![]() In 1933, Berle was hired by producer Jack White to star in the theatrical featurette Poppin' the Cork, a topical musical comedy concerning the repealing of Prohibition. By the early 1930s, he was a successful stand-up comedian, patterning himself after one of vaudeville's top comics, Ted Healy. In 1932, he starred in Earl Carrol's "Vanities," a Broadway musical. He is also known to have played small bit parts in several silent films in the 1910s and 1920s, though his presence in some is disputed (see Filmography, below). By the time he was 16, he was working as a master of ceremonies in vaudeville. Career Vaudeville Īround 1920 at age 12, Berle made his stage debut in a revival of the musical comedy Florodora in Atlantic City, New Jersey, which later moved to Broadway. ![]() In 1916, Berle enrolled in the Professional Children's School. 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 including Glenn Mitchell, who in his book, The Chaplin Encyclopedia, writes that Berle's alleged role was most likely played by child actor Gordon Griffith. 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. I bet there are a lot of comedians around today who are sorry about that."īy 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. This is exactly what happened, except that at the crucial moment they threw a bundle of rags instead of me from the train. He said, "I was scared shitless, even when he went on to tell me that Pauline would save my life. In Milton Berle: An Autobiography, he explained that the director told him he would portray a little boy who would be thrown from a moving train. 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. He appeared as a child actor in silent films. He also worked as a child model and was "Buster Brown" for " Buster Brown" shoes. Child actor īerle entered show business in 1913 at the age of five when he won a children's Charlie Chaplin contest. For many years, the latter two worked on Berle's TV production staff while Phil was a programming executive at NBC. He had three older brothers (from oldest to youngest): Phil, Frank, and Jack Berle. His mother, Sarah (Sadie) Glantz Berlinger (1877–1954), changed her name to Sandra Berle when Milton became famous. His father, Moses Berlinger (1872–1938), was a paint and varnish salesman. His given name was Mendel Berlinger, but he chose Milton Berle as his professional name when he was 16. 118th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. ![]() Milton Berle was born into a Jewish family in a five-story walkup at 68 W.
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