, 1966

While Lucy is waiting for Wayne in the studio commissary, Milton Berle makes a silent cameo; nothing more than a walk-through, to great audience reaction. 

In his final appearance on “The Lucy Show,” Berle brings along his real-life wife (and Lucille Ball’s friend) Ruth Cosgrove...

“Lucy Meets the Berles” (TLS S6;E1) ~ September 11, 1967

To earn extra money, Lucy Carmichael takes a job working as Milton Berle’s secretary. When she hears overhears Berle rehearsing a love scene with actress Ruta Lee, she jumps to the conclusion that he is being unfaithful to his wife!

“The Ed Sullivan Show” (S23;E1) ~ September 20, 1970

Ed Sullivan hosts the ‘Georgie Awards’ for Entertainer of the Year, from Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas. Berle and Ball are on hand to present awards. Lucy gets to present one to her ‘kid’ Carol Burnett. 

“The 23rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards” ~ May 9, 1971

Broadcast on NBC from the Pantages Theatre, hosted by Johnny Carson. Lucille Ball is not nominated, despite the fact that there were only three nominees in her category. Gale Gordon lost to Edward Asner (”The Mary Tyler Moore Show”) and the “Here’s Lucy” writers were nominated for “Lucy Meets the Burtons” (HL S3;E1) but lost to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Lucy attended the Awards with her husband Gary, her daughter Lucie, and her son-in-law Phil Vandervoort. 

Milton Berle was also in attendance, photographed here with Jimmy Durante. 

“Zenith Presents: A Salute to Television’s 25th Anniversary” ~ September 10, 1972

This was a 90-minute special on ABC TV taped August 9 to August 12 in Los Angeles. It featured clips from show’s from television’s past. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is also 25 years old and honors a select group of people who have made an impact, had popularity, proved longevity, and demonstrated substance. Ball and Berle are both recognized with a silver medallion on a plaque.

During the last season of “Here’s Lucy,” Berle makes a guest appearance...

“Milton Berle Is the Life of the Party” (HL S6;E19) ~ February 11, 1974

Lucy Carter’s parties are a bore, so she calls a telethon to make a very low bid on Milton Berle to attend her next soiree.

“The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Lucille Ball” ~ February 7, 1975

When Lucille Ball is roasted, Berle is there to turn the spit!  

Milton Berle: “Lucille Ball has emerged as the sex symbol for men who no longer care.” 

“The Annual Friars Club Tribute Presents a Salute to Gene Kelly” ~ January 5, 1976

Lucille Ball and Milton Berle joined Cyd Charisse, Janet Leigh, and Frank Sinatra for “The Friars Club Presents a Salute to Gene Kelly” on NBC. Also in attendance was Natalie Wood and fellow Hollywood hoofer, Fred Astaire.

“NBC: The First 50 Years - A Closer Look” ~ November 26, 1976

A four and a half hour extravaganza that naturally featured Milton Berle, but somehow also included CBS star Lucille Ball, four years before she would make the leap to the peacock network.

“CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years” ~ November 28, 1976

Milton Berle stands in front of the iconic Brown Derby restaurant to introduce a clip from “Hollywood at Last!” (ILL S4;E16) starring William Holden. The building was razed four years later. 

“The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Danny Thomas” (S4;E2) ~ December 15, 1976

Back at Dino’s Vegas rotisserie, it is now Ball and Berle turning the spit on Danny Thomas. 

“A Tribute to Mr. Television, Milton Berle” ~ March 26, 1978

One good tribute deserves another. Lucille Ball joins the cavalcade of stars honoring Uncle Miltie. 

“The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Jimmy Stewart” (May 10, 1978)

Meanwhile, back at the roast pit. Lucy and Milton fling affectionate barbs at their pal Jimmy Stewart. 

“Sinatra: The First 40 Years” ~ January 30, 1980

Lucy and Miltie are just two of the many honoring ‘Old Blue Eyes’. 

“Bob Hope’s 30th Anniversary Television Special” ~ January 18, 1981

A retrospect of Hope’s first 30 years on TV. Celebrating with Hope are Lucille Ball, Milton Berle, and many, many others. 

“Bob Hope’s Women I Love - Beautiful But Funny” ~ February 28, 1982

A look back at the women Hope has worked with over the years. More than 60 of Bob’s co-stars are presented in studio segments, as well as television and film excerpts. Since Berle is the only other male in the credits, I’m banking that Mildred, not Milton, showed up! 

“The Television Academy Hall of Fame” ~ March 4, 1984

Lucille Ball and Milton Berle are among the first group inducted into the Television Hall of Fame, along with Barbara Walters, David Sarnoff, William Paley, Norman Lear, and Edward R. Murrow.

“Bob Hope’s Unrehearsed Antics of the Stars” ~  September 28, 1984

Lucille Ball tells Bob Hope - with a fair amount of embellishment for comedic effect - about her audition for the role of Scarlet O’Hara in the 1939 film Gone With The Wind. Milton Berle is also along to share some bloopers with Hope. 

“Bob Hopes Buys NBC?” ~ September 17, 1985

Lucille Ball and Milton Berle have cameo appearances in this Bob Hope special. The premise has Bob staging a telethon to buy NBC, his adopted network, in an hour-long variety special of music, dance, and comedy.  Lucy and Berle met on a telethon in 1950 and it was also the premise of his 1974 “Here’s Lucy” appearance. 

“The 38th Primetime Emmy Awards”  ~ September 21, 1986

Lucy and Milton are presenters in an evening that was memorable for honoring her friend and co-star Red Skelton.

“AFI Life Achievement Award: A Salute to Jack Lemmon” ~ March 10, 1988

The AFI gives its 1988 Life Achievement Award to Jack Lemmon. The audience is full of celebrity friends, including including Milton Berle and Lucille Ball.

“Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years at NBC” ~ May 16, 1988

Singing an original song, this marks Lucille Ball’s last “performance” on television before her death. Berle is also on the show to salute Hope. 

“The Princess Grace Foundation Special Gala Tribute to Cary Grant” ~ October 19, 1988

Cary Grant died in 1986. Due to his close friendship with Princess Grace and her family the proceeds from the evening benefit the foundation named in her honor. Milton Berle is there and Lucille Ball attends with her husband, Gary Morton.  This was the last time that Lucille Ball and Milton Berle were seen on the same program before her death in April 1989. 

In 1989, the NAB Hall of Fame for television inducted Ernie Kovacs (posthumously) and Sid Caesar, both of whom had been guest stars on Lucy’s programs. 

[youneednoremotehere]

The Texaco Star Theatre was one of the most popular shows in the history of television. In the first year, Milton Berle was not the permanent emcee, but know as the host of NBC's Texaco Star Theatre (1948–1955), once he replaced the rotation, the show soared to ratings dominance (Number One in 1950-51), NBC dominated Tuesday night, and Berle became the first great star of the new medium, "Mr. Television". The basic format was modeled after a vaudeville variety hour, spotlighting Berle's jokes, sight gags, and costumes. Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; born July 12, 1908 – died March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. 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, 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.

[crownfrenchfurniture]

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.

Milton Berle (Mr Television)

[ourladyofperpetualskepticism]

“In both games and society also, no set of rules can prevail unless most participants most of the time conform to them without external sanctions; unless that is, there is a broad underlying social consensus. But we cannot rely on custom or on this consensus alone to interpret and to enforce the rules; we need an umpire. These then are the basic roles of government in a free society: to provide a means whereby we can modify the rules, to mediate differences among us on the meaning of the rules, and to enforce compliance with the rules on the part of those few who would otherwise not play the game.” -- Milton Friedman

[ourladyofperpetualskepticism]

“An impersonal market separates economic activities from political views and protects men from being discriminated against in their economic activities for reasons that are irrelevant to their productivity–whether these reasons are associated with their views or their color. The groups in our society that have the most at stake in the preservation and strengthening of competitive capitalism are those minority groups which can most easily become the object of distrust and enmity of the majority […] the existence of the market has protected them from the attitudes of their fellow countrymen, they mistakenly attribute the residual discrimination to the market.” – Milton Friedman

I mean, in practice, the socioeconomic inequality minorities face from being historically prevented from receiving the proper payment for their labour and being forced to work for free, which has obvious ramification for those minorities ability to achieve equal footing within the market. But that’s down to social and cultural codes, which allowed for the subjugation of certain people based on superficial differences, not an inherent flaw in a free market structure. Though, of course, there are other flaws, which Friedman, unlike many contemporary theorists I could name, ACKNOWLEDGES AND MAKES ACTUAL PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM IN MORAL AND ETHICAL WAYS.

[ourladyofperpetualskepticism]

“Freedom to advocate unpopular causes does not require that such advocacy be without cost. On the contrary, no society could be stable if advocacy of radical changes were costless, much less subsidized. It is entirely appropriate that men make sacrifices to advocate causes in which they deeply believe. Indeed, it is important to preserve freedom only for people who are willing to practice self-denial, for otherwise freedom degenerates into license and irresponsibility. What is essential is that the cost of advocating unpopular causes be tolerable and not prohibitive.” -- Milton Friedman What is essential is that the cost of advocating unpopular causes be tolerable and NOT PROHIBITIVE.