The Milton Berle Show

- Season 1

(1948)

Milton Berle is the host of the series premiere. Guests are comic ventriloquist Senor Wences, singer Pearl Bailey, harmonica player Stan Fisher, acrobatic act the Moroccans, double-talk comedian Al Kelly, flamenco dancers Rosario and Antonio, adagio dancers the Andreas, Betty Alexander (who welcomes viewers), pitchman Sid Stone and the Russ Case orchestra. Bailey sings "Tired" and "Good Enough For Me." Rosario and Antonio dance to "Capriccio Espagnol" and "Fire Dance," and Berle becomes the uncoordinated member of the Moroccans.

Harry Richman hosts. His Guests dancers Valerie Bettis and Duncan Noble, acrobatic dance team Costello Twins, musical quartet The Vagabonds, comedy team Willie Howard and Hal Gary, singer Betty Reilly, and tap dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. With Texaco pitchman Sid Stone and Russ Case and his orchestra.

Milton Berle welcome vaudeville comedian Bert Wheeler and singer Harry Richman to the program. Wheeler preforms some his venerable routines and Richman sings "Puttin' on the Ritz", the Irving Berlin song that he introduced in the film of the same name. The shows finale features Berle and Richman imitating Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson.

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William Gaxton hosts and his guests include vaudevillian Jack Pearl, singer Rose Murphy, and the Beatrice Kraft dancers.

Georgie Price's guests include family comedy acrobats act The Acromaniacs, comedy musician/trumpeter Vic Hyde, comedian Jackie Miles, rumba dancers Raoul and Eva Reyes, and dancers Buck and Bubbles.

Stand-up Henny Youngman hosts. His guests are comics Jack Carter and Jean Carroll, skating act The Whirlwinds, the Chandra Kaly Dancers, and Sharkey the Seal.

Host Georgie Price's guests are comedians Bert Wheeler and Al Bernie, female juggler Trixie, and trick bicycle trio The Shyrettos.

Morey Amsterdam's guests include Gil Lamb, comedy team Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, child pianist "Sugar Chile" Robinson, singer Gracie Barrie and acrobatic act the Emerald Sisters.

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Jack Carter hosts. Guests include vaudeville comedians Smith and Dale (performing their famous "Dr. Kronkheit" routine), acrobats the Winters Sisters, comic singers Cross and Dunn, ballroom dancers Landre and Verne, and the Salici Puppets.

Morey Amsterdam is the host. Guests include singer Morton Downey, comedian Jackie Miles, tap dancers Tip, Tap and Toe, the Harmonicats, ballet dancers Patricia Bowman and Rudy Kroelleur, and Jack Diamond.

Jack Carter hosts with guests comic actress Eve Arden, radio comedian Jack Pearl, comic Herb Shriner, dancer Betty Bruce, and acrobatic cyclists the Fredarrys Trio. Pearl performs the old vaudeville "shell game" routine.

Peter Donald hosts with guests comic Sid Caesar, comic/singer Willie Howard, acrobatic team the Dewey Sisters, dance duo De Marios, and Gil Maison with his dog act. Caesar performs his airplane routine from "Tars and Spars" and appears in an U.N. sketch with Donald. Berle makes a brief cameo.

Milton Berle debuts as permanent host. Guests include big band singer Evelyn Knight, vaudeville comedy team Smith and Dale, roller skating team the Four Carters, singing acrobats Park and Clifford, and comic actor Phil Silvers. Smith and Dale perform their vaudeville restaurant routine with Berle as the waiter, and Milton turns Sid Stone's Texaco pitch into a Chinese comedy bit. Sid gives Milton a slapstick lesson on how to sing.

Milton Berle's guests are musical/comedy actress Mary McCarty, the Three Wiles, comedians Garry Moore and Lou Costello, hillbilly band Ozark Mountaineers, and dancers The Szonys. Berle joins the Mountaineers as dopey Cousin Elmer, and plays a French dame in the Texaco commercial with Sid Stone. McCarty sings a song about a taxi dancer and Moore does a comic poem about a cow.

Milton Berle's guests are comic song-and-dance trio the Slate Brothers, Carmen Miranda, skaters/acrobats Ronnie and May Norman, ballet dancers Paul Haakon and Barbara Carter, vocalists the Charioteers, and Chico Marx. Berle dresses in drag like Miranda and performs with her on a number, and joins in with the Charioteers for comic disruption. Chico plays piano in his TV debut.

Milton Berle's guests include comedian/impersonator Florence Desmond, comedian Joe Phillips, comedy entertainer Harry Richman, drummer Jack Powell, and boxer-turned-actor "Slapsie" Maxie Rosenbloom. Berle plays Noel Coward and Desmond is Bankhead in a burlesque of Noel Coward's "Private Lives." Powell performs a drumming number while in blackface.

Berle's guests are singer/dancer Jules Munshin, Borrah Minevitch's Harmonica Rascals featuring Johnny Puleo, the Chee Heins Risley act, 70-year-old dancer Emma Francis, and dance team Marge and Gower Champion. The Champions spoof Broadway dancing styles and Munshin takes-off on singers auditioning for the Metropolitan Opera. Berle joins the Chee Heins Risley act and causes chaos with the Stooges. Francis does a soft shoe dance and joins with Berle for a big "cake walk" finish.

Berle's guests are Sid Caesar, child actress Verna Raymond, Apache dance trio the Appletons, radio actress Hope Miller, comic dancers/acrobats Dick and Dot Remy, George M. Cohan Jr., and Three Maestros. Berle opens with a patriotic production including the song "Stay Away From the USA." He trades quips with precocious kid performer Raymond following her song-and-dance. Caesar does a routine about movie trailers and joins Berle and Miller in a sketch. Cohan closes the show with a medley of songs made famous by his father.

Uncle Miltie is the host of this election night episode. His guests are singer Gertrude Niesen, comics the Calgary Brothers, jugglers the Pierro Brothers, singer/musician Louis Prima, and the Cossack Quartet. Berle is carried onstage by Truman and Dewey impersonators. The Cossack Quartet performs a Russian song before being joined by Berle for goofing. Prima sings "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and gags with Berle on trumpets for "Tiger Rag." Milton stages an old vaudeville "Western Union" comedy sketch. The Calgary Brothers do a slow-motion drunk routine. ...

Berle welcomes singer Luba Melinda, dancing Berry Brothers, comic Bert Wheeler, vocalists Merry Macs, and child actress Verna Raymond. Malinda joins Berle and Wheeler in a sketch. Berle swaps insults with Raymond and dances with the Berrys.

Berle welcomes singer Ella Logan, comic Red Buttons, magician Russell Swan, comics the Arnaut Brothers, and acrobat/dancers the Crackerjacks. Logan sings "Sunny Side of the Street" and "Little Bit of Heaven." In a sketch, Buttons tries to get money from loan shark Berle. Milton begs out of magician Swan's guillotine act.

Uncle Miltie's scheduled guests include Judy Canova, dance team Stump & Stumpy, singers/comics the Wesson Brothers, dancers Mario and Florio, and acrobatic act the Jansleys.

Milton Berle's scheduled guests include comic Jan Murray, vaudeville vocalist Joe Howard, singer/actress Janet Blair, comic tumbling act the Nonchalants, and jazz musicians Five Cuban Diamonds.

Milton Berle's guests include comedian Buddy Lester, vaudeville singer Ted Lewis, actress Vivian Blaine, child performer Danny Richards Jr., singer Geraldine DuBois, and animal act Pallenberg's Bears. Blaine sings a medley of songs she introduced in her movies and is joined by Berle for a song-and-dance finish. Lester does a stand-up routine. Berle trades quips with precocious child Richards. In the finale, Lewis is joined by singer DuBois and the rest of the cast in top hat and tails for "When My Baby Smiles at Me."

Milton's guests include actor/vaudevillian James Barton, drummer Buddy Rich, Metropolitan Opera star Lauritz Melchior, teeterboard act The Christians, and comedian Lorraine Rognan. Melchior performs the song "Because" and then does "Figaro" in a "Barber of Seville" spoof while giving Berle a shave. Barton does a stand-up where he plays three drunks, and Rognan has Berle play straight man for her comedy routine. In another sketch, Berle and Barton are applying makeup on each other for a blackface routine; they're joined by Melchior for the number.

Milton Berle's guests are comedian Henny Youngman, boogie-woogie singer/pianist Maurice Rocco, singer/actress Gracie Fields, actor/announcer Jack La Rue, and child actress Verna Raymond. Youngman comes up through the audience as a concessioner and the pair exchange insults; they team on a ballet send-up. Fields sings "Green-Up Time" and does a comic version of "My Hero." Fields joins Berle and Youngman in a Western sketch, and in a sentimental bit with Raymond. LaRue plays a "tough guy" in a sketch.

Milton Berle's scheduled guests include dance act the Four Step Brothers, Latin band leader Xavier Cugat, and Frank Marlowe.

Milton's guests this week are Cab Calloway, actors Jackie Cooper and Jackie Coogan, and impressionist Mitzi Green. Berle plays Charlie Chaplin to Coogan's "The Kid." Green plays cabaret singer Hildegarde with Berle as her sister Mud Garde.

Milton Berle's scheduled guests include comedian Jack Carter, singing comedy act Ming and Ling, singer/actress Patricia Morison, and vocalist Benny Fields.

Milton's guests include singer Tony Martin, singer Carmen Miranda, trampolinists Margo, Paul and Paulette, and impressionist Florence Desmond. Milton appears wearing his Carmen Miranda outfit.

Milton Berle's guests include dancers the Unger Twins (Gustaf and Bertil), singer Frances Faye, slapstick comics Low, Hite, and Stanley (one short, one average, one tall), dancers the Caites, and singer Julie Wilson. Berle replaces one of the Unger Twins in a comic mirror routine, and teams with Costello for the old A&C math routine. The finale is in a turn of the century beer garden with all the cast.

Comedian Jack Carter fills in for an ill Berle. Guests are comic actress Beatrice Lillie, ballet dancer Kathryn Lee, the Borrah Minevitch Harmonica Rascals, comic Johnny Burke, the Gauthier Steeplechase dog and pony act, and actor Cyril Ritchard. Lillie sings several novelty songs with Ritchard as her foil. Burke does a routine from WWI.

Jack Carter returns as guest host. His guests are vocal group the Mills Brothers, comedians Jack Durant and Gracie Fields, unicyclists La Brach and Bernice, and dog act Gaudsmith Brothers.

Phil Baker guests hosts for Berle, who's recovering in Florida. His guests include comics Herb Shriner and Benny Rubin, Sid Silvers; Marion Harris, Jr., The Skating Mocks, Fred and Sledge, and comic actress Beatrice Kaye.

Walter O'Keefe fills in for an ill Berle. Scheduled guests include Lucille Ball, Paul Winchell, the Ink Spots, the Mathes Duo, tap dancer Bobby Brandt, and comic Wally Brown. The Ink Spots perform "If I Didn't Care" and "Maybe."

Milton Berle returns after an illness and exhaustion. His scheduled guests include: singer/comedienne Virginia O'Brien, acrobats The Gauchos, comic actor Billy Gilbert, singer/actor Robert Alda, and musical/comedy performer Pat Rooney Sr. Alda sings and joins Berle for in a sketch about the foreign legion; Gilbert and Berle do a routine; O'Brien performs "Go To Sleep My Baby" and joins in a parody of Hollywood movie-making; Berle joins Rooney for the closing song and dance.

Milton's guests include actor William Boyd, singer Jane Froman, comic Henny Youngman, acrobatic team the Vanderbilt Boys, and the Lane Brothers. Highlights include a spoof of Boyd's signature role, B-westerns hero Hopalong Cassidy.

Uncle Miltie's guests this week include: Peter Lorre, singer Phil Regan, Stewart Morgan Dancers, Irish-American Celtic musicians the McNulty Family and Broadway singer Joan Roberts. Roberts, from the original cast of "Oklahoma!" performs songs from the show; Lorre and Berle do a sketch about "The Cabinet of Dr. X"; Miltie spoofs musical recitals; and a St. Patrick's Day salute to Irish songs.

Milton Berle's guests include Ethel Merman, Teddy Hale, Keye Luke, acrobatic act Los Gattos, Teddy Hale, and composers Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer, Charles Tobias, Maud Nugent and Lou Brown. Berle opens dressed as a Roman riding in a chariot. He joins Merman for "The Varsity Drag" and "Friendship," and the two go for a drive. She solos on "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "I Got Rhythm." The finale is a salute to songwriters.

Berle's scheduled guests on this show include: band leader Desi Arnaz; the Beatrice Kraft Dancers; ex-boxer Jack Dempsey; comedian Jackie Miles; and actress June Havoc. Berle opens the show dressed as an organ grinder with a monkey; Desi closes the show with a South American production number.

Milton's guests include comic actor Victor Moore, singer Jean Sablon, Gloria Colbert and a cameo by Basil Rathbone. The featured sketch cast Berle as Sherlock Holmes and Moore as Dr. Watson with Rathbone in the role of 'Rathbone of Scotland Yard'.

Berle's scheduled line-up features: film actor Boris Karloff, opera singer Richard Tucker, harmonica player Stan Fisher, dancers Merle, Duval and Lee, and actress Peggy Ryan. Karloff and Berle do a mad scientist skit; Ryan tap dances; Tucker sings "La Donna E Mobile"; Fisher plays "Rumanian Rhapsody"; the cast performs in a take-off of opera.

Uncle Miltie's scheduled guests include: Martha Raye, Dolores Gray, tap dance trio the Rockets, and actor Basil Rathbone. Rathbone and Berle do a spoof of murder mysteries; Raye sings "It's a Good Day"; Berle and Raye perform in the sketch "The Sheik of Araby."

Berle's guests include comedian/magician Carl Ballentine, comic actors Lew Hearn and Lou Sorin, Ethel Merman,and vaudevillian/songwriter Jack Norworth. Berle and Sorin join Hearn in his old "Belt to the Back" sketch. "The Amazing Mr. Ballentine's" magic tricks go awry. Norworth does a medley of his big songs.

Berle's scheduled guests include film actor Walter Huston, vocalist Georgia Gibbs, and jugglers the Kanazawa Trio.

Milton's guests are opera star Robert Merrill, dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, comedy team Lessy and Moore, and dancers Tip Tap and Toe. Lessy and Moore clown to "Wait 'Till the Sun Shines Nellie" and join Berle in a restaurant sketch.

Berle's guests this week include comedian Georgie Price, "mentalist" Dunninger, the Blackburn Twins, dancer Pat Rooney Jr., and actress/singer Janet Blair. Miltie opens dressed as Napoleon. Much of the program is devoted to the reopening of the famed vaudeville theater The Palace with cast members imitating many of its stars.

Milton's guests this week include comedian Leo DeLyon, balancing act King Brothers, opera singer Catherine Mastice, Eugene Freeman, comic/vocalist George DeWitt, and singers Dick Haymes and Lillian Roth. Haymes performs "When You're Really in Love" and "Skyscraper Blues" and joins Berle for a Broadway medley; Freeman sings "Caravan"; Mastice does an aria from "La Traviata"; Roth sings "Goody Goody"; in a slapstick sketch, Berle plays a piano-fixing plumber.

Berle's guests include comedians Bert Wheeler and Benny Fields.

Uncle Miltie's guests include comic/actor "Slapsie" Maxie Rosenbloom, teeterboard act the Lange Acrobatic Troupe, actor Horace McMahon, and double-talk comedian Al Kelly. Kelly, Berle and Rosenbloom do a slapstick courtroom sketch. In a take-off of the famous balcony scene, Rosenbloom plays Romeo to Berle's Juliet.

Berle's guests for the season finale include singer Tony Martin, and singer Lina Romay. Martin sings "Tenement Symphony." Romay performs a Latin tune and joins Berle and Eddie Hanley in a Mexican café sketch. Also, a send-up of "Mutiny on the Bounty," a Rube Goldberg comedy bit, and Milty appears in drag. The entire cast performs a production number about heading to California. Berle plugs his upcoming moving "Always Leave 'Em Laughing."