"summer stock theatre circuit in 1930. In 1937, he made his Broadway debut as Manero in the play ""Siege"". Other theatre credits from the 1930s include ""The Petrified Forest"", ""Three Men on a Horse"" and ""Room Service"". He also made several appearances on radio programs. From 1955 to 1959, Gosfield played Private Duane Doberman in ""The Phil Silvers Show"" (titled ""You'll Never Get Rich"" in its first season). Doberman was written as the most woebegone soldier. The actor originally hired for the part was Maurice Brenner, but Brenner was recast as Private Irving Fleischman. The show's creator Nat Hiken's biography"
"reruns, and is very often referred to by these names, both on-screen and by viewers. The show's success transformed Silvers from a journeyman comedian into a star, and writer-producer Hiken from a highly regarded behind-the-scenes comedy writer into a publicly recognized creator. By 1955, the American television business was already moving westward to Los Angeles, but Nat Hiken insisted on filming the series in New York City, believing it to be more conducive to comedic creativity and the show's humor. Early episodes were filmed at Dumont's television center in New York City – now home to WNYW-TV – with later"
"Nat Hiken's follow-up sitcom ""Car 54, Where Are You?"", and in ""McHale's Navy"". Silvers was able to parody, or play off, his enduring Bilko persona for the rest of his career. In 1963, he starred in ""The New Phil Silvers Show"", which attempted to transplant his mercenary character to a factory setting, but the result proved unpopular. Silvers frequently guest-starred on ""The Beverly Hillbillies"" as a character called Honest John. He also played unscrupulous Broadway producer Harold Hecuba on an episode of ""Gilligan's Island"", stealing the castaways' concept for a musical version of ""Hamlet"". In an episode of ""The Lucy"
"writer for United Press International. Hiken created and wrote for ""The Grouch Club"" and wrote for Fred Allen's hit radio show. Hiken also created, wrote, and directed the NBC radio program ""The Magnificent Montague"" which aired Friday nights from November 1950 through November 1951. Hiken worked for Warner Bros. as a screenwriter beginning in 1940 for the studio's short-subject films. Hiken is best known for a number of popular TV series during the 1950s and 1960s, including ""Car 54, Where Are You?"" and ""The Phil Silvers Show,"" a situation comedy set on a US Army post in which Silvers played"
"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. Silvers tried to revive with considerable changes the theme of his earlier much more successful ""The Phil Silvers Show"" (CBS, 1955–1959). In the 1963–1964 version, Silvers played Harry Grafton, a plant foreman at the Osborne Corporation, who like the previous Bilko character is always eager to embrace a get-rich-quick scheme. The large supporting cast included Stafford Repp as Grafton's supervisor, Mr."
"Barbara Bilko, was a goaltender in ice hockey for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2008–09 through 2010–2011. Steve Bilko Stephen Thomas Bilko (November 13, 1928 – March 7, 1978) was an American professional baseball player known for his home run hitting as a minor league player during the 1950s. He was 20 years old when he broke into Major League Baseball on September 22, 1949, with the St. Louis Cardinals. Nat Hiken, creator of ""The Phil Silvers Show"", supposedly took the name of the character Sgt. Bilko from Steve Bilko. Bilko was a home run-hitting first baseman of the 1950s"
"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,"
"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, receiving a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Stanley Green wrote, ""It was particularly blessed by offering two outstanding clowns in Phil Silvers as the pushiest of patsies and Nancy Walker."" Throughout the 1960s,"
"May 8, 1962, at the Alvin Theatre, and then transferred to the Mark Hellinger Theatre and the Majestic Theatre, where the show closed on August 29, 1964, after 964 performances and 8 previews. The show's creators originally wanted Phil Silvers in the lead role of Pseudolus, but he turned them down, allegedly because he would have to perform onstage without his glasses, and his vision was so poor that he feared tripping into the orchestra pit. He is also quoted as turning down the role for being ""Sgt. Bilko in a toga"". (Silvers eventually played the role — wearing his"
"Ross made Ritzik memorable. Ritzik was henpecked, dumb, and greedy, always an easy mark for Bilko's schemes. Whenever Ritzik had a sudden inspiration, he would hesitate and stammer ""Ooh! Ooh!"" before articulating his idea. The catch phrase came from the actor's own frustration when he couldn't remember his lines. Silvers would deliberately stray from the scripted dialogue and give Ross the wrong cues, prompting a genuinely confused reaction and an agonized ""Ooh! Ooh!"" from Ross. After ""The Phil Silvers Show"" ended in 1959, Nat Hiken went on to produce ""Car 54, Where Are You?"" and cast Joe E. Ross as"
"following ""The Jackie Gleason Show"" and preceding the acclaimed legal drama, ""The Defenders"". Opposite ""Phil Silvers"", NBC offered ""The Joey Bishop Show"" a sitcom with Joey Bishop and Abby Dalton, and ABC aired the first half of ""The Lawrence Welk Show"". In November ""The Defenders"" returned to its former (1961–63) 8:30 slot and Silvers' show moved to 9:30, according to Brooks and Marsh, ""The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present"", 7th edition, 1998. The New Phil Silvers Show The New Phil Silvers Show is an American situation comedy starring comedian Phil Silvers which aired thirty"
"called it ""Worst To First"" instead of the ""Flip This House"" show. He claimed that he pitched the show to A&E, which later agreed to produce and televise 13 episodes of the series. Mr. Davis alleged that A&E agreed that although A&E would pay all the show's production costs, the parties would be 50/50 partners in any profits generated from the project and agreed to prepare a written agreement stating such. Instead, according to Mr. Davis, A&E aired the program, using his likeness without his permission, and changing the name of the show from ""Worst to First"" to ""Flip This"
"musical. 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"". He appeared as curmudgeonly Hollywood producer Harold Hecuba in the classic 1966 episode ""The Producer"" on ""Gilligan's Island"", where he and the castaways performed a musical version of ""Hamlet"". (Silvers' production company Gladasya – named after his catchphrase ""Gladdaseeya!"" – financed the show.) Phil Silvers was married twice, to Jo-Carroll Dennison, and to Evelyn Patrick. Both of his marriages ended in divorce. He had five daughters — Candace, Cathy, Laurie, Nancey, and"
"no longer in their original broadcast order, from 1993 to 2004, with the BBC's last broadcast episode ""Bilko and the Flying Saucers"" appearing on 5 November 2004. It is currently being shown on Forces TV. The popularity of the program was underlined when the UK publication ""Radio Times Guide to Comedy"" ranked ""The Phil Silvers Show"" as its top TV sitcom. In May 2006, CBS DVD released a 50th anniversary collection entitled ""The Phil Silvers Show: 50th Anniversary Edition"". The 3-disc set features 18 episodes from the series. On July 27, 2010, CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount) released the first"
"title (""The Hee Haw Show""), more pop-oriented country music, and the barnyard-cornfield setting replaced by a city street and shopping mall set. The first of the new shows aired in January 1992. Despite the attempt to keep the show fresh, the changes alienated many of its longtime viewers while failing to gain the hoped-for younger viewers, and the ratings continued their decline. During the summer of 1992, a decision was made to end first-run production, and instead air highlights of the show's earlier years in a revamped program called ""Hee Haw Silver"" (as part of celebrating the show's 25th season)."
"Hayes, Jason Robards, Patricia Neal, William Windom, Gena Rowlands, Carolyn Jones, Melvyn Douglas, and Jodie Foster. The episode ""House of Evil"" was an original teleplay by Robert Bloch (written as ""The Doll's House""). After 13 episodes, ""Ghost Story"" was renamed ""Circle of Fear"" beginning with the January 5, 1973, episode. The change was necessary, according to executive producer William Castle, because of low ratings. He attributed the title change to the head of the production company, Screen Gems. Additionally, Cabot was dropped as the presenter. This reworked version lasted nine further episodes. The series consisted of a pilot and thirteen"
"the series was unsuccessful because it did not appeal to a younger audience, citing its similarities to ""The Phil Silvers Show"" as an additional reason. It returned Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM on September 9, 1973 then was moved to Saturdays at 8 AM on February 2, 1974 after CBS revamped their Saturday line-up. In syndication, the series was replayed on several television networks after its cancellation. USA Network ran the series beginning February 19, 1989, and until November 7, 1991. The United States' Cartoon Network began broadcasting it in 1994 and its sister channel Boomerang did so on several"
"show. He also co-wrote Milton Berle's 1947-48 radio series with Nat Hiken. Ruben started his TV producing and directing career in 1954 when he directed the TV series ""Caesar's Hour"" (1954). He then directed eleven episodes of ""The Phil Silvers Show"" between 1957 and 1959 along with Silvers' CBS TV special, ""Keep in Step"" (1959). He later produced ""The Andy Griffith Show"" (1960), working on that series for five seasons as producer, writer and story consultant. He went on to create the ""Andy Griffith"" spin-off ""Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C."" (1964), which turned out to be his only TV creation. Other credits"
"Glass as quartermaster Sgt. Andy Pendleton, and former boxer Walter Cartier as botany fiend Pvt. Claude Dillingham. Some episodes gave Bilko a romantic interest, Elisabeth Fraser as Sgt. Joan Hogan. A notable member of the platoon was Terry Carter as African-American Pvt Sugarman, at a time when US society was still largely segregated. The series frequently featured so many secondary cast members, with so many speaking parts, that the show ultimately became too expensive to sustain. It was this factor more than any notable decline in ratings which led to the show's demise in 1959. Though ""The Phil Silvers Show"""
"of Clinton contributed to this goal. Jay Leno offered him the role of his sidekick on ""The Tonight Show"" but Hartman opted to stay on ""SNL"". NBC persuaded him to stay on ""SNL"" by promising him his own comedy–variety show entitled ""The Phil Show"". He planned to ""reinvent the variety form"" with ""a hybrid, very fast-paced, high energy [show] with sketches, impersonations, pet acts, and performers showcasing their talents"". Hartman was to be the show's executive producer and head writer. Before production began, however, the network decided that variety shows were too unpopular and scrapped the series. In a 1996"
"musical show, which has catapulted Phil Silvers into the small, exalted company of great stage zanies."" Ethan Mordden wrote that Silvers ""took four of the funniest minutes in musical comedy history trying to teach a bewildered ingenue how to pull off a commercial, cajoling, hectoring, professorial, puerile, in audition, in tirade."" Silvers had suggested that a musical be made of the ""madness of week-to-week television...I would do Uncle Miltie"". Milton Berle began hosting the ""Texaco Star Theater"" on television in 1948. Because of their friendship, Silvers was able to use his knowledge of Berle to create the character of Jerry"
"Nielsen ratings when it moved to Sunday nights in 1961. In 1962, CBS moved ""Perry Mason"" to Thursday nights, where it easily won the ratings for its time slot. ""CBS just got plain cocky,"" said executive producer Gail Patrick Jackson. ""It irritated the suits to no end that Sundays at 8 was Ed Sullivan with his huge rating, and then everybody switched to NBC's ""Bonanza"". Bill Paley would rant about this every time we met."" Patrick continued: Then, for the September '65 season he floored me by telling the affiliates we'd be going Sundays at 9 with a mandate to"
"his entire career and life. When it seems that his whole world will cave in, Jerry's sponsor comes up with a new format for the Blendo program, and as far as Jerry is concerned, the day is saved. Act 1 Act 2 In his review for ""The New York Times"", Brooks Atkinson wrote: ""Phil Silvers will have to look after his health this winter. He is king-pin in a very funny musical show that ought to last as long as he can."" The ""Life"" magazine reviewer wrote that ""On Broadway today 'Top Banana' is the name of a new rough-and-tumble"
"Mirkin to co-create ""The Larry Sanders Show"" with him. Mirkin did not have time, but worked as writer and consultant on the show's first season, and later returned to direct the 1998 final season episode ""The Beginning of the End"". Mirkin wanted to produce a surreal, ""Monty Python""-esque, single-camera comedy series. He had a development deal with ""Newhart""s producers MTM Enterprises and persuaded them to buy the rights to produce a pilot for an American adaptation of the British sitcom ""The Young Ones"". The pilot was entitled ""Oh No, Not Them!"", and featured Nigel Planer from the original series, as"
"from ""The Phil Silvers Show"". Maurice Gosfield from the original platoon voiced Benny the Ball. ""Hokey Wolf"" was another Hanna-Barbera production that borrowed heavily from ""The Phil Silvers Show"". The episode of ""The Flintstones"" that introduced Dino gave the pet dinosaur a Sgt. Bilko-styled voice and character. After this atypical debut, Dino never spoke again. Another episode recruited Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble into the army, where they were conned by an unnamed Bilko-like character into becoming astronaut test pilots. The film ""The Manchurian Candidate"" (1962) used the names of several people associated with ""Sgt. Bilko"" for the members of"
"had been a long-running cast member on ""The Daily Show"" prior to getting a spin-off. He had worked as a contributor on the show since August 2006; he served as the ""Senior Black Correspondent"" and also ran ""Wilmore-Oliver Investigates"" alongside John Oliver. The original title of the show was going to be ""The Minority Report with Larry Wilmore"", which was suggested by Jon Stewart. It was later changed as a result of receiving backlash from Fox as they intend to use the same title for an upcoming series based on the 2002 film of the same name, Wilmore later stated"
"""Your Hit Parade"" and ""The Ed Sullivan Show"". When his comedian brother Bill arrived in New York in the early 1950s, performing stand-up under his birth name Szathmary, Irving admonished him with ""Don't you know that I have a reputation in music?"" that led Bill to adopt the surname ""Dana"" after their mother ""Dene"". Irving sometimes used the names Szath-Myri and ""Irving Zathmary"". In 1959 Irving headed Citation Records. It was Bill Dana who introduced his brother to comedy writer and television producer Leonard Stern to compose the music for Stern's television show ""I'm Dickens, He's Fenster"". Stern loved the"
"his first appearance he was called ""Bill Fox,"" presumably because ""Sonny"" did not seem professional enough, but by the second program he became ""Sonny Fox"" because the name ""Bill Fox"" had been registered by another entertainment personality. Fox was fired a few weeks into the series and replaced by Ralph Story, reportedly because he simply was not as funny or bright hosting the game as he was in person, according to producers. Fox himself admitted later (in the same PBS interview, as well as at a 2012 book signing in Stamford, CT), that he was so awkward he ""had a"
"to more hidden elements within the series, such as the founding fathers of the show's central town. In writing the series, the production schedule was built around spending several weeks writing the series' scripts. Jinkins asked each writer to place a central theme at the top of each script — what issue Doug is dealing with, and what he learns. Jinkins often told staff that he wanted the show to remain relevant ""in 30 years,"" aiming for a timeless effect. While developing the series, Jinkins wanted to change its name from ""Doug"" to ""The Funnies"", but the network encouraged him"
"Steve Bilko Stephen Thomas Bilko (November 13, 1928 – March 7, 1978) was an American professional baseball player known for his home run hitting as a minor league player during the 1950s. He was 20 years old when he broke into Major League Baseball on September 22, 1949, with the St. Louis Cardinals. Nat Hiken, creator of ""The Phil Silvers Show"", supposedly took the name of the character Sgt. Bilko from Steve Bilko. Bilko was a home run-hitting first baseman of the 1950s and early 1960s, who enjoyed his greatest fame with the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast"
"cities (including New York) aired the 7:15 p.m. edition. Note: ""The Martha Raye Show"" and ""The Chevy Show"" appeared monthly. As of November 1, ""You'll Never Get Rich"" officially became ""The Phil Silvers Show"", swapping time periods with ""Navy Log"". <nowiki>*</nowiki> Formerly ""Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts"" on CBS. ""** What's the Story"" aired only until September 23, before being cancelled. Notes: 1955–56 United States network television schedule The 1955–56 United States network television schedule was for the period that began in September 1955 and ran through March 1956. ""The $64,000 Question"" had debuted on CBS during summer 1955 and became"
"was used in different types of animation. ""Home Improvement"" had been in the works between Tim Allen and the writing/producing team of Carmen Finestra, David McFadzean, and Matt Williams since the summer of 1990. Originally, the project's proposed title was ""Hammer Time"", both a play on the catchphrase made popular by artist MC Hammer and the name of the fictional fix-it show within the series, which was also called ""Hammer Time"". By the time ABC committed to the project in early 1991, Allen and his team had already changed the title to ""Home Improvement"". The show hosted by Tim Taylor"
"New York City. It had one Broadway revival in 1989. Hy Kraft's 1954 musical play ""Top Banana"" was filmed for the screen and released as a movie in 1954, starring Phil Silvers as a television comic trying to regain his ratings on TV. Feeling the show was a personal swipe at him, Milton Berle wrote of it, ""The only public attack I got any pleasure from was the one dreamed up by Hy Kraft and Johnny Mercer, and starring Phil Silvers. It was a big Broadway musical called ""Top Banana"", in which Phil played an egomaniac named Jerry Biffle who"