Talk:Milton Berle

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Contents

[edit] equpiment

No mention of his equipment? I imagine everyone else inclined to add it ran into the same problems I did, the twin questions of where to put it and how to phrase it. --Charles A. L. 18:17, Dec 10, 2003 (UTC)

Hard to put it tastefully —
"You know the old story about Milton and Forrest Tucker having big _______, right? I guess Berle and Tuck both had ones in the 12" to 16" neighborhood. The show biz guys all had a steam room they went to in New York. Jackie Gleason was horsing around one afternoon, and decided he wanted to measure them to see who’s was bigger. Berle allegedly had the advantage by about 2". Gleason said, "Come on Milt, just take enough out to win the bet for me."
Dick Shawn described being in the steam room with Berle this way, "I didn’t have my glasses on. I thought he had a small child standing next to him… until I realized it was his ______."

Speculation about his many conquests revolved around Hollywood housewives seeking revenge on philandering husbands. - Sparky 03:42, 8 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Well, if you want muckracking on Milton Berle, go to the Find-a-Death site and look up Milton Berle's entry (http://www.findadeath.com/). Man, this guy rakes Berle over the coals. Even though he's long dead now, Berle's estate could still probably win a libel and slander suit! Yanqui9 22:23, 5 May 2007 (UTC)
Try to make more constructive comments in the future, please.. This isn't some sort of forum. - Zero1328 Talk? 12:27, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

So, what's the story? Have we given up on trying to make any reference to the stories about his penis size? RMoloney (talk) 13:19, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

Not sure it would fit into the article. The reference, that is.Bjones 14:33, 25 January 2006 (UTC)

"He was born in a five-story walkup at 68 West 118th Street." Where? —LarryGilbert 23:07, 2004 Mar 21 (UTC)

Thanks, Nunh-huh! —LarryGilbert
No prob. I wonder about the née vs ne in the first line, but I suppose I worry too much<G> - Nunh-huh 23:23, 21 Mar 2004 (UTC)
In fact, you're right. He wore a dress onstage, he wasn't actually a woman. --♥ «Charles A. L.» 01:24, Apr 16, 2004 (UTC)

There should be some mention of it. Use the technical word "genitalia." Something along the lines of "Persistent Hollywood legend asserts that Berle had unusually large genitalia." Back up with some anecdotes such as the "just enough to win the bet" story. This is enough of a pop culture phenomenon that it deserves some mention and the size of his genitals is probably what he is most know for by the current generation.

[edit] Cleanup

I put cleanup tags on this article for several reasons. First, there are several cases where the style of the article is not what is expected of a WP article, i.e. having section headers like "Saturday Night Doomed" and "Goodbye Uncle Milty," or having sentences like "It was one of the finest performances in Berle's later life," or the whole last paragraph which offers an analysis of Berle's career that would be more at home in a research paper than an encyclopedia article.

There are instances of weasel words, as in "Berle's freewheeling, wildly antic style ensured his legend would outlive the show (which once owned America's home audience on Tuesday nights) and, some feel, his talent" (my italics).

Some of this wouldn't be too bad if the article cited sources. For instance, making the claim that "Milton Berle gave a new medium a shape that continues to be a reference point for both the best and the least of what that medium has since had to offer," really should be sourced as it is such a sweeping claim (it probably wouldn't be to difficult to find a notable critic who has said something like that. I mean, its Milton Berle!). A source for the remark about television sales probably should be sourced too, since without one, it seems like just a rumour.

All this seems to have been added by an anon on Jan. 20th, so it shouldn't be to difficult of a fix. If the above is strongly worded, I apologize, but I was rather jarred when I read this article.Gershwinrb 04:15, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Addendum: "glib" is the word I was looking for to describe parts of this article.Gershwinrb 20:20, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Picture

I've removed the image that was on this page because it may not be fair use i.e. it was a screenshot from the Muppet Movie, and as licensed, can only be used for commentary on the movie. A publicity photo would be better. Gershwinrb 21:08, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "...worked clean"

Does that phrase remind anyone of other comics? Bob Saget comes to my mind. WAVY 10 23:12, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Bob Saget does NOT work clean. After Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos, the most famous things he's done I can think of are his song "My Dog Licked My Balls" and his bit where he said "I sucked dick for crack" or some such in Half Backed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dsmccohen (talk • contribs) 20:16, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Family Member adds some editing and additional info

I am the adopted son of Milton Berle. I went through some of the material on the Milton Berle page, and made some additions and corrections. Any of the official Wikipedia editors or qualified administrators who wish to may contact me directly to verify some or all of the facts and opinions I edited into the page. There are a couple of things that I put on the page that I would personally wish to see remain on the page. Qualified Wikipedia administrators can contact Bill Berle victorbravo (at) sbcglobal {dot} net .

Although Milton and I were estranged for the last few years of his life, I am very proud of his achievements and I want to have the stories told honestly.

For any of the others who posed questions about that thing of his, yes it was 100% true. A baby's arm holding an apple, as the old saying goes. I was adopted, so I got the sense of humor instead.

Bill Berle April 4, 2006

[edit] tone work

I worked on the tone up until the subheading "shooting star", this is long and tedious... I'm tired! Strongfaithin1 03:10, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

I spent some time on this article tonight working on style/tone and trying to make it flow better. If William Berle is reading this, I hope I have been true to the spirit of your additions. There is still quite a bit of work to be done on this article to bring it up to code; maybe I'll add more later. Clarke Ingram, webmaster of the DuMont Television Network web site 152.163.100.199 05:45, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] That image ok?

I uploaded an photo of him... you guys approve? Ben Tibbetts 22:11, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Joke theft

I've heard from at least a couple of sources, I think, that Berle had a reputation for using other comics' material and perhaps implicitly claiming it as his own -- earning him the sobriquet "The Thief of Bad-Gags." I don't have any citation. One of my sources may have been my late father, who worked on the periphery of show business as a theatrical photographer.

[edit] Bill Berle

I edited this pretty heavily today, adding the infobox and a section on his early life to conform better to WP's biography style.

I also removed this paragraph, near the end:

While Berle's manic style may seem dated today, many TV styles are doomed to a short life, and Berle's career was among the first to show that the TV audience was extremely fickle. Nevertheless, Berle helped shape the new medium. He continues to be a reference point in the history of television, and he stands as a memorable icon of its early years.

I understand that material like this (giving either a positive or negative opinion instead of WP:NPOV) shouldn't be deleted but moved to this talk page instead. I also removed some of the citations, because they were all to the same online biographical article – but even worse is that they didn't have any relationship to the parts of this article they are supposed to support.

I'm also uncertain about how to treat Mr. Bill Berle's additions. I have little doubt that he has given accurate information and I certainly don't intend to offend him, but I'm concerned about WP:CITE, WP:VERIFY, and WP:NOR. How does one cite himself or herself as a source? Does providing personal stories and memories count as original research? If not, why not - isn't a personal memory unverifiable? I've read all three of the applicable policies and I'm still unsure what to do. I've left the material alone for now, but I'd like to see what others think, since I'm a relative newcomer and I haven't personally met this issue prior to now. Perhaps it too should be moved here, to the talk page. BaseballBaby 23:35, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bill Berle

Hi Bill any chance of contacting you. Maybe if you put a post on Imdb at Miltons page. i could respond and give you my email address. i'd love to chat John

[edit] 1913 impersonation of Charlie Chaplin

"His onstage antics got underway in 1913 when he won a lookalike contest with his impersonation of Charlie Chaplin": How could Milton Berle win such a contest at the age of 5, when Chaplin's movie career (at Keystone) didn't really begin until 1914?

[edit] Caricature

I removed the goofy caricature as it's in poor taste and I doubt Berle (or anyone for that matter) would want that kind of a photo representing them in a recounting of their life. Quadzilla99 06:51, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

"photo"? It's not a photo; it's artwork. "representing them"? It was a common practice in the 1940s and 1950s for comedians to use caricatures in their ads and other promotional materials. Berle was caricatured many times. Martin & Lewis performed on television with huge caricature blow-ups behind them. Sam Berman was one of the great caricaturists, and NBC had him create caricatures not only of comedians but also vocalists and newsmen. "goofy"? A caricature is intended to be "goofy." That's the point! "poor taste"? Explain. I don't follow you. Why did people eat at Sardi's surrounded by hundreds of caricatures if poor taste? Pepso 17:31, 24 January 2007 (UTC)
Specious reasoning. People ate at Sardi's so it's OK to use a caricature photo in a person's encyclopedia article? Are you really saying that? Quadzilla99 05:06, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
Look, I empathize with not having enough quality pics for an encyclopedia article, but that photo is unacceptable. Quadzilla99 09:45, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
Why do you keep calling it a "photo"? Pepso 07:27, 4 February 2007 (UTC)
The image is a cartoonic caricature. There's nothing special about this caricature compared to the other hundreds of caricatures done on countless people. The image doesn't add anything to the article in any way, other than for decoration, which is not permitted under fair-use policy. - Zero1328 Talk? 12:27, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Re: SNL debacle & citation needed

Regarding the "citation needed" tag(s) that I just added to the "SNL debacle" section, citation is needed for assertions like "Berle was apparently not ready to accept that...". Either get a citation (or, preferably, a quote) that says exactly that or else lose the weasel words ("was apparently"). No bad feelings here, I was just passing by and this jumped out at me. Mlibby 13:53, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mendel?

Can't this be clarified? Dozens of sources, including the Guardian, CNN and the Voice of America say Berle's birth name was Mendel. Pepso 03:55, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

It is already clarified. Just get a copy of his birth certificate which clearly says Milton Berlinger. ChatNoir

[edit] June 5 reversion

208.120.227.250 07:02, 6 June 2007 (UTC)Radio careers had not thrived for "longer" than two decades as of 1951. Milton Berle did not play a "role" on Jackpot Bowling. Berle did not "found" the Friars Club by himself. "Show business" is two words. Subjects of Friars roasts are not "truly embarrassed." Berle was well-known both for jokes about his penis and his joke thievery, and there is ample documentation for both. Please be less quick in the future to simply revert an edit, even to the point of restoring "showbusiness."—Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.120.227.250 (talk • contribs)

[edit] Huge Penis

According to the famous short story by Truman Capote, A Beautiful Child, Milton Berle had the biggest 'schlong' in Hollywood. If anyone would know for certain, it would be Mr. Capote.

It was Mr Capote's story, but it was Marilyn Monroe who told him, and she would know having slept with him

[edit] Penis Pic?

Would an illustration of Berle's penis be called for? Obviously, not under normal circumstances, but in this case it's a big part of the man's story (no pun intended). I know there are pictures in existence. --johnhenrybonham

I think it's a good idea.--cliff777

I know I'd like to see it.--jakethejoker

Will it be life size?--noyabiznus

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Leavelaugh.jpg

Image:Leavelaugh.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 07:59, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Citations & References

See Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags Nhl4hamilton (talk) 10:55, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WP:WikiProject Actors and Filmmakers priority assessment

Per debate and discussion re: assessment of the approximate 100 top priority articles of the project, this article has been included as a top priority article. Wildhartlivie (talk) 10:20, 29 February 2008 (UTC)