Phil Silvers
Encyclopedia
Phil Silvers was an American entertainer and comedy
actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah
." He is best known for starring in The Phil Silvers Show
, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S. Army
post in which he played Sergeant Bilko.
, New York
, in the working-class Brownsville
section, he was the eighth and youngest child of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Saul and Sarah (née Handler) Silver. His siblings were Lillian, Harry, Jack, Saul, Pearl, Michael, and Reuben Silver. His father, a sheet metal worker, helped build the early New York skyscrapers.
Silvers started entertaining at age 11, when he would sing in theaters when the projector broke down (a common occurrence in those days). By age 13 he was working as a singer in the Gus Edwards Revue, and then worked in vaudeville and as a burlesque comic.
Silvers next worked in short films for the Vitaphone
studio, such as Ups and Downs
(1937), and on Broadway
, where he made his debut in the short-lived show Yokel Boy in 1939. Critics raved about Silvers, who was hailed as the bright spot in the mediocre play. The Broadway revue High Kickers (1941) was based on his concept.
He made his feature film debut in Hit Parade of 1941 in 1940 (his previous appearance as a 'pitch man' in Strike Up the Band
was cut). Over the next two decades, he worked as a character actor
for MGM, Columbia
, and 20th Century Fox
, in such films as Lady Be Good
(1941), Coney Island
(1943), Cover Girl
(1944), and Summer Stock
(1950).When the studio system began to decline, he returned to the stage.
Silvers wrote the lyrics for Frank Sinatra
's "Nancy (With the Laughing Face)
". Although he was not a songwriter, he wrote the lyrics while visiting composer Jimmy Van Heusen. The two composed the song for Van Heusen's writing partner Johnny Burke, for his wife Bessie's birthday. Substituting Sinatra's little daughter's name Nancy at her birthday party, the trio impressed the singer to record it himself. The song became a popular hit in 1944 and was a staple in Sinatra's live performances.
Silvers scored a major triumph in Top Banana
, a Broadway show of 1952. Silvers played Jerry Biffle, the egocentric, always-busy star of a major television show. (The character is said to have been based on Milton Berle
.) Silvers dominated the show and won a Tony Award
for his performance. He repeated the role in the 1954 film version
that was originally released in 3-D
.
According to the documentary on the DVD of It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Silvers was not a traditional comedian: he was a comic actor. Silvers never did stand-up, and out of character, he was not known for cracking jokes.
. The military comedy became a television hit, with the opportunistic Bilko fast-talking his way through one obstacle after another. In 1958 CBS switched the show to be telecast on Friday nights and moved the setting to Camp Fremont in California. A year later the show was off the schedule.
Silvers returned to Broadway in the musical Do Re Mi
in December 1960, receivng a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
. Stanley Green wrote that "It was particularly blessed by offering two outstanding clowns in Phil Silvers as the pushiest of patsies and Nancy Walker." Throughout the 1960s he appeared in films such as It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
(1963)and 40 Pounds of Trouble
(1963). He was featured in Marilyn Monroe
's last film, the unfinished Something's Got to Give
(1962). In the 1963–1964 television season, he appeared as Harry Grafton, a factory foreman interested in get-rich-quick schemes, much like the previous Bilko character, in CBS's 30-episode The New Phil Silvers Show
, with co-stars Stafford Repp
, Herbie Faye
, Buddy Lester
, Elena Verdugo
as his sister, Audrey, and her children, played by Ronnie Dapo
and Sandy Descher
. In 1967 he starred as a guest in one of the British
Carry On films
, Follow That Camel
, a Foreign Legion
parody in which he played a variation of the Sergeant Bilko character, Sergeant Nocker.
Producer Peter Rogers
employed him to ensure the Carry On films
' success in America
. Silvers' presence did not ensure the film's success on either side of the Atlantic. His salary was £30,000, the largest Carry On
salary ever, only later met by the appearance of Elke Sommer
in Carry On Behind
.
Silvers was offered the leading role of conniving Roman slave Pseudolus in the Broadway musical comedy A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
. Silvers declined, and the role went instead to Zero Mostel
, who was so successful in the role that he repeated the role in the 1966 film version. By this time Silvers realized his error, and agreed to appear in the film as a secondary character, flesh merchant Marcus Lycus. When actor-producer Larry Blyden
mounted a Broadway revival of Forum in 1972, he wanted Phil Silvers to play the lead, and this time Silvers agreed. The revival was a hit and Silvers became the first actor ever to win a Tony Award
in a revival of a show.
Silvers also guested on The Beverly Hillbillies
, and various TV variety shows such as The Carol Burnett Show
, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
, and The Dean Martin Show
. Perhaps Silvers' most memorable guest appearance was as curmudgeonly Hollywood producer Harold Hecuba in an episode (titled The Producer
) on Gilligan's Island
(broadcast in 1966), where he and the castaways performed a musical version of Hamlet
. (Silvers' production company Gladasya – named after his catchphrase "Gladdaseeya!" – financed the show).
during the run of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in August 1972. He was left with slurred speech. Despite his poor health, he continued working into the early 1980s including co-starring in The Chicken Chronicles
,an appearance on Fantasy Island
as an old comic trying to reunite with his old partner, and on Happy Days
as the father of Jenny Piccolo (played by his daughter Cathy Silvers
).
A frail Silvers, interviewed shortly before his death, revealed one of his secrets: "I’m an impatient comedian. And I feel the audience is as impatient as me."
Silvers died in his sleep on November 1, 1985 in Century City, California
. "Mr. Silvers's family said he died of natural causes." He was interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
in Los Angeles
.
. Both of his marriages ended in divorce. He had five daughters — Candace, Cathy, Laurie, Nancey, and Tracey Edythe. all by his second wife.
Silvers was a compulsive gambler and suffered from depression on and off over the years. While staying in Reno, Nevada
, in the 1950s, he would often gamble all night. On one occasion, at the tiny Cal-Neva Lodge in nearby Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Silvers spent an entire night playing craps
until he lost all his money, and then went through $1,000 in credit. A taxi was called to return him to Reno. It was "[o]ne of the worst nights of my life', Silvers told the driver, adding, "Don't wait for any lights and don't wait for any tip . . . I left it at the Cal-Neva!"
His memoirs are titled This Laugh Is On Me.
ranked him number 31 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list
In 2003, The Phil Silvers Show was voted Best Sitcomin the Radio Times
Guide to TV Comedy. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, Silvers was voted #42 on the list of the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. Dick Van Dyke
, who made his TV debut on Bilko says he "was always fascinated with Phil's sense of timing. Incredible."
Voice actor Daws Butler
employed an impression
of Silvers as the voice of the Hanna-Barbera
cartoon character Hokey Wolf
and also used the same voice in numerous cartoons for Jay Ward
. The premise of The Phil Silvers Show was the basis for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Top Cat
, for which Arnold Stang
moderately imitated Silvers' voice for the title character. The 1993 cartoon series The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog featured a character called Wes Weasley, who had a very similar appearance and voice to Silvers.
The Playboy
cartoon "Little Annie Fanny
" featured the character of manager Solly Brass, who was based on Phil Silvers.
In The Simpsons
episode "Homer the Vigilante
" (Episode #1F09, 6 January 1994), Bart tricks Phil Silvers' character Otto Meyer from the 1963 film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
into driving into a river."
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah
Chutzpah
Chutzpah is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad, but it is generally used negatively. The Yiddish word derives from the Hebrew word , meaning "insolence", "audacity". The modern English usage of the word has taken on a broader meaning, having been popularized through vernacular use in...
." He is best known for starring in The Phil Silvers Show
The Phil Silvers Show
The Phil Silvers Show is a comedy television series which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959 for 142 episodes, plus a 1959 special. The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G...
, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
post in which he played Sergeant Bilko.
Early life and career
Born Philip Silver on Thursday, May 11, 1911, in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, in the working-class Brownsville
Brownsville, Brooklyn
Brownsville is a residential neighborhood located in eastern Brooklyn, New York City.The total land area is one square mile, and the ZIP code for the neighborhood is 11212....
section, he was the eighth and youngest child of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Saul and Sarah (née Handler) Silver. His siblings were Lillian, Harry, Jack, Saul, Pearl, Michael, and Reuben Silver. His father, a sheet metal worker, helped build the early New York skyscrapers.
Silvers started entertaining at age 11, when he would sing in theaters when the projector broke down (a common occurrence in those days). By age 13 he was working as a singer in the Gus Edwards Revue, and then worked in vaudeville and as a burlesque comic.
Silvers next worked in short films for the Vitaphone
Vitaphone
Vitaphone was a sound film process used on feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects produced by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1930. Vitaphone was the last, but most successful, of the sound-on-disc processes...
studio, such as Ups and Downs
Ups and Downs (1937 film)
Ups and Downs is a 1937 film released by Warner Brothers Pictures. It was part of Warner's "Broadway Brevities" series of 2-reel musical shorts , starred Broadway dancer Hal Le Roy and was directed by Roy Mack...
(1937), and on Broadway
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...
, where he made his debut in the short-lived show Yokel Boy in 1939. Critics raved about Silvers, who was hailed as the bright spot in the mediocre play. The Broadway revue High Kickers (1941) was based on his concept.
He made his feature film debut in Hit Parade of 1941 in 1940 (his previous appearance as a 'pitch man' in Strike Up the Band
Strike Up the Band (film)
Strike Up the Band is a 1940 American black and white musical film. It is directed by Busby Berkeley and stars Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.A very famous, memorable quote from the film is "Take that boy on the street...
was cut). Over the next two decades, he worked as a character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
for MGM, Columbia
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, and 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, in such films as Lady Be Good
Lady Be Good (1941 film)
Lady Be Good is the title of an MGM musical film which was released in 1941.The film starred dancer Eleanor Powell along with Ann Sothern, Robert Young, Lionel Barrymore, and Red Skelton. It was directed by Norman Z. McLeod and produced by Arthur Freed...
(1941), Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
(1943), Cover Girl
Cover girl
A cover girl is a woman whose photograph features on the front cover of a magazine. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a casual, once-off appearance by a person on the cover of a magazine....
(1944), and Summer Stock
Summer Stock
For the article about the theatre genre, see Summer stock theatre.Summer Stock is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical made in 1950. The film was directed by Charles Walters and stars Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, and Phil Silvers...
(1950).When the studio system began to decline, he returned to the stage.
Silvers wrote the lyrics for Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's "Nancy (With the Laughing Face)
Nancy (With the Laughing Face)
"Nancy " is a song composed in 1942 by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Phil Silvers. It is commonly believed that the song was written for the birthday of Nancy Sinatra...
". Although he was not a songwriter, he wrote the lyrics while visiting composer Jimmy Van Heusen. The two composed the song for Van Heusen's writing partner Johnny Burke, for his wife Bessie's birthday. Substituting Sinatra's little daughter's name Nancy at her birthday party, the trio impressed the singer to record it himself. The song became a popular hit in 1944 and was a staple in Sinatra's live performances.
Silvers scored a major triumph in Top Banana
Top Banana (musical)
Top Banana is a musical with music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer and book by Hy Kraft which premiered on Broadway in 1951. Comedian Phil Silvers starred, and won the Tony Award in 1952.-Production:...
, a Broadway show of 1952. Silvers played Jerry Biffle, the egocentric, always-busy star of a major television show. (The character is said to have been based on Milton Berle
Milton Berle
Milton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...
.) Silvers dominated the show and won a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for his performance. He repeated the role in the 1954 film version
Top Banana (film)
Top Banana is a movie musical based on the musical of the same name starring Phil Silvers, and released by United Artists. It stars most of the original cast...
that was originally released in 3-D
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
.
According to the documentary on the DVD of It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Silvers was not a traditional comedian: he was a comic actor. Silvers never did stand-up, and out of character, he was not known for cracking jokes.
1950s fame and later career
Silvers became a household name in 1955 when he starred as Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko in You'll Never Get Rich, later retitled The Phil Silvers ShowThe Phil Silvers Show
The Phil Silvers Show is a comedy television series which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959 for 142 episodes, plus a 1959 special. The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G...
. The military comedy became a television hit, with the opportunistic Bilko fast-talking his way through one obstacle after another. In 1958 CBS switched the show to be telecast on Friday nights and moved the setting to Camp Fremont in California. A year later the show was off the schedule.
Silvers returned to Broadway in the musical Do Re Mi
Do Re Mi (musical)
Do Re Mi is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and a book by Garson Kanin, who also directed the original 1960 Broadway production. The plot centers on a minor-league con man who decides to go straight by going into the business of juke boxes and music...
in December 1960, receivng a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival...
. Stanley Green wrote that "It was particularly blessed by offering two outstanding clowns in Phil Silvers as the pushiest of patsies and Nancy Walker." Throughout the 1960s he appeared in films such as It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
(1963)and 40 Pounds of Trouble
40 Pounds of Trouble
40 Pounds of Trouble is a 1962 film directed by Norman Jewison that marks his directorial debut. The film was shot on location at Disneyland and Lake Tahoe. It is a retelling of Damon Runyon's story Little Miss Marker.-Principal cast:...
(1963). He was featured in Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
's last film, the unfinished Something's Got to Give
Something's Got to Give
Something's Got to Give is an unfinished 1962 American feature film, directed by George Cukor and starring Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse...
(1962). In the 1963–1964 television season, he appeared as Harry Grafton, a factory foreman interested in get-rich-quick schemes, much like the previous Bilko character, in CBS's 30-episode The New Phil Silvers Show
The New Phil Silvers Show
The New Phil Silvers Show is an American situation comedy starring comedian Phil Silvers which aired thirty episodes on CBS from September 28, 1963, to April 25, 1964, under the sponsorship of General Foods.-Synopsis:...
, with co-stars Stafford Repp
Stafford Repp
Stafford Alois Repp was an American actor best known for his role as Chief O'Hara on the Batman television series.-Early life:...
, Herbie Faye
Herbie Faye
Herbie Faye was an American actor who appeared in both of Phil Silvers's CBS television series, The Phil Silvers Show and The New Phil Silvers Show ....
, Buddy Lester
Buddy Lester
Buddy Lester was a veteran actor of dozens of character roles of film and television, who regularly appeared in Jerry Lewis features, including The Patsy, The Ladies Man, The Nutty Professor, Three on a Couch, Smorgasbord, Hardly Working" and The Big Mouth.Lester also portrayed Vince Massler, one...
, Elena Verdugo
Elena Verdugo
Elena Verdugo is an American actress who began in films at the age of six in Cavalier of the West . Her career in radio, television, and film spanned six decades....
as his sister, Audrey, and her children, played by Ronnie Dapo
Ronnie Dapo
Ronnie Dapo is an American former child actor who appeared in supporting roles in such television series as ABC's Room for One More and CBS's The New Phil Silvers Show .-Acting career:...
and Sandy Descher
Sandy Descher
Sandra "Sandy" Descher is an American former child actress of the 1950s.-Biography:Although born in Burbank, California, she was discovered by accident while on vacation. When Descher was about five years old, her family had travelled across country to New York City where the girl fell in love...
. In 1967 he starred as a guest in one of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Carry On films
Carry On films
The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....
, Follow That Camel
Follow That Camel
Follow That Camel is the fourteenth Carry On film and was released in 1967. Like its predecessor Don't Lose Your Head, it does not have the words "Carry On" in its original title...
, a Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
parody in which he played a variation of the Sergeant Bilko character, Sergeant Nocker.
Producer Peter Rogers
Peter Rogers
Peter Rogers was a British film producer.Rogers began his career as a journalist for his local paper before graduating to scriptwriting religious informational films...
employed him to ensure the Carry On films
Carry On films
The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....
' success in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Silvers' presence did not ensure the film's success on either side of the Atlantic. His salary was £30,000, the largest Carry On
Carry On films
The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....
salary ever, only later met by the appearance of Elke Sommer
Elke Sommer
Elke Sommer , born Baroness Elke Schletz, is a German actress, entertainer and artist.-Career:Sommer was born in Berlin to a Lutheran minister and his wife...
in Carry On Behind
Carry On Behind
Carry On Behind is the twenty-seventh Carry On film and was released in 1975. The film was the first not to feature Sid James since Follow That Camel seven years previously. It was also the first not to be scripted by Talbot Rothwell since Carry On Cruising 13 years previously. James was busy...
.
Silvers was offered the leading role of conniving Roman slave Pseudolus in the Broadway musical comedy A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart....
. Silvers declined, and the role went instead to Zero Mostel
Zero Mostel
Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel was an American actor of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus on stage and on screen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version...
, who was so successful in the role that he repeated the role in the 1966 film version. By this time Silvers realized his error, and agreed to appear in the film as a secondary character, flesh merchant Marcus Lycus. When actor-producer Larry Blyden
Larry Blyden
Larry Blyden was an American actor and game show host, best known for his appearances on Broadway and as the host of the game show What's My Line?-Personal life:...
mounted a Broadway revival of Forum in 1972, he wanted Phil Silvers to play the lead, and this time Silvers agreed. The revival was a hit and Silvers became the first actor ever to win a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
in a revival of a show.
Silvers also guested on The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
, and various TV variety shows such as The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show is a variety / sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33...
, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program which ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to May 14, 1973. It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and was broadcast over NBC...
, and The Dean Martin Show
The Dean Martin Show
The Dean Martin Show is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by crooner Dean Martin...
. Perhaps Silvers' most memorable guest appearance was as curmudgeonly Hollywood producer Harold Hecuba in an episode (titled The Producer
The Producer
"The Producer" is the fourth episode of the third season of Gilligan's Island, in which the castaways stage a musical version of Hamlet. It first aired in on October 3, 1966.- Synopsis :...
) on Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
(broadcast in 1966), where he and the castaways performed a musical version of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. (Silvers' production company Gladasya – named after his catchphrase "Gladdaseeya!" – financed the show).
Illness and death
Silvers suffered a strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
during the run of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in August 1972. He was left with slurred speech. Despite his poor health, he continued working into the early 1980s including co-starring in The Chicken Chronicles
The Chicken Chronicles
The Chicken Chronicles is a 1977 film starring Steve Guttenburg in this raunchy teen comedy set in 1969.-Synopsis:David Kessler is a high school student who will go to any lengths to impress a pretty cheerleader and lose his virginity, while juggling his job at a chicken joint and trying not to get...
,an appearance on Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
as an old comic trying to reunite with his old partner, and on Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
as the father of Jenny Piccolo (played by his daughter Cathy Silvers
Cathy Silvers
Cathy Silvers is an American actress and author, and the daughter of legendary actor/comedian Phil Silvers. She is best known for her role as boy-crazy teenager Jenny Piccolo in later seasons of the iconic TV sitcom Happy Days...
).
A frail Silvers, interviewed shortly before his death, revealed one of his secrets: "I’m an impatient comedian. And I feel the audience is as impatient as me."
Silvers died in his sleep on November 1, 1985 in Century City, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. "Mr. Silvers's family said he died of natural causes." He was interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries refers to two Jewish cemeteries in the Los Angeles, California metropolitan area. The original cemetery is located at 5950 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. The cemetery was originally established in 1953 by the neighboring Forest...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Personal life
Phil Silvers was married twice, to Evelyn Patrick and to Jo-Carroll DennisonJo-Carroll Dennison
Jo-Carroll Dennison was a beauty queen and actress originally from Tyler, Texas.Dennison, a self-supported student at the Federal Institute in Tyler, Texas was lured into competing in the Miss Tyler pageant by the offer of a free swimsuit from Swartz Department Store...
. Both of his marriages ended in divorce. He had five daughters — Candace, Cathy, Laurie, Nancey, and Tracey Edythe. all by his second wife.
Silvers was a compulsive gambler and suffered from depression on and off over the years. While staying in Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
, in the 1950s, he would often gamble all night. On one occasion, at the tiny Cal-Neva Lodge in nearby Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Silvers spent an entire night playing craps
Craps
Craps is a dice game in which players place wagers on the outcome of the roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Players may wager money against each other or a bank...
until he lost all his money, and then went through $1,000 in credit. A taxi was called to return him to Reno. It was "[o]ne of the worst nights of my life', Silvers told the driver, adding, "Don't wait for any lights and don't wait for any tip . . . I left it at the Cal-Neva!"
His memoirs are titled This Laugh Is On Me.
Legacy
In 1996 TV GuideTV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
ranked him number 31 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list
In 2003, The Phil Silvers Show was voted Best Sitcomin the Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
Guide to TV Comedy. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, Silvers was voted #42 on the list of the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
, who made his TV debut on Bilko says he "was always fascinated with Phil's sense of timing. Incredible."
Voice actor Daws Butler
Daws Butler
Charles Dawson "Daws" Butler was a voice actor originally from Toledo, Ohio. He worked mostly for Hanna-Barbera and originated the voices of many famous animated cartoon characters, including Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, and Huckleberry Hound.Daws Butler trained many working actors...
employed an impression
Impressionist (entertainment)
An impressionist or a mimic is a performer whose act consists of imitating the voice and mannerisms of others. The word usually refers to a professional comedian/entertainer who specializes in such performances and has developed a wide repertoire of impressions, including adding to them, often to...
of Silvers as the voice of the Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
cartoon character Hokey Wolf
Hokey Wolf
Hokey Wolf is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon about the adventures of a con-artist wolf who is always trying to cheat his way into the simple life...
and also used the same voice in numerous cartoons for Jay Ward
Jay Ward
J Troplong "Jay" Ward was an American creator and producer of animated television cartoons. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, Peabody and Sherman, Hoppity Hooper, George of the Jungle, Tom Slick, and Super Chicken...
. The premise of The Phil Silvers Show was the basis for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Top Cat
Top Cat
Top Cat is a Hanna-Barbera prime time animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, 1962 for a run of 30 episodes on the ABC network. Reruns are played on Cartoon Network's classic animation network Boomerang.-History:...
, for which Arnold Stang
Arnold Stang
Arnold Stang was an American comic actor who played a small and bespectacled, yet brash and knowing big-city type.-Career:...
moderately imitated Silvers' voice for the title character. The 1993 cartoon series The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog featured a character called Wes Weasley, who had a very similar appearance and voice to Silvers.
The Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
cartoon "Little Annie Fanny
Little Annie Fanny
Little Annie Fanny was a comic strip created by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder for Playboy in October 1962. The inspiration for the comic strip was Harold Gray's Little Orphan Annie. The comic follows the escapades of Annie Fanny, a tall, blonde, amply breasted, round buttocked, curly-haired young...
" featured the character of manager Solly Brass, who was based on Phil Silvers.
In The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Homer the Vigilante
Homer the Vigilante
"Homer the Vigilante" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 6, 1994. In the episode, a crime wave caused by an elusive cat burglar hits Springfield. Lisa is distraught to find her saxophone has been stolen, and...
" (Episode #1F09, 6 January 1994), Bart tricks Phil Silvers' character Otto Meyer from the 1963 film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
into driving into a river."
Stage credits
Source:Internet Broadway Database- 1939 Yokel Boy
- 1947 High Button ShoesHigh Button ShoesHigh Button Shoes is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Sammy Cahn and book by George Abbott and Stephen Longstreet. It was based on the semi-autobiographical 1946 novel The Sisters Liked Them Handsome by Longstreet...
- 1951 Top BananaTop Banana (musical)Top Banana is a musical with music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer and book by Hy Kraft which premiered on Broadway in 1951. Comedian Phil Silvers starred, and won the Tony Award in 1952.-Production:...
– Tony Award (winner) - 1960 Do Re MiDo Re Mi (musical)Do Re Mi is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and a book by Garson Kanin, who also directed the original 1960 Broadway production. The plot centers on a minor-league con man who decides to go straight by going into the business of juke boxes and music...
– Tony Award (nominated) - 1971 How the Other Half Loves
- 1972 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart....
– Tony Award (winner)
Filmography
Source:Turner Classic Movies- Ups and DownsUps and Downs (1937 film)Ups and Downs is a 1937 film released by Warner Brothers Pictures. It was part of Warner's "Broadway Brevities" series of 2-reel musical shorts , starred Broadway dancer Hal Le Roy and was directed by Roy Mack...
(1937) - Here's Your Hat (1937)
- The Candid Kid (1938)
- Strike Up the Band (1940)
- Hit Parade of 1941 (1940)
- The Wild Man of Borneo (1941)
- The Penalty (1941)
- Tom, Dick and HarryTom, Dick and Harry (1941 film)Tom, Dick and Harry is a comedy film directed by Garson Kanin, written by Paul Jarrico, and starring Ginger Rogers, George Murphy, Alan Marshal, and Burgess Meredith. The film was released by RKO Radio Pictures....
(1941) - Ice-Capades (1941)
- Lady Be GoodLady Be Good (1941 film)Lady Be Good is the title of an MGM musical film which was released in 1941.The film starred dancer Eleanor Powell along with Ann Sothern, Robert Young, Lionel Barrymore, and Red Skelton. It was directed by Norman Z. McLeod and produced by Arthur Freed...
(1941) - You're in the Army NowYou're in the Army NowYou're in the Army Now is a 1941 comedy film starring Jimmy Durante, Phil Silvers, Jane Wyman, and Regis Toomey.It featured the longest kiss in film, lasting three minutes and six seconds until Elena Undone beat it by eighteen seconds.- Cast :...
(1941) - All Through the Night (1942)
- Roxie HartRoxie Hart (film)Roxie Hart is a 1942 film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, George Montgomery, Nigel Bruce, Phil Silvers, William Frawley, and Spring Byington....
(1942) - My Gal Sal (1942)
- Footlight Serenade (1942)
- Tales of ManhattanTales of ManhattanTales of Manhattan is a 1942 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. Thirteen writers, including Ben Hecht, Alan Campbell, Ferenc Molnár, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Donald Ogden Stewart worked on the six stories in this film.-Cast:...
(1942) (scenes deleted) - Just Off Broadway (1942)
- Coney Island (1943)
- A Lady Takes a ChanceA Lady Takes a ChanceA Lady Takes a Chance is a 1943 romantic comedy film starring Jean Arthur and John Wayne.-Cast:* Jean Arthur - Molly J. Truesdale* John Wayne - Duke Hudkins* Charles Winninger - Waco* Phil Silvers - Smiley Lambert...
(1943) - Four Jills in a JeepFour Jills in a JeepFour Jills in a Jeep is a 1944 film starring Kay Francis, Carole Landis, Martha Raye, and Mitzi Mayfair as themselves, re-enacting their USO tour of Europe and North Africa during World War II.-Cast:*Kay Francis as Herself*Carole Landis as Herself...
(1944) - Cover GirlCover Girl (1944 film)Cover Girl is a 1944 American musical film starring Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly. The film tells the story of a chorus girl given a chance at stardom when she is offered an opportunity to be a highly-paid cover girl...
(1944) - Take It or Leave It (1944)
- Something for the BoysSomething for the Boys (film)Something for the Boys is a 1945 musical film. The movie starred Carmen Miranda. Supporting players included Michael O'Shea, Vivian Blaine, Phil Silvers, Sheila Ryan and Perry Como....
(1944) - Diamond HorseshoeDiamond HorseshoeDiamond Horseshoe is a 1945 Technicolor musical film starring Betty Grable, directed by George Seaton, and released by 20th Century Fox.-Background:...
(1945) - Don Juan Quilligan (1945)
- A Thousand and One NightsA Thousand and One Nights (film)A Thousand and One Nights is a tongue-in-cheek Technicolor fantasy film set in the Baghdad of the One Thousand and One Nights, starring Cornel Wilde as Aladdin, Evelyn Keyes as the genie of the magic lamp, Phil Silvers as Aladdin's larcenous sidekick, and Adele Jergens as the princess Aladdin...
(1945) - If I'm Lucky (1946)
- Summer Stock (1950)
- Top BananaTop Banana (film)Top Banana is a movie musical based on the musical of the same name starring Phil Silvers, and released by United Artists. It stars most of the original cast...
(1954) - Lucky MeLucky Me (film)Lucky Me is a 1954 musical-comedy-romance film. The movie starred Doris Day, with co-stars, including, Robert Cummings, Phil Silvers, Martha Hyer, and Eddie Foy, Jr..-Cast:*Doris Day as Candy Williams*Robert Cummings as Dick Carson...
(1954) - Something's Got to GiveSomething's Got to GiveSomething's Got to Give is an unfinished 1962 American feature film, directed by George Cukor and starring Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse...
(1962) (uncompleted) - 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962)
- It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad WorldIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad WorldIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
(1963) - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (film)A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a 1966 farce musical comedy film, based on the stage musical.Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus – specifically Pseudolus, Miles Gloriosus and Mostellaria – it tells the bawdy story of a slave named Pseudolus...
(1966) - A Guide for the Married ManA Guide for the Married ManA Guide for the Married Man is a 1967 American bedroom farce comedy film starring Walter Matthau, Robert Morse, and Inger Stevens. It was directed by Gene Kelly. It features a large number of cameos, including Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Terry-Thomas, Jayne Mansfield, Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Joey...
(1967) - Carry On...Follow That Camel!Follow That CamelFollow That Camel is the fourteenth Carry On film and was released in 1967. Like its predecessor Don't Lose Your Head, it does not have the words "Carry On" in its original title...
(1967) - Damn YankeesDamn YankeesDamn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League...
(1967) - Buona Sera, Mrs. CampbellBuona Sera, Mrs. CampbellBuona Sera, Mrs. Campbell is a 1968 American comedy film directed by Melvin Frank, who co-wrote the original screenplay with Denis Norden and Sheldon Keller.The United Artists release was filmed at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome...
(1968) - The BoatniksThe BoatniksThe Boatniks is a 1970 American comedy film starring Robert Morse, Stefanie Powers, Don Ameche and Phil Silvers. It was made by Walt Disney Productions, released by Buena Vista Distribution and directed by Norman Tokar....
(1970) - Hollywood Blue (1970)
- The Strongest Man in the WorldThe Strongest Man in the WorldThe Strongest Man in the World is a 1975 film starring Kurt Russell, still a student in the fictional Medfield College. It is the sequel to the 1972 film Now You See Him, Now You Don't, itself a sequel to the 1969 film, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes.-Plot:Medfield College's Dean Higgins is being...
(1975) - Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved HollywoodWon Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved HollywoodWon Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood is a 1976 film directed by Michael Winner and starring Madeline Kahn, Bruce Dern, Teri Garr, and Art Carney...
(1976) - The Chicken ChroniclesThe Chicken ChroniclesThe Chicken Chronicles is a 1977 film starring Steve Guttenburg in this raunchy teen comedy set in 1969.-Synopsis:David Kessler is a high school student who will go to any lengths to impress a pretty cheerleader and lose his virginity, while juggling his job at a chicken joint and trying not to get...
(1977) - They Took Miss Beautiful (1977)
- The Cheap DetectiveThe Cheap DetectiveThe Cheap Detective is a 1978 American satirical comedy film written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore as a follow-up to their successful Murder by Death ....
(1978) - Racquet (1979)
- The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood (1980)
- There Goes the Bride (1980)