Milton was educated at New York Professional Children's School, and began performing at age 5. His first stage appearance was in "Florodora"in Atlantic City. He appeared at the Palace Theatre in New York in 1931, then in night clubs and theatres. He appeared in the Broadway musicals "Saluta", "See My Lawyer", and "Ziegfeld Follies of 1943". His television debut was on experimental scanning-wheel television in Chicago in 1929. By 1934 he was on radio.
Appeared for the first time on television in an experimental TV broadcast in 1929, and sometimes is credited with being the first person to appear on television, possibly because a film of the broadcast has survived. On April 7, 1927, an image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover was transmitted by AT&T in the first successful long distance demonstration of TV. Later that day, AT&T broadcast other material, including vaudeville comedian A. Dolan. WRNY (Coytesville, NJ) became the first standard radio station to transmit a television image, the face of Mrs. John Geloso, on Aug. 13, 1928 in a process resembling early Web "broadcasts," with a delay of a few seconds between image and voice, while on Aug. 22, 1928, WGY simultaneously broadcast Al Smith accepting the Democratic presidential nomination on radio and TV. "The Queen's Messenger" was the first play broadcast by television, on Sept. 11, 1928 by W2XAD, an event that made the front page of the NY Times. Thus, Berle cannot be considered the first "television performer" in history. Father: Moses Berlinger Mother: Sarah (died 31. May 1954) Siblings: Phil (b. 1901), Francis (b. 1904), Jack (b. 1905), Rosalind (b. 1913) (all deceased) Brother of Phil Berle. Stepfather-in-Law of Richard Moll. Has been diagnosed with a slow-growing cancerous tumor in his colon. Doctors say he does not need surgery and the cancer will take 10 to 12 years to affect him. [April 2001] Suffered a mild stroke at his home in California. [5 December 1999] Had a long-time joking rivalry with Bishop Fulton J. Sheen ("Uncle Fultie"), whose TV show was on opposite his for many years ("He stayed on longer than I did because, let's face it, he had better writers. Mark, Luke ..."). Has written three books over the years: Two volumes of autobiography, "Milton Berle" and "B.S.: I Love You," and "The Best Of Milton Berle's Private Joke File," a compendium of many of the 1000+ jokes he's been collecting over almost 80 years in show business. Credits his survival as a television icon with his 30 year contract with NBC (Groucho Marx once joked about this saying: "30 years with NBC? That's not a contract. That's a sentence!"). Always opened his show by making an entrance in a different costume each week. Changed his name to Berle from Berlinger in 1920. His mother, Sarah Berlinger (later called Sandra Berle), was often shown on camera as she sat in the audience for The Buick-Berle Show. Was well-known as an outrageous joke thief, which frequently rankled some of his fellow performers. One time, he said to Groucho Marx, "You know, Groucho, I've stolen some of my best jokes from you." Without missing a beat, Groucho replied, "Then you weren't listening." Was a regular on the "Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts". In 1984 he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame, and in 1991 became the first entertainer inducted into the International Comedy Hall of Fame. Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald S. Smith, pg. 46-48. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387 Uncle of Warren Berlinger. In 1962, NBC tried to develop a TV series around incidents in his life, but the series never got beyond the planning stage. He adopted a daughter, Victoria, in 1946. Adopted son, Bill, with Ruth Cosgrove. Started out as a child actor with the Biograph Company. In May 1949, he hosted the world's first charity telethon, benefiting the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund. The program lasted 24 hours. He died the same day as Dudley Moore and Billy Wilder. In the 1940 move, "L'il Abner," Berle co-wrote the title song with Ben Oakland.