Monsieur Télévision

That is, Mendel Berlinger. Or as more people know of him, Milton Berle.

Although not that well known to the younger crowd, at one time Milton was big. He was the first person to have a regularly broadcast television comedy show. That was the Texaco Star Theater which like many early shows had the names of the sponsor in the title. It began broadcasting in 1948.

Strictly speaking, the Texaco Star Theater was a variety show, which is a largely defunct entertainment genre that was composed of unrelated acts. You'd have a singer, some dancers, a stand-up, and maybe a dog act. So you can say it wasn't really a comedy show. On the other hand, Milton made sure there was a lot of comedy, particularly from him.

Today not that many people remember the Texaco Star Theater. Nevertheless, a recent essay about early American television mentioned Milton's show in a (brief) list of high-quality television shows that were broadcast from the late 40's and early 50's. High quality, the article stated, was the exception and most television was "amateurs playing at home movies."

Milton was 40 years old when Texaco Star Theater premiered and had been in show business for 35 years. A little arithmetic tells us he began his show business career at age 5. This was with the encouragement - some say the pushing - of his mom, Sadie. She traveled with her son and was also a performer. Both appeared in silent films.

At one point, Milton was in an act with a young lady named Elizabeth Kennedy (Milton was 12). But the impressarios thought "Kennedy and Berlinger" was too long a name for the marquees. So his name was chopped down to Berle.

Gradually Milton eased out of singing and dancing - he had done imitations of Rudy Vallée and Eddie Cantor (whoever they were) - and focused on comedy. One of his characteristics - at least it was alleged by other comics - was that he lifted his jokes. The usual story is that he was dubbed "The Thief of Bad Gags" by Walter Winchell - either that or he proudly assumed the name himself.

By 1951 Milton's weekly salary was $11,500. Live gigs got him more, and for a week's appearance at one theater he got paid $35,000. The Texaco Star Theater was drawing 80% of the viewing audience, and we can understand why the network had plans to keep Milton on more or less indefinitely. He was truly "Mr. Television". Milton was given a 30 year contract with NBC at $200,000 a year.

In fact, Milton and television went way back. He had first appeared on television in 1929. We repeat, that's 1929. Yes, there were television sets back then, or at least some televison sets. Milton figured he was seen by maybe twelve people.

So it's all the more strange that the Baby Boomers mostly remember Milton as the old guy who'd show up every now and then on the TV. He was the guest host once on Sing Along with Mitch, and he had a cameo - quite funny by the way - on the "Don't Look Back" episode of Get Smart. Of course there were movies, like It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World which featured just about everybody, and there was a brief appearance on The Bellboy a movie sans plot that was produced and directed by Milton's friend, Jerry Lewis.

What, we ask, had happened?

For one thing the early network executives thought what they wrought would last forever. But as the mid-1950's came in, Milton's act was becoming old hat. Variety programs - television's version of vaudeville - although not dead, were dying. Milton's ratings began to drop, and so the inevitable happened. The Texaco Star Theater was pulled in 1956. A new attempt, the Milton Berle Show, was far less popular and ended in 1962.

You needn't worry, of course. Milton's shows at Vegas drew him top dollar. Like Henny Youngman, Milton decided to keep going as long as they kept coming. And they kept coming until Milton was past ninety.

References

"Milton Berle", Encyclopedia Britannica

Milton Berle by Milton Berle, Milton Berle with Haskel Frankel, Delacorte Press, 1974.

How Sweet It Was: Television: A Pictorial Commentary, Arthur Shulman and Roger Youman, Shore Crest, 1966.

"Television in the United States", Steve Allen and Robert Thompson, Encyclopedia Britannica.

"Milton Berle, TV's First Star As 'Uncle Miltie' Dies at 93", Lawrence Van Gelder, The New York Times, March 28, 2002.

"Danny Welkes, Milton Berle's Manager Behind 30-Year NBC Deal, Dies at 88", Mike Barnes, Hollywood Reporter, October 6, 2011.