Phil Silvers (May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedy actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah." He is best known for starring in The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S. Army post in which he played Sergeant Bilko.
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| 1 | He was awarded the 1972 Antoinette Perry (Tony) Award for Best Actor in a Musical for "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," on Broadway in New York City. |
| 2 | Delivered the eulogy at fellow comedian Rags Ragland's funeral. |
| 3 | His eyesight was so bad that he developed a fear of falling into the orchestra pit when he was on stage. In 1962 he turned down the leading role of Pseudolus in the original stage production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" in part for this reason (he also thought the role was too much like "Sgt. Bilko in a toga"). The role eventually went to Zero Mostel. Silvers played the role of Marcus Lycus in the 1966 film version. In 1972 he played Pseudolus in the Broadway revival, which closed early after he suffered a stroke. The performance won him his second Tony Award. Debbie Reynolds also mentioned this fear, during a 2013 interview on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2005). She said that in the early 1950s she and Silvers were part of the last vaudeville touring company, before the theatre circuit closed. She said that he used to tie a rope around his waist with the other end tied to a piano leg, so he wouldn't fall into the orchestra pit. |
| 4 | Discovered by impresario Gus Edwards and hired to perform as a singer, in vaudeville, at the age of 13. Three years later he appeared as a comedian in burlesque shows, often with his long-standing partner and friend Herbie Faye. He made his Broadway debut in the musical "Yokel Boy" in 1939. |
| 5 | Appears as Master Sergeant Ernest G. (Ernie) Bilko on a 44¢ USA commemorative postage stamp, issued 11 August 2009, in the Early TV Memories issue honoring The Phil Silvers Show (1955). |
| 6 | Silvers' sight was failing fast, and to compensate for this fact he was wearing contact lenses as well as glasses. It was a familiar sight to see Jim Dale, Peter Butterworth, and Silvers scatting around the sand for a lost lens while filming Carry on in the Legion (1967). |
| 7 | Suffered a stroke in 1972. |
| 8 | His first wife, Jo-Carroll Dennison was Miss America of 1942. |
| 9 | Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 740-741. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998. |
| 10 | Later in life, after having cataract surgery on both eyes and with lenses then implanted in his eyes, he no longer needed eyeglasses. However, he continued to wear them without any glass in them--just the frames--because his glasses were, after all, his trademark. |
| 11 | Father-in-law of writer/director/composer Iren Koster. |
| 12 | Has won two Tony Awards as Best Actor (Musical): in 1952 for "Top Banana," a part that he recreated in the film version of the same name, Top Banana (1954), and in 1972 for a revival of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." He was also nominated in the same category in 1961 for "Do Re Mi." |
| 13 | Daughter Tracey Silvers is a film producer and writer. |
| 14 | He was a gambling addict. Once, when complaining about his lack of work and being broke in Los Angeles, he absent-mindedly pulled out a large wad of bills. When asked about why did not live on that money, he replied it did not count because it was only his gambling money. |
| 15 | Enjoyed a long string of Broadway successes, most notably "High Button Shoes" (1948), "Top Banana" (1951, for which he won a Tony award), "Do-Re-Mi" (1961), "How the Other Half Loves" (1970), and the revival of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (1971, and another Tony win). |
| 16 | Had five daughters with his second wife, Evelyn Patrick: Tracey Silvers (1957), Nancey Silvers, Cathy Silvers, Candace Silvers (1961) and Laury Silvers (1963). Grandfather of Jaclyn Sara Silvers and Phillip Frankland Lee. |
| 17 | His Gladasya production company co-produced Gilligan's Island (1964). |
| 18 | He wrote the lyrics to the Jimmy Van Heusen song "Nancy (With the Laughing Face)" for friend Frank Sinatra's firstborn child Nancy Sinatra. |
| 19 | Interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park, Los Angeles, CA. |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| CHiPs | 1983 | TV Series | Herman Hinton |
| Happy Days | 1981 | TV Series | Roscoe Piccalo |
| Take Me Up to the Ball Game | 1980 | TV Movie | Irwin (voice) |
| There Goes the Bride | 1980 | Psychiatrist |
| The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood | 1980 | William B. Warkoff |
| Goldie and the Boxer | 1979 | TV Movie | Wally |
| Racquet | 1979 | Arthur Sargent |
| Fantasy Island | 1978 | TV Series | Charlie Parks |
| The Cheap Detective | 1978 | Hoppy |
| The Love Boat | 1977 | TV Series | Merrill Stubing, Sr. / 'Stubby' / Morris Beckman |
| The Night They Took Miss Beautiful | 1977 | TV Movie | Marv Barker |
| The Chicken Chronicles | 1977 | Max Ober |
| Charlie's Angels | 1977 | TV Series | Max Brown |
| Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood | 1976 | Murray Fromberg |
| S.W.A.T. | 1975 | TV Series | Russ Baker |
| Get Christie Love! | 1975 | TV Series | Uncle Harry |
| The Strongest Man in the World | 1975 | Kirwood Krinkle |
| Kolchak: The Night Stalker | 1974 | TV Series | Harry Starman |
| The Dean Martin Show | 1972 | TV Series |
| Eddie | 1971 | TV Movie | Eddie Skinner |
| Julia | 1971 | TV Series | Captain Biestoff |
| The Beverly Hillbillies | 1969-1970 | TV Series | Shifty Shafer aka Honest John |
| The Boatniks | 1970 | Harry Simmons |
| That's Life | 1968 | TV Series |
| Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell | 1968 | Phil Newman |
| Carry On... Follow That Camel | 1967 | Sergeant Nocker |
| Spotlight | 1967 | TV Series |
| A Guide for the Married Man | 1967 | Technical Advisor (Realtor) |
| Damn Yankees! | 1967 | TV Movie | Mr.Applegate |
| The Lucy Show | 1966 | TV Series | Oliver Kasten |
| A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | 1966 | Marcus Lycus |
| Gilligan's Island | 1966 | TV Series | Harold Hecuba |
| The New Phil Silvers Show | 1963-1964 | TV Series | Harry Grafton |
| It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World | 1963 | Otto Meyer |
| General Foods Opening Night | 1963 | TV Movie |
| 40 Pounds of Trouble | 1962 | Bernie Friedman |
| Something's Got to Give | 1962 | Short | Insurance Salesman |
| The Jack Benny Program | 1962 | TV Series | Phil Silvers |
| Summer in New York | 1960 | TV Movie |
| The Slowest Gun in the West | 1960 | TV Movie | Fletcher Bissell III, The Silver Dollar Kid |
| The Ballad of Louie the Louse | 1959 | TV Movie | Louie |
| The Phil Silvers Show | 1955-1959 | TV Series | MSgt. Ernest G. Bilko / Felix Bilko / Herbert Penfield III / ... |
| Keep in Step | 1959 | TV Movie | Sgt Ernest G 'Ernie' Bilko / Himself |
| Saturday Spectacular: High Button Shoes | 1956 | TV Movie | Blue Sky Promoter |
| The New Recruits | 1955 | TV Movie | M / Sgt. Ernest G. Bilko |
| Lucky Me | 1954 | Hap Schneider |
| Top Banana | 1954 | Jerry Biffle |
| Summer Stock | 1950 | Herb Blake |
| The Arrow Show | 1948 | TV Series | Host - Main Performer |
| If I'm Lucky | 1946 | Wallingham M. 'Wally' Jones |
| A Thousand and One Nights | 1945 | Abdullah |
| Don Juan Quilligan | 1945 | 'Mac' MacDenny |
| Diamond Horseshoe | 1945 | Blinkie Miller |
| Something for the Boys | 1944 | Harry Hart |
| Take It or Leave It | 1944 | Phil Silvers |
| Cover Girl | 1944 | Genius |
| Four Jills in a Jeep | 1944 | Eddie |
| A Lady Takes a Chance | 1943 | Smiley Lambert |
| Coney Island | 1943 | Frankie |
| Just Off Broadway | 1942 | Roy Higgins |
| Tales of Manhattan | 1942 | 1st Salesman at Santelli's (Fields sequence) (uncredited) |
| Footlight Serenade | 1942 | Slap |
| My Gal Sal | 1942 | Wiley |
| Roxie Hart | 1942 | Babe |
| All Through the Night | 1942 | Waiter |
| You're in the Army Now | 1941 | Breezy Jones |
| Lady Be Good | 1941 | Master of Ceremonies |
| Ice-Capades | 1941 | Larry Herman |
| Tom, Dick and Harry | 1941 | Ice Cream Vendor |
| The Penalty | 1941 | Hobo |
| The Wild Man of Borneo | 1941 | Murdock |
| Hit Parade of 1941 | 1940 | Charlie Moore |
| Strike Up the Band | 1940 | Pitch Man (scenes deleted) |
| The Candid Kid | 1938 | Short | Phil Silvers |
| Here's Your Hat | 1937 | Short |
| Ups and Downs | 1937 | Short | Charlie |
| Success | 1931 | Short | Antic fellow |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| Bridge of Spies | 2015 | writer: "Nancy With the Laughing Face" |
| Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me | 2009 | TV Movie documentary performer: "Top Banana" |
| Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing | 2009 | Video documentary performer: "Make Way for Tomorrow" - uncredited |
| The Sopranos | 2002 | TV Series lyrics - 1 episode |
| Hear My Song | 1991 | writer: "Nancy with the Laughing Face" - as Silvers |
| American Pop | 1981 | writer: "Nancy with the Laughing Face" |
| A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | 1966 | performer: "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid", "Comedy Tonight" reprise |
| Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music | 1965 | TV Special lyrics: "Nancy With the Laughing Face" - uncredited |
| Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall | 1960 | TV Series lyrics - 1 episode |
| The Ballad of Louie the Louse | 1959 | TV Movie performer: "Don't Come To Me" |
| The Phil Silvers Show | TV Series performer - 11 episodes, 1955 - 1959 writer - 2 episodes, 1956 - 1958 |
| Lucky Me | 1954 | performer: "High Hopes", "Men", "Blue Bells of Broadway" |
| Summer Stock | 1950 | performer: " Howdy Neighbor Happy Harvest", "Heavenly Music" - uncredited |
| If I'm Lucky | 1946 | performer: "Follow the Band" - uncredited |
| Community Sing 7659: Aren't You Glad You're You | 1946 | Short lyrics: "Nancy with the Laughing Face" |
| A Thousand and One Nights | 1945 | performer: "All or Nothing at All" 1940 - uncredited |
| Something for the Boys | 1944 | performer: "WOULDN'T IT BE NICE?", "SOUTHLAND", "CLIMBIN' UP DEM GOLDEN STAIRS" / writer: "SOUTHLAND" |
| Cover Girl | 1944 | "PUT ME TO THE TEST", uncredited / performer: "WHO'S COMPLAINING?", "MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW" - uncredited |
| Four Jills in a Jeep | 1944 | performer: "No Love, No Nothin'" - uncredited |
| Coney Island | 1943 | performer: "Who Threw the Overalls in Mistress Murphy's Chowder" uncredited, "Get the Money" |
| My Gal Sal | 1942 | performer: "MR. VOLUNTEER", "MY GAL SAL" |
| You're in the Army Now | 1941 | performer: "I'm Glad My Number Was Called" 1941, "Happy Birthday to You" 1893 - uncredited |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| The Kraft Music Hall | 1969-1970 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Merv Griffin Show | 1965-1970 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Engelbert Humperdinck Show | 1970 | TV Series | Himself |
| Name Droppers | 1970 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Movie Game | 1969 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Bob Hope Show | 1969 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Joey Bishop Show | 1967-1969 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Dean Martin Show | 1967-1969 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Jackie Gleason Show | 1966-1968 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Hollywood Palace | 1966-1968 | TV Series | Himself - Host |
| The Danny Thomas Hour | 1967 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Eamonn Andrews Show | 1967 | TV Series | Himself |
| Late Night Line-Up | 1967 | TV Series | Himself |
| Salute to Stan Laurel | 1965 | TV Special documentary | Himself |
| The Entertainers | 1965 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| An Hour with Robert Goulet | 1964 | TV Special |
| The Danny Kaye Show | 1964 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Ed Sullivan Show | 1952-1964 | TV Series | Himself / Himself - Guest Host / MSgt. Ernest G. Bilko |
| The Jerry Lewis Show | 1963 | TV Series | Himself |
| Talent Scouts | 1963 | TV Series | Himself |
| I've Got a Secret | 1958-1963 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Judy and Her Guests, Phil Silvers and Robert Goulet | 1963 | TV Movie | Himself |
| The Jack Benny Program | 1960-1961 | TV Series | Himself |
| What's My Line? | 1950-1961 | TV Series | Himself - Mystery Guest |
| The 15th Annual Tony Awards | 1961 | TV Special | Himself - Host |
| Person to Person | 1955-1960 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Celebrity Talent Scouts | 1960 | TV Series | Himself |
| Alan Melville Takes You from A-Z | 1959 | TV Series | Himself |
| The 11th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards | 1959 | TV Special | Himself - Presenter |
| The Steve Allen Plymouth Show | 1959 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Phil Silvers Pontiac Special: Keep in Step | 1959 | TV Special | Himself / Sgt. Ernest G. Bilko |
| The 12th Annual Tony Awards | 1958 | TV Special | Himself - Presenter |
| To Tell the Truth | 1958 | TV Series | Himself |
| The World Our Stage | 1957 | TV Movie | Himself - Broadcast from America |
| This Is Your Life | 1956 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Name's the Same | 1954 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Frank Sinatra Show | 1950-1951 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Colgate Comedy Hour | 1951 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Saturday Night Revue with Jack Carter | 1951 | TV Series | Himself |
| Ford Star Revue | 1951 | TV Series | Himself |
| Texaco Star Theatre | 1948-1950 | TV Series | Himself / Himself - Comedian / Himself - Comic Actor |
| Welcome Aboard | 1948 | TV Series | Himself |
| Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America | 2009 | TV Series documentary |
| Sunday Night Live | 1984 | TV Movie | Himself - Master of Ceremonies (M.C.) |
| The Dick Cavett Show | 1982 | TV Series | Himself |
| Tomorrow Coast to Coast | 1981 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Annual Friars Club Tribute Presents a Salute to Milton Berle | 1980 | TV Movie | Himself |
| Hey, Abbott! | 1978 | Himself |
| CBS: On the Air | 1978 | TV Mini-Series documentary |
| The Mike Douglas Show | 1971-1977 | TV Series | Himself - Comic Actor / Himself - Comedian |
| The 29th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards | 1977 | TV Special | Himself |
| Joys | 1976 | TV Special | Himself |
| ABC Late Night | 1975 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Carol Burnett Show | 1975 | TV Series | Himself |
| Dinah! | 1975 | TV Series | Himself |
| Parkinson | 1973 | TV Series | Himself |
| Take a Giant Step | 1972 | TV Series | Himself |
| The David Frost Show | 1970-1972 | TV Series | Himself - Guest / Himself |
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | 1971-1972 | TV Series | Himself |
| The 26th Annual Tony Awards | 1972 | TV Special | Himself |
| Flip | 1972 | TV Series | Himself |
| Stand Up and Cheer | 1971 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Dick Cavett Show | 1971 | TV Series | Himself |
| Plimpton! Did You Hear the One About? | 1971 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| The Hollywood Squares | 1966-1971 | TV Series | Himself - Panelist |
| The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour | 1971 | TV Series | Himself |
| Laugh-In | 1970 | TV Series | Himself |
