DATE=07/6/93

TYPE=Current Affairs Feature

NUMBER=5-51336

TITLE=OBIT: COMEDIAN MILTON BERLE

BYLINE=CHUCK RICH

TELEPHONE=619-1113

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

EDITOR=VO'HS

CONTENT=

// Inserts in English Bubble //

INTRO: The man whom many Americans called "Mr. Television" is dead. (Eds. note: born July 12, 1908) Comedian Milton Berle, one of the biggest stars of the early years of American television, began performing as a child and ended his long career as one of the elder statesmen of show business. Here with a look at the life of Milton Berle is __________.

NARR: Although he worked on the stage, in radio, and in films, Milton Berle was best known as a television performer. His career in T-V began in the late 1940's, when that communications medium was so new that few Americans could receive it. The popularity of Mr. Berle's weekly comedy-variety program may well have inspired many people to buy their first television sets. Those without them often went to the homes of neighbors -- and even to stores where television sets were on display -- in order to see Milton Berle. He became such a familiar figure that many viewers called him "Uncle Miltie." And like a member of the family, he was loved when his jokes were funny and even when they weren't.

TAPE: CUT ONE -- BERLE (:42) (OPT :32) (OPT :19) -- FADE LAUGHTER UNDER TEXT

"I was down in Washington paying my income tax. Everybody was down there -- such a crowd. Everyone was fightin' to get last on line. But this [MILD LAUGHTER] ... Everybody was fightin' ... Someone leave a nine o' clock call for the audience, please. I'm not kidding -- the income taxes -- they got a new plan now; they got "pay as you go." After you pay, where are you gonna go?[LAUGHTER] [OPT]Now they got another thing now: 'guess what you make[EARN].' So I filled out my form and I didn't sign my name. I sent it in.[LAUGHTER] Because I figured, if I gotta guess what [I] make -- guess who sent it. Thank you very much.[LAUGHTER & APPLAUSE][END OPT][OPT]Everything happens to me. I'm not kidding. Next year, with the income tax, they got a new thing -- they're gonna ask you three questions: 'How much did you make?' 'Stop lying' and 'Where's the rest of it/'[LAUGHTER][END OPT]"

NARR: Milton Berle had been entertaining since long before television. He was born in New York in 1908, and he began performing on stage and in silent films while still a child. At age six, he appeared with Charlie Chaplin and Marie Dressler in the film "Tillie's Punctured Romance." The boy's career suffered a setback at age 16, when he grew too tall to portray children.

As an adult, Milton Berle was moderately successful on the stage, on radio and in films. He would not become a major star until he appeared on the first "Texaco Star Theater" television program in June of 1948. Mr. Berle developed his comedy style, often playing a man who was funny but not necessarily pleasant. This egotistical character's faults were obvious to the audience -- rudeness, impatience and selfishness. Milton Berle was one of those entertainers who could win an audience's love by pretending not to be lovable. [OPT]Part of the fun for Mr. Berle's fans came from seeing his ego deflated by other performers:

TAPE: CUT TWO -- BERLE AND ARNOLD STANG (:16) -- AT :15, FADE LAUGHTER UNDER TEXT

"BERLE: You're with me, Captain Horatio Hornberler, scourge of the seven seas, Hornberler, the king of the pirates. Yes, I am the lord of the pirates, and where I go, everywhere in the world I am feared by men and adored by women.

STANG: You're kiddin'.[LAUGHTER]"

NARR: One of the things that made Milton Berle's "Texaco Star Theater" so popular in the early days of television was the man's mastery of visual comedy.[END OPT] In addition to his voice and personality, Mr. Berle knew how to use funny movements, clothes and makeup to earn laughs. Perhaps his best known specialty was disguising himself as a woman!

Milton Berle's weekly television program attracted some of the best-known entertainers in the United States. In the 1950's, one of his guest performers was a newcomer: a young rock 'n' roll singer named Elvis Presley. Mr. Presley joined in the spirit of the Berle show by poking fun at the host.

TAPE: CUT THREE -- BERLE AND ELVIS PRESLEY(:33) (OPT :29) -- FADE LAUGHTER UNDER TEXT

"BERLE: [OPT]I want to tell you, that beat with your foot is absolutely sensational. I want to ask you somethin'. [END OPT] Elvis, if I did that thing the same way you did it, do you think I could get all the girls the way you do?"

PRESLEY: [LAUGHS]Well, it might not help you get girls, but it'd sure aid[HELP] you to keep your blood circulatin'.[LAUGHTER]

BERLE. At my age ... you make me feel like a used car. [LAUGHTER] My tail light may be dragging, but my battery is still charging, I'll tell you that.[LAUGHTER]"

NARR: Milton Berle had a regular television series from the late 1940's well into the 1950's, and he made many other T-V appearances after that. He also played stage and movie roles, which included musical and dramatic parts as well as comedy.

It's said that during the years of Milton Berle's greatest television fame, more than one hundred programs tried and failed to attract his regular Tuesday viewers to other channels. One program which had some success was a series of talks by the late Catholic Bishop Fulton Sheen. In 1973, at a tribute to his friendly rival, BIshop Sheen suggested Mr. Berle might have a special fan.

TAPE: CUT FOUR -- SHEEN (:26) -- FADE ON APPLAUSE AT :23

"The Good Lord spent six days creating the world. On the seventh He rested. If he did that creation over again, he would have rested on Tuesday, in order that he might have heard Milton Berle on the 'Texaco Star Theater'!"(applause)

NARR: Like many of Milton Berle's fans -- both in heaven and on earth -- Bishop Sheen expressed the hope that "Uncle Miltie's" career would go on much longer.

[OPT] TAPE: CUT FIVE -- SHEEN (:44) -- FADE ON APPLAUSE AT :30

"And God is full of life. And every morning He says to the sun, 'Do it again'. And every evening He says to the moon and stars, 'Do it again'. And every time a child is born into the world, He asks for a Divine encore and says 'Do it again'. And, Milton, for sixty years, you've entertained us, and we say to you, 'Milton -- do it again.'" (applause)

NARR: And that was in 1973, when Milton Berle was sixty-five years old.[END OPT] Mr. Berle indicated he'd be happy to keep on performing.

TAPE: CUT SIX -- BERLE (:23) -- FADE ON APPLAUSE AT :13

"And, you know, it's -- it's very hard to stop after sixty years. And I want to say right now I have no intention of stopping." (APPLAUSE)

NARR: For many more years, Milton Berle remained a beloved comedian and actor on stage, television and film. The veteran entertainer also wrote books of jokes and reminiscences, produced projects for a variety of media, and collected awards for his pioneering achievements in television. After more than eighty years in show business, Milton Berle made people laugh to the end.

I'm __________.