Phil Silvers
Phil Silvers | |
---|---|
Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
Years active | 1922–1985 |
Genres | Character comedy |
Spouse | |
Children | 5 |
Notable works and roles | The Phil Silvers Show |
Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911[
Early life
Born Philip Silver, he was the eighth and youngest child of Russian Jewish immigrants, Saul and Sarah (née Handler) Silver.[1] 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.[2]
Career
Silvers began entertaining at the age of 11, when he would sing in theaters when the
Silvers next worked in short films for the Vitaphone studio, such as Ups and Downs (1937), and on Broadway, where he made his début in the short-lived show Yokel Boy in 1939. Critics raved about Silvers, who was hailed as the bright spot in the mediocre play.[5] The Broadway revue High Kickers (1941) was based on his concept.[6]
He made his feature film début in Hit Parade of 1941 in 1940
Silvers wrote the lyrics for
The Phil Silvers Show
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 Show. 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.[11] 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,[12] 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.
Film roles
Throughout the 1960s, he appeared in films such as It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)[13] and 40 Pounds of Trouble (1963).[14] 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. He never did stand-up, and, out of character, was not known for cracking jokes.
He was featured in
Broadway
When Silvers played the quintessential con-man Harrison Floy in the 1947 Broadway production of
Later career
Later in his career, Silvers guest-starred on
Personal life
Phil Silvers was married twice, to Jo-Carroll Dennison and to Evelyn Patrick.[21] Both of his marriages ended in divorce.[11] He had five daughters — Candace, Cathy, Laury, Nancey, and Tracey [21] — all by his second wife, Evelyn Patrick, who later married British musician Terry Dene.[3]
Like his alter-ego Ernie Bilko, Silvers was a compulsive gambler, and also suffered from
His memoir is titled This Laugh Is On Me.
Illness and death
Silvers suffered a stroke during the run of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in August 1972 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.[24] He was left with slurred speech. Despite his poor health, he continued working, playing Harry Starman in the 1974 "Horror in the Heights" episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker starring Darren McGavin. His guest appearances continued into the early 1980s, including co-starring in The Chicken Chronicles (1977),[25] 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 real daughter Cathy).[26] Silvers played the cab driver Hoppy in Neil Simon's send-up of hard-boiled detective films, The Cheap Detective (1978), which starred Peter Falk. In his cab, Silvers can be heard (three words) and seen turning his head towards the camera and breaking into a smile (1/4 fps) at the film's ending immediately prior to Falk entering "Hoppy's" cab. His final appearance was in an episode of CHiPs (entitled "Hot Date") in 1983.
On November 1, 1985, Silvers died in his sleep in
Legacy
In 1996, TV Guide ranked him number 31 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list.[28]
In 2003, The Phil Silvers Show was voted Best Sitcom[29] in 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[30] and also used the same voice in numerous cartoons for Jay Ward.[citation needed] The premise of The Phil Silvers Show was the basis for the Hanna-Barbera animated series Top Cat, for which Arnold Stang moderately imitated Silvers's voice for the title character.[31] The 1993 animated series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog featured a character called Wes Weasley, who had a very similar appearance and voice to Silvers.
Sgt Bilko's Vintage Emporium and The Phil Silvers Archival Museum houses personal and commercial memorabilia collected by Silvers's correspondent Steve Everitt. Opened in 2015 it is located in FarGo Village, Coventry, United Kingdom.[32]
Work
Theatre
Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1939 | Yokel Boy | "Punko" Parks | Majestic Theatre, Broadway | [33] |
1947 | High Button Shoes | Harrison Floy | Broadway Theatre, Broadway | |
1951 | Top Banana | Jerry Biffle | Winter Garden Theatre, Broadway | |
1960 | Do Re Mi | Hubert CRam | 54th Street Theatre , Broadway U.S. National Tour |
|
1971 | How the Other Half Loves | Frank Foster | Royale Theatre , Broadway |
|
1972 | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Pseudolus/Prologus | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Broadway |
Filmography
Source: Turner Classic Movies[34]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1937 | Ups and Downs | Charlie | Short film |
1940 | Strike Up the Band | Pitch Man | Scenes deleted |
1940 | Hit Parade of 1941 | Charlie Moore | |
1941 | The Wild Man of Borneo | Murdock | |
1941 | The Penalty | Hobo | |
1941 | Tom, Dick and Harry | Ice Cream Vendor | |
1941 | Ice-Capades | Larry Herman | |
1941 | Lady Be Good | Master of Ceremonies | |
1941 | You're in the Army Now | Breezy Jones | |
1942 | Roxie Hart | Babe | |
1942 | My Gal Sal | Wiley | |
1942 | All Through the Night | Waiter | |
1942 | Footlight Serenade | Slap | |
1942 | Tales of Manhattan | 1st Salesman at Santelli's | Uncredited; scenes deleted |
1942 | Just Off Broadway | Roy Higgins | |
1943 | Coney Island | Frankie | |
1943 | A Lady Takes a Chance | Smiley Lambert | |
1944 | Four Jills in a Jeep | Eddie | |
1944 | Cover Girl |
Genius | |
1944 | Take It or Leave It | Phil Silvers | |
1944 | Something for the Boys | Harry Hart | |
1945 | Diamond Horseshoe | Blinkie Miller | |
1945 | Don Juan Quilligan | 'Mac' MacDenny | |
1945 | A Thousand and One Nights | Abdullah | |
1946 | If I'm Lucky | Wallingham M. 'Wally' Jones | |
1950 | Summer Stock | Herb Blake | |
1954 | Top Banana | Jerry Biffle | |
1954 | Lucky Me | Hap Schneider | |
1962 | Something's Got to Give | Insurance Salesman | Incomplete |
1962 | 40 Pounds of Trouble | Bernie Friedman | |
1963 | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World | Otto Meyer | |
1966 | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Marcus Lycus | |
1967 | A Guide for the Married Man | Technical Advisor (Realtor) | |
1967 | Follow That Camel | Sergeant Nocker | |
1968 | Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell | Phil Newman | |
1970 | The Boatniks | Harry Simmons | |
1975 | The Strongest Man in the World | Kirwood Krinkle | |
1976 | Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood | Murray Fromberg | |
1977 | The Chicken Chronicles | Max Ober | |
1977 | The Night They Took Miss Beautiful | Marv Barker | |
1978 | The Cheap Detective | Hoppy | |
1979 | Racquet | Arthur Sargent | |
1980 | The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood | William B. Warkoff | |
1980 | There Goes the Bride | Psychiatrist |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1948 | The Phil Silvers Arrow Show | Host-Performer | 3 episodes[35] |
1955–59 | The Phil Silvers Show | MSgt. Ernest G. 'Ernie' Bilko | 143 episodes |
1959 | Keep in Step | Himself/Sgt. Ernest G. Bilko | Television movie |
1959 | The Ballad of Louie the Louse | Louie | Television movie |
1960 | The Slowest Gun in the West | Fletcher Bissell III The Silver Dollar Kid |
Television movie |
1962 | The Jack Benny Program | Himself | Episode: "The Phil Silvers Show " |
1963 | Judy and Her Guests, Phil Silvers and Robert Goulet | Himself | Television special |
1963–64 | The New Phil Silvers Show | Harry Grafton | 30 episodes |
1966 | Gilligan's Island | Harold Hecuba | Episode: "The Producer" |
1966 | The Lucy Show | Oliver Kasten | Episode: "Lucy and the Efficiency Expert" |
1966 | At Your Service | Performer | Unsold pilot |
1967 | Damn Yankees | Mr. Applegate | Television movie |
1967–70 | The Beverly Hillbillies | Shifty Shafer aka Honest John | 6 episodes |
1970 | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | Guest Performer | Episode: #4.13 |
1971 | Eddie | Eddie Skinner | unsold pilot |
1971 | Julia | Capt. Biestoff | Episode: "Swing Low, Sweet Charity" |
1972 | The Dean Martin Show | Performer | Episode: #7.24 |
1974 | Kolchak: The Night Stalker | Harry | Episode: "Horror in the Heights" |
1975 | Get Christy Love! |
Uncle Harry | Episode: "A Few Excess Love" |
1975 | S.W.A.T. | Russ Baker | 2 episodes |
1975 | The Carol Burnett Show | Self | Episode: #8.23 |
1976 | Bob Hope Special: Bob Hope in "Joys" | Self | Television special |
1977 | The Night They Took Miss Beautiful | Marv Barker | Television movie |
1977 | Charlie's Angels | Max Brown | Episode: "Angels on Ice" |
1977 | The Love Boat | Stubby/Morris Beckman | 2 episodes |
1978 | Fantasy Island | Charlie Parks | Episode: "Carnival/The Vaudevillians" |
1979 | Goldie and the Boxer | Wally | Television movie |
1980 | Take Me Up to the Ball Game | Irwin | Voice; television movie |
1981 | Happy Days | Roscoe Piccalo | Episode: "Just a Piccalo" |
1982 | CHiPs | Herman Hinton | Episode: "Hot Date" |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Project | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1956 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Best Comedian | Phil Silvers | Won |
Best Actor in a Continuing Performance | The Phil Silvers Show | Won | ||
1957 | Best Continuing Actor in a Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
1958 | Nominated | |||
1959 | Nominated | |||
1952 | Tony Awards | Best Actor in a Musical | Top Banana | Won |
1961 | Do Re Mi | Nominated | ||
1972 | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Won |
- In 2000, Silvers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Notes
- ^ Or "Glad to see you". A 1944 musical titled Glad To See You was written with Silvers intended for the starring role, but he was contracted for the film Diamond Horseshoe and not available (and the musical closed during out-of-town tryouts and did not reach Broadway).[36][37]
References
- ISBN 978-0-1391-9100-8.
- ^ "Dick Cavett interviews Phil Silvers in Hollywood in 1981". YouTube. 22 January 1982. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Phil Silvers". Masterworks Broadway. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-5578-3551-2.
- ISBN 978-0-19-972970-8.
- ISBN 978-0-19-979084-5.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley (December 5, 1940). "Movie Review: 'Hit Parade of 1941' at Loew's Criterion". Archived 2012-03-10 at the Wayback Machine. The New York Times.
- ^ "Phil Silvers Filmography". Fandango. Archived from the original on October 13, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ^ Frank Sintra: The Complete Guide. Google eBook. Retrieved November 25, 2011.[dead link]
- ISBN 978-0-7862-0094-8.
- ^ a b Gomery, Douglas. "Phil Silvers". Museum of Broadcast Communications. Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-5795-8394-1. Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
- ^ "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley (January 24, 1963). "Movie Review: '40 Pounds of Trouble'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-5202-0970-1. Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
- ISBN 978-0-4151-4726-2. Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
- ISBN 978-0-7935-7750-7. Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ISBN 978-0-7935-7750-7. Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
- ISBN 978-0-7425-0779-1. Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
- ^ "Milton Berle Roast". classicfriarroasts.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ^ a b "Phil Silvers: Biography". Archived 2012-03-09 at the Wayback Machine. TV Guide.
- ISBN 978-0-4465-5575-3. Archived from the originalon 2016-05-08.
- ISBN 978-0-9715-0190-4. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ "Phil Silver's Illness Threatens 'Forum' Run". The New York Times. August 8, 1972. p. 21.
- ^ "Phil Silvers Rough Road Back". Archived 2016-04-03 at the Wayback Machine. The Prescott Courier. August 25, 1977.
- ISBN 978-0-8230-8933-8. Archived from the originalon 2016-03-03.
- ^ Farah, Judy. "Kings of Comedy Mourn Funnyman Phil Silvers". The Associated Press. November 4, 1985.
- ISBN 978-0-7607-5634-8.
- ^ "Best Sitcom". Archived 2007-02-21 at the Wayback Machine. BBC News. September 29, 2003.
- ^ "Hokey Wolf". Cartoon Scrapbook. Archived from the original on 2010-12-08. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ^ Weber, Bruce (December 22, 2009). "Arnold Stang, Milquetoast Actor, Dies at 91". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 7, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
- ^ "Sgt Bilko's Vintage Emporium & the Phil Silvers Archival Museum". Fargo Village. Archived from the original on 2019-01-15. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ "Phil Silvers". Archived 2011-11-04 at the Wayback Machine. Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ^ "Phil Silvers Biography". Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ^ "The Phil Silvers Arrow Show". Billboard. December 4, 1948. p. 10. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-4159-7380-9. Archivedfrom the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
- ^ Filichia, Peter (23 April 2019). "Say Hi to High Button Shoes". Masterworks Broadway. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.