Editing Milton Berle (section)

==Personal life==
[[File:1979 milton berle and wife at rose premiere.jpg|thumb|right|Milton Berle and Ruth Cosgrove Berle, 1979.]]
After twice marrying and divorcing showgirl Joyce Mathews, Berle married publicist Ruth Cosgrove ({{nee}} Rosenthal) in 1953; she died of cancer in 1989.<ref name=Ruth>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zVQuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4H4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=695,3891050&dq=goodman+ace&hl=en|title='Mr. TV' Is Coming Back|author=Kamm, Herbert|date=August 27, 1958|newspaper=Schenectady Gazette|access-date=January 23, 2011}}</ref><ref name=RuthObit>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xJNcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-lcNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4327,3990991&dq=milton+berle&hl=en|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130124150132/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xJNcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-lcNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4327,3990991&dq=milton+berle&hl=en|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 24, 2013|title=Milton Berle's Wife Dies|date=April 20, 1989|newspaper=Merced Sun-Star|access-date=January 23, 2011}}</ref> In 1989, Berle stated that his mother was behind the breakup of his marriages to Mathews. He also said that she managed to damage his previous relationships: "My mother never resented me going out with a girl, but if I had more than three dates with one girl, Mama found some way to break it up."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=N1xWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1e8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6863,1231529&dq=milton+berle&hl=en|title=Milton had to prove his manhood|date=March 18, 1989|newspaper=The Spokesman-Review|access-date=January 23, 2011}}</ref> He married a fourth time in 1992 to Lorna Adams, a fashion designer 30 years his junior. He had three children, Victoria (adopted by Berle and Mathews), William (adopted by Berle and Cosgrove) and a biological son, Bob Williams, with showgirl Junior Standish ''(née'' Jean Dunne Arthur; 1925–2006).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/there-was-something-funny-abpit-uncle-miltie-after-42-years-milton-berle-and-his-secret-love-child-scottsdales-bob-williams-tell-their-story-6425679 |title=There Was Something Funny About "Uncle Miltie": After 42 years, Milton Berle and his secret lovechild – Scottsdale's Bob Williams – tell their story |work=Phoenix New Times |date=September 1, 1993 |last=Walker |first=Dave |access-date=August 14, 2021}}</ref> Berle had two stepdaughters from his marriage to Adams: Leslie and Susan Brown.<ref name=wp/> He also had three grandchildren: Victoria's sons James and Mathew,<ref name=RuthObit/> and William's son Tyler Daniel Roe, who died in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cappadonafh.com/obits/obituary.php?id=445341 |title=Obituary for Tyler Daniel Roe |website=Cappadonafh.com |access-date=April 23, 2020}}</ref>

Berle's autobiography contains many tales of his sexual exploits. He claimed relationships with numerous famous women including [[Marilyn Monroe]] and [[Betty Hutton]], columnist [[Dorothy Kilgallen]], and evangelist [[Aimee Semple McPherson]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Klein|first=Joe|title=But Seriously, Folks, It's Uncle Miltie|date=February 14, 1983|volume=16|issue=7|page=56|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=INgBAAAAMBAJ&dq=milton+berle+stealing+jokes&pg=PA55|access-date=December 20, 2013|journal=New York Magazine}}</ref> The veracity of some of these claims has been questioned.<ref>Cox, R.L. ''The Verdict Is In''. Heritage Committee, California (1983), p. 241.</ref> The McPherson story, in particular, has been challenged by McPherson's biographer<ref>Sutton, M.A. ''Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America''. Harvard University Press (2009), p. 271.</ref> and her daughter, among others.<ref>Cox (2008), pp. 240-41</ref>

In later life, Berle found comfort in [[Christian Science]] and subsequently characterized himself as "a Jew and a Christian Scientist."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/people/pb/Milton_Berle.html|title=The religion of Milton Berle, comedian, 'Mr. Television'|work=adherents.com|access-date=January 25, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403222136/http://adherents.com/people/pb/Milton_Berle.html|archive-date=April 3, 2007|url-status=usurped}}</ref> [[Oscar Levant]], when queried by [[Jack Paar]] about Berle's adoption of Christian Science, quipped, "Our loss is their loss."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sdjewishworld.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/more-about-oscar-levant/ |last=Amos |first=David |date=September 16, 2010 |title=More About Oscar Levant |work=San Diego Jewish World |access-date=August 14, 2021}}</ref>

Berle was a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] who endorsed [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] in the [[1964 United States presidential election]].<ref>Jet, October 1, 1964</ref>