Bye Bye Berle The theme of this show was appro pro. Uncle Miltie
imitates Gleason's actual on air broken leg with feigned fracture to get
publicity to bolster the show. Berle sidekick Francis (Arnold Stang) saw
through it and so did the audience. "Mr. Television" was number one
in 1949, when it began a weekly Tuesday night networked run,
because it's only competition was a religious sermon on Du Mont
(Bishop Fulton J. Sheen) and a bottom budget anthology series on CBS.
Texas Company (Texaco) deserted ship by 1956 when ratings dipped
as stronger competition ensued. Buick took it's place, but in 1957
reduced Miltie to bi-weekly, alternating with Martha Raye. Bye '59,
"Mr. Tuesday Night" was yesterdays news, he re-appeared as one season
host for "Bowling For Dollars." In the mid 60's, following Milton Berle's
resurrection on the big screen ("It's A Mad, Mad, Mad World"), fledgling
ABC gave Berle a spin with "Miltie's Mad, Mad World of Comedy,"
a ratings bust, cancelled after a few weeks with Berle warbling "That's
Life" on the final show. The spit out comedian returned to his place of
launch, Grossinger's in Lake Tahoe, NY where he would bad mouth both
NBC and ABC on stage. Interviewed on a New Jersey public access
cable show in 1980, Berle repeated the attacks on the networks with
the disclaimer, "But, there's nobody watching this {cable} show,
is there?"
About Milton BerleMilton Berle born Milton Berlinger July 12, 1908 and died March 27, 2002),
was the sharp tongued comedian, whose career spanned vaudeville, radio, television, and film,
Berle made his biggest mark in television. His greatest success was as the headliner for Texaco Star Theater on NBC
from 1948 to June 14, 1955, then for Buick through 1958 (Buick became an alternate sponsor
in 1953) . Berle was originally one of several rotating hosts for the program, but was selected as the permanent emcee in the
fall of 1948, and quickly took the show to Number One in the early days of television ratings,
with an 80 percent share of the viewing audience. Many theaters and other
businesses closed on Tuesday nights, as people stayed home to watch the antics of this give and take insult
"shtick" comedian (typical Berle shticks were dressing as a woman, walking on his ankles,
and having Francis (Arnold Stang) firing "aw, chip-chip-chup" when Berle bragged, which was often
on and off stage.
.nable to find or accept other television work, Berle played Las Vegas, made nightclub appearances
, appeared on Broadway in Herb Gardner's The Goodbye People in 1968, and appeared in many films (mostly as
himself). These included Always Leave Them Laughing (1949) with Virginia Mayo and Bert Lahr, Let's Make Love,
with Marilyn Monroe and Yves Montand (1960); It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963); The Loved One (1965);
The Oscar (1966); Lepke (1975); Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose (1984); and Driving Me Crazy (1991).
He also had guest roles on television series such as The Jack Benny Show, Make Room for Daddy, The Lucy Show,
Batman, The Big Valley, Get Smart, The Mod Squad, Ironside, Mannix, McCloud, The Love Boat, CHiPs, Fame,
Fantasy Island, Gimme a Break, Diff'rent Strokes, Murder, She Wrote, Beverly Hills 90210, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,
The Nanny, Roseanne, Sister, Sister, according to his biographer.
About Arnold Stang Born September 28, 1928 in Chelsea, MA; sonof Harold L. (an attorney) and
Anna, died December 21. 2009 in a California hospital after an illness
Stang once told CTFT that "his favorite medium is the one he is working in at{that} moment. {He} believes
his calm relaxed attitude is a reflection of his unique position on most shows. 'I am usually called in on a guest star basis.
I've worked with practically every star in the business, and I've had allthe excitement without any of the crushing responsibilities.
The applause that comes at the end of his show means only one thing to the star ... that it'stime to start worrying about next
week's show. But I just take a bow, walk off, wash up, and go home.'"
RATE THIS OLDIES TV MILTON BERLE CLIP:
Be the first to rate and review Uncle Miltie
FOR THE OLDIES TV CHANNEL SELECTOR
The Greatest Shows Of All Time
Good Times, Great Entertainment
oldiestelevision.com
Website (c)2002-2010
Carlson International ECG NY USA