Milt Kamen
Encyclopedia
Milton Kaminsky better known as Milt Kamen, was an American
stand-up comic
and actor with numerous television credits.
Born in Hurleyville, New York
, Kamen began his career as a regular on Caesar's Hour
in 1954. He frequently performed his comedy routines on shows hosted by Ed Sullivan
, Steve Allen
, Merv Griffin
, Mike Douglas, and Johnny Carson
and made guest appearances on What's My Line?
, The Match Game and The Hollywood Palace
. While performing at a resort in the Catskills
, Kamen discovered Woody Allen
.
As an actor, Kamen appeared in Route 66
, Naked City
, Ben Casey
, McMillan & Wife, Love, American Style
, The Partridge Family
, Mannix
, The Streets of San Francisco
, and Quincy M.E., among others. His feature film
credits include Me, Natalie
, The Out-of-Towners
, Mother, Jugs & Speed
and W.C. Fields and Me
.
Kamen's sole Broadway theatre
credit was the 1964 Paddy Chayefsky
play The Passion of Josef D., in which he played opposite Luther Adler
and Peter Falk
. It closed after one preview and 16 performances .
At age 56, Kamen died of a heart attack in Beverly Hills.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stand-up comic
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
and actor with numerous television credits.
Born in Hurleyville, New York
Hurleyville, New York
Hurleyville, New York is a hamlet in the Town of Fallsburg, New York in Sullivan County, New York. The town lies along County Road 104 and was originally developed because it was on the main route between the Villages of Liberty and Monticello...
, Kamen began his career as a regular on Caesar's Hour
Caesar's Hour
Caesar's Hour is a live, hour-long American sketch comedy television program that aired on NBC from 1954 until 1957. The program starred, among others, Sid Caesar, Nanette Fabray, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Janet Blair and Milt Kamen, and featured a number of cameo roles by famous entertainers...
in 1954. He frequently performed his comedy routines on shows hosted by Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
, Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
, Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
, Mike Douglas, and Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
and made guest appearances on What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
, The Match Game and The Hollywood Palace
The Hollywood Palace
The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly on ABC from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970. It began as a mid-season replacement for the short-lived Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show which had lasted only three months...
. While performing at a resort in the Catskills
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
, Kamen discovered Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
.
As an actor, Kamen appeared in Route 66
Route 66 (TV series)
Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America. The show ran weekly on CBS from 1960 to 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod...
, Naked City
Naked City (TV series)
Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic "semi-documentary" format....
, Ben Casey
Ben Casey
Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, *, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph...
, McMillan & Wife, Love, American Style
Love, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
, The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...
, Mannix
Mannix
Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
, The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco is a 1970s television police drama filmed on location in San Francisco, California, and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros...
, and Quincy M.E., among others. His feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
credits include Me, Natalie
Me, Natalie
Me, Natalie is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by Fred Coe. The screenplay by A. Martin Zweiback is based on an original story by Academy Award-winner Stanley Shapiro, who previously wrote Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back, and That Touch of Mink for Doris Day...
, The Out-of-Towners
The Out-of-Towners (1970 film)
The Out-of-Towners is a 1970 comedy film written by Neil Simon, directed by Arthur Hiller, and starring Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis. It was released by Paramount Pictures on May 28, 1970....
, Mother, Jugs & Speed
Mother, Jugs & Speed
Mother, Jugs & Speed is a 1976 black comedy film directed by Peter Yates. It stars Bill Cosby , Raquel Welch , Harvey Keitel , and Larry Hagman as employees of an independent ambulance service trying to survive in Los Angeles.-Plot:...
and W.C. Fields and Me
W.C. Fields and Me
W.C. Fields and Me is a 1976 American biographical film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Rod Steiger and Valerie Perrine. The screenplay by Bob Merrill is based on a memoir by Carlotta Monti, mistress of W.C. Fields for the last 14 years of his life....
.
Kamen's sole Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
credit was the 1964 Paddy Chayefsky
Paddy Chayefsky
Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky , was an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for Best Screenplay....
play The Passion of Josef D., in which he played opposite Luther Adler
Luther Adler
Luther Adler was an American actor best known for his work in theatre, but who also worked in film and television. He also directed plays on Broadway.-Life and career:...
and Peter Falk
Peter Falk
Peter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
. It closed after one preview and 16 performances .
At age 56, Kamen died of a heart attack in Beverly Hills.