Can anyone comment on Milton Berle as a magician? He did some outstanding card sleights/flourishes in an episode of "The Dick Powell Theater" called "Doyle Against the House." John Scarne also mentions Berle in the annotation for a card trick in his book _Scarne on Card Tricks_. I was curious as to whether he did other magic besides card tricks. I'm guessing he would have been a member of The Magic Castle, too.

----- Sonny

For those who do not know, Milton Berle was a big vaudeville star. He could and did everything from the time he was a youngster. He sang, danced, did magic, and mostly did comedy, etc. In the very early days of black and white television he would be a natural to get his own television show.

At that time no one had a TV. You could go to a local bar and watch, and then to attract attention stores, would put a TV in their window for people to watch. There could be 50 people crowded in front of a store window to watch. I would say he was the first big successful TV star and was on his own responsible for selling millions of TV sets in that era. Tiny 9 or 12 inch b & W screens.

He was rightly called MR. TELEVISION.

His big thing was to get into and interrupt, in a good well placed but very funny way. Hde did terrific monologues. He also did great comedy sketches, including causing a riot in those days doing routines in drag with big drawn on lipstick! The show ran for years and years. I believe he got the first Million Dollar contract, which in those days was HUGE!!!

In a way he bucked the system when most all stage, movie and recording stars refused to go on TV feeling it would hurt hurt attendance at their other events. How wrong they all were!

Dick Brookz

"Uncle Miltie" was definitely a beloved classic in the finest sense of the word.

Julie

Funny how nobody minded when he dressed in drag...which he did often on 1950s television! and in an over the top campy way. Middle America loved it! I was born in 1946 so I was around for the period of which Dick speaks. Julie of course had not been born yet.

Everything Dick said was right on target. He was also known for taking other's material as he was eating up so much material with the weekly show. He did make it work for him however.

There are a lot of good dvd's that are very cheap of him working. A good thing to study to watch timing and such.

Richard

He also did "bowling for dollars" on TV.

Years ago I read his autobiography, which was much better than one would think of that genre. Can't remember though whether he mentioned magic. I probably should dig that book up again. I do remember how he talked about his mother fixation--she travelled everywhere he went across the country, and he always had to have his special childhood pillow with him, even as an adult.

:)

I just remembered and looked up, too (because that's what us old folks do ) a card trick favored by Milton Berle in Scarne On Card Tricks. It's called the Quickie Card Trick. Not bad...

Julie

P.S.> This is one of those "old books", along with Scarne's Magic Tricks, that belongs in every magician's working library/5 foot reference shelf.

He also broke the color line when he booked a sensational black dance team The Four Step Brothers.
Management blocked the appearance saying something to the effect, "they did not like the act". The sponsor was oil giant Texaco. Berle told them if they do not go on, I do not go on! They backed down for a victory for Berle. There was no other TV star with that clout that could have done it. He later had many other top black acts such as Bill Robinson, Lena Horn, Peg Leg Bates, countless others. I would say it was a who's who's list of black acts.

The Step Brothers were one of my favorite acts.

I found a webpage describing Marlo Thomas's autobiography _Growing Up Laughing: My Story and the Story of Funny_ where she recounts her life growing up as the daughter of Danny Thomas and her own career in comedy and encounters with famous comedians.

What makes the book relevant to magic is this comment about her:
-----quote-----
Her youth was star-studded... Milton Berle performed magic tricks (badly) at her backyard birthday parties. George Burns, Bob Hope, Sid Caesar, Bob Newhart and other great comics passed countless hours gathered around her family’s dinner table. And behind it all was the rich laughter nurtured by a close and loving family.
-----unquote-----
Retrieved from
http://hyperionbooks.com/book/growing-up-laughing/

I would imagine Berle did tricks other than card tricks for a birthday party for a little girl.

I am still curious as to whether Danny Thomas himself did magic since he did "Professor Cheers' Comedy Rope Trick" on an episode of "Make Room for Daddy."

----- Sonny

I had lunch at the Friar's Club with Milton Berle. He was a close friend of my manager at that time, Alan Rich. He made me do some card magic for him, and then he showed off a few of his own. He was pretty good. Obviously had done those tricks a lot. The weird thing, was he did them very straight. No comedy, not much presentation. Very much like a magician doing card tricks for another magician: "Here! Here's another one like that. Take a card! Put it back. Okay, I'm going to find it, but this time with my foot."

He told an amazing story about Aimee Simple McPherson.

I later ran in to Berle and his lovely wife a couple of times at film and charity events. He loved magic and magicians, and he knew most of the greats.

He often said that he learned card magic while working with magicians in Vaudeville. There was one in particular who he often credited. It's a name that everyone here would recognize as legendary, but unfortunately I can't recall it now. Anybody know?

Nate Leipzig

Found this on YouTube. Worth watching. Never knew Uncle Miltie did magic.

While I wasn't a big fan of Milton Berle's. I did like when he did something in a serious vein.

He played a kid's show host who had attempts on his life on the series; "The Mod Squad." Turned out the character wasn't as beloved as everyone thought, but the revelation of who was making the attempts on his life was clever. (No spoilers.)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0650052/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_45

Just a note- my Wife used to do Manaquin(sp?) Modeling for the Hollywood 'Broadway Dept. Store' - one time Milt went by and touched the fabric of her dress - she said 'dont touch', he almost jumped out of his skin - as he thought she was a plactic figure, then gave her an autographed card - L-O-L

The story of Milton Berle and Saturday Night Live is certainly illustrative of the man. Too selfish to have any regard for the other cast members, for the writers, for the director, or for the show itself. Which is why he was banned.