MILTON BERLE BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Milton Berle was born on July 12th, 1908 in New York City, New York with the birth name Milton Berlinger to parents Moses and Sarah Berlinger.  He had four siblings, Phil, Francis, Jack and Rosalind.  He received his early education at New York Professional Children's School and by the age of five he was already performing for audiences after he won an amateur talent contest. 
 
Some of his stage appearances include, "Florodora" and on Broadway in, "Saluta", "See My Lawyer" and "Ziegfeld Follies of 1943".  He was already doing motion picture work with American Mutoscope and Biograph Co Studio's in Fort Lee, New Jersey.  Some of his early silent film roles were on, "The Perils of Pauline", "Bunny's Little Brother", "Tess of the Storm Country", "Birthright", "Love's Penalty", "Divorce Coupons" and "Ruth of the Range". 
 
Along with being a stage actor, he made his television debut in Chicago in 1929 in an experimental television broadcast and by 1934 he was also working as a radio actor.  He began also doing some song writing and wrote the title song for the RKO Pictures, "Li'l Abner" (1940).
 
His radio career consisted of being a regular on, "The Rudy Vallee Hour" (1934-1936) and also as a regular on, "The Gillette Original Community Sing" (1936-1937) which was a comedy variety program that aired on CBS.  He also had, "The Milton Berle Show" that aired on NBC from 1947 through 1948 and he was becoming so successful on radio that he was able to pass on any nightclub performances offered to him.
 
In 1948, the Radio show, "Texaco Star Theater" was taken off the radio and put on television and Berle was one of the hosts.  The show along with Berle both were awarded with winning Emmy's and the show became number one in the Nielsen ratings.  
 
He signed a thirty year contract with NBC and was a regular on, "Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts".  However, as his popularity and career began to decline, he was stuck in this contract and it turned out to be a big professional mistake on his part.  He was reduced to being a host of a bowling program called, "Jackpot Bowling" (1960).
 
Milton Berle returned to nightclub entertaining and appeared on a number of Las Vegas stages such as, Caesars Palace, The Sands, The Desert Inn and El Rancho.  He did have a successful career during his era with a number of films on his resume such as, "Always Leave Them Laughing", "Let's Make Love", "It's a mad, Mad, Mad World" and "The Loved One" amongst many others.
 
After his contract with NBC finally ended, he continued to work in the industry making a number of television and film appearances.  He was seen on the, "Batman" series, "The Lucy Show", "The Jackie Gleason Show", "Get Smart" and "The Hollywood Palace".  Berle is also a published author writing two volumes of autobiography, "Milton Berle" and "B.S.: I Love You" and also, "The Best of Milton Berle's Private Joke File".  
 
Some of his latest work and more remembered roles was on, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1992), "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "The Nanny" (1995).  
 
Berle was married four times throughout his life.  His first wife he actually married twice first from 1941 through 1947.  Then they remarried in 1949 and divorced in 1950 and had a total of two children together.  His second wife was Ruth Berle from 1953 through her death in 1989 and they too had another child together.  His fourth and final time to marry was to Lorna Adams in 1991 and they remained together until Milton Berle passed away on March 27th, 2002 in Los Angeles, California after suffering from colon cancer.  He was cremated and interred at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.
 
In 1984, Berle was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and then in 1991 he was inducted into the International Comedy Hall of Fame.  He was also awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio and Television.  He was also honored with being named to the Guinness Book of World Records for the greatest number of charity performances made by a show-business performer.   

 
Filmography

2000 Two Heads Are Better Than None 
1996 Storybook 
1996 Due South
1996 Sister, Sister
1995 Roseanne
1995 The Nanny 
1995 Fudge 
1995 Beverly Hills, 90210 
1995 Jingle Bell Rock 
1994 Burke's Law
1993 Matlock
1992 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 
1991 Driving Me Crazy
1988 Side by Side 
1977-1987 The Love Boat 
1987 Jonathan Winters: On the Ledge 
1985 The Cracker Brothers  
1985 A Museum of Broadcasting Tribute: Milton Berle - Mr. Television
1985 Fame
1985 Murder, She Wrote
1984 Gimme a Break!
1984 Diff'rent Strokes
1983 Fantasy Island
1983 Cracking Up 
1983 Family Business 
1982 Off Your Rocker
1979 The Muppet Movie
1979 The Chevy Chase National Humor Test
1977 Hallmark Hall of Fame
1976 Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood 
1975 The Legend of Valentino 
1975 Lepke 
1974 Journey Back to Oz 
1972 The Bold Ones: The New Doctors 
1972 Arnie 
1972 McCloud
1972 Evil Roy Slade
1972 Norman Corwin Presents
1971 Mannix
1971 Mod Squad
1970-1971 Love, American Style
1971 Make Room for Granddaddy 
1969 Here's Lucy 
1969 The Kraft Music Hall
1969 Seven in Darkness
1969 Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?
1969 The Jackie Gleason Show 
1968 Ironside
1968 For Singles Only 
1968 Where Angels Go Trouble Follows! 
1968 Get Smart
1966-1968 Batman 
1966-1967 The Red Skelton Hour
1967 I Dream of Jeannie 
1967 Who's Minding the Mint? 
1967 The Big Valley
1967 The Happening 
1963-1966 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre 
1966 F Troop 
1966 The Milton Berle Show
1966 Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title
1966 The Oscar 
1965 The Trials of O'Brien 
1965 The Loved One 
1964 Kraft Suspense Theatre
1964 The Defenders
1963 It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
1961-1963 The Dick Powell Theatre
1963 General Hospital 
1961 The Barbara Stanwyck Show 
1959 Sunday Showcase
1958 Kraft Theatre
1949 Always Leave Them Laughing 
1943 Margin for Error 
1942 Over My Dead Body 
1942 Whispering Ghosts 
1942 A Gentleman at Heart 
1941 Rise and Shine 
1941 Sun Valley Serenade 
1941 The Great American Broadcast 
1941 Tall, Dark and Handsome 
1938 Radio City Revels 
1937 New Faces of 1937 
1933 Poppin' the Cork 
1923 Ruth of the Range 
1922 Tess of the Storm Country
1921 Little Lord Fauntleroy 
1920 Birthright 
1920 The Mark of Zorro 
1917 Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
1915 Fanchon, the Cricket
1914 Bunny's Little Brother 
1914 Tillie's Punctured Romance 
1914 The Perils of Pauline