Milton Berle And His Television Legacy
When Milton Berle died in 2002, few of the media that reported on his passing even began to fathom the enormity of his impact. In most publications, Berle received less ink than British comedy actor Dudley Moore and director Billy Wilder. While both men were certainly talented and worthy of eulogizing, to suggest that they left a legacy even comparable to Berle’s is absurd and demonstrates a complete ignorance of entertainment history.
Milton Berle not only trod the path, he found the path and cleared it. It’s not an overstatement to suggest that Berle not only “made” television, but the entire popular entertainment culture of the late 20th and early 21st century. It’s shameful that much of the culture he created was oblivious to the fact that even they owe an ancestral debt to Berle. Before Milton Berle, there was no “must see TV”-people didn’t care what was on when because it was all poorly produced and amateurishly acted. Berle’s “Texaco Star Theater” was the first blockbuster hit on television and put up numbers that are unfathomable today-it would routinely draw 80%+ of the television audience and hit over 90% on a few occasions. By way of comparison, consider that the NFL and the TV networks consider it a great year when the Superbowl draws a 70% share.
When people started to care what was on when, it beget TV Guide and publications like Entertainment Weekly and celebrity TV networks like E! are just little more than that publications progeny. The fact that EW doesnt realize that Berle put the seeds in the ground is the problem with mass media today: they just dont get the fact that some people, places, things or concepts are of greater value than others. Their tendency is to elevate the superficial and banal to a higher level of importance, while simultaneously trying to minimize and dumb down that which is deserving of great praise.
The man who would be dubbed ‘Mr. Television’ was born on July 12, 1908 and his showbiz career began in vaudeville. This led to the television show that made him an institution. His TV success wasnt a matter of him being in the right place at the right time. He had an uncanny understanding of how to utilize the medium, and an ability to adapt his stage act to the new audience. Berle worked constantly throughout his 88 year career, even earning an Emmy Award nomination in the late 1990′s.
Perhaps the best evidence of the sort of man that Milton Berle was is the fact that so few bad things were said about him in the backbiting, petty world of show biz. Most gave the same account–a quick witted, devil may care gentleman who enjoyed the good life. In particular, his trademark cigar–while it wasn’t the prop that it was for George Burns his taste in cigars were much more refined. While Burns typically smoked El Productos and cheaper sticks, Berle favored high end Cuban Montecristos.
Milton Berle was a gentleman, an icon and an excellent role model for all American men. His legacy is all around us in the pop culture, even if the culture he created no longer realizes it.
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