Editing Milton Berle (section)

==Career==
===Vaudeville===
Around 1920 at age 12, Berle made his stage debut in a revival of the musical comedy ''[[Florodora]]'' in [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]], which later moved to [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]. By the time he was 16, he was working as a master of ceremonies in vaudeville. He is also known to have played small bit parts in several silent films in the 1910s and 1920s, although his presence in some is disputed (see Filmography, below). In 1932, he starred in [[The Earl Carroll Vanities|Earl Carrol's Vanities]], a Broadway musical. By the early 1930s, he was a successful stand-up comedian, patterning himself after one of vaudeville's top comics, [[Ted Healy]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

===Rising star===
In 1933, Berle was hired by producer [[Jack White (film producer)|Jack White]] to star in the theatrical featurette ''Poppin' the Cork'', a topical musical comedy concerning the repealing of Prohibition. Berle also co-wrote the score for this film, which was released by [[Educational Pictures]]. Berle continued to dabble in songwriting: with [[Ben Oakland]] and Milton Drake, he wrote the title song for the [[RKO Radio Pictures]] release ''Li'l Abner'' (1940), an adaptation of [[Al Capp]]'s comic strip, featuring [[Buster Keaton]] as Lonesome Polecat.<ref>[http://emol.org/movies/lilabner/movie256.html Entertainment Magazine: Astor Pictures, ''Li'l Abner'' (1940)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070228075002/http://emol.org/movies/lilabner/movie256.html |date=February 28, 2007 }}</ref> Berle co-wrote a [[Spike Jones]] B-side, "Leave the Dishes in the Sink, Ma".{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

===Radio===
From 1934 to 1936, Berle appeared frequently on ''[[Rudy Vallee|The Rudy Vallee Hour]]'' and attracted publicity as a regular on ''The Gillette Original Community Sing'', a Sunday night comedy-variety program broadcast on CBS from September 6, 1936, to August 29, 1937. In 1939, he was the host of ''[[Stop Me If You've Heard This One]]'' with panelists spontaneously finishing jokes sent in by listeners.<ref name="RadioArchives2011"/>

[[File:Milton Berle - 1943.jpg|thumb|left|Berle in 1943]]

In the late 1940s, he canceled well-paying nightclub appearances to expand his radio career.<ref name="RadioArchives2011"/> ''Three Ring Time'', a comedy-variety show sponsored by [[Ballantine Ale]], was followed by a 1943 program sponsored by [[Campbell Soup Company|Campbell's Soups]]. The audience participation show ''Let Yourself Go'' (1944–1945) could best be described as "[[slapstick]] radio",<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Milton Berle Show - A Salute To Relaxation (08-19-47)|url=https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/boxcars711-old/the-milton-berle-show-a-mbKd-ejaoHD/|access-date=2021-05-29|website=Listen Notes|date=December 3, 2018 |language=en}}</ref> with studio audience members acting out long-suppressed urges—often directed at host Berle. ''Kiss and Make Up'' on CBS in 1946 featured the problems of contestants decided by a jury from the studio audience with Berle as the judge. Berle also made guest appearances on many comedy-variety radio programs during the 1930s and 1940s.<ref name="RadioArchives2011">{{cite web|url=http://www.radioarchives.com/Milton_Berle_Show_p/ra017.htm|title=The Milton Berle Show|publisher=RadioArchives|access-date=February 2, 2011}}</ref>

Scripted by [[Nat Hiken]] and [[Aaron Ruben]], ''The Milton Berle Show'' also featured [[Arnold Stang]], later a familiar face as Berle's TV sidekick. Others in the cast were [[Pert Kelton]], Mary Schipp, [[Jack Albertson]], [[Arthur Q. Bryan]], [[Ed Begley]], Brazilian singer [[Dick Farney]] and announcer [[Frank Gallop]]. Sponsored by [[Philip Morris USA|Philip Morris]], it aired on NBC from March 11, 1947, until April 13, 1948.<ref name=Dunning>{{cite book |last=Dunning |first=John |author-link=John Dunning (detective fiction author) |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwtRbXNca0oC&dq=%22The+Milton+Berle+Show+comedy%22&pg=PA460 |date=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-507678-3 |pages=460–461 |access-date=December 25, 2024}}</ref> It ran for an additional season (with new sponsor [[Texaco]]), keeping the same format but running concurrently with Berle's better known TV series, from September 22, 1948, to June 15, 1949.<ref name=Dunning/>

Berle later described this series as "the best radio show I ever did ... a hell of a funny variety show". It served as a springboard for Berle's emergence as television's first major star.<ref name="RadioArchives2011"/>

===Mr. Television===
Berle first appeared on television in 1929 in an experimental broadcast in [[Chicago]] which he hosted in front of 129 people.<ref name="MBC">{{cite web|url=http://www.museum.tv/eotv/miltonberle.htm|title=The Milton Berle Show|publisher=[[Museum of Broadcast Communications]]|access-date=April 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814194644/http://www.museum.tv/eotv/miltonberle.htm|archive-date=August 14, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> He would return to television 20 years later.<ref>[http://www.miamiherald.com/business/technology/story/1336054.html "Broadcast pioneer NBC prepares for cable takeover"] ''Miami Herald'', November 16, 2009</ref>

Berle would revive the structure and routines of his vaudeville act for his debut on commercial TV, hosting The ''[[Texaco Star Theater|Texaco Star Theatre]]'' on June 8, 1948, over the [[NBC]] Television Network.<ref name="Epstein2002"/><ref name="Madigan2001"/><ref>Sackett, Susan (1993) p.1954 quotation: {{blockquote|. When the program premiered on Tuesday, June 8, 1948, on [[NBC]] Television, the format was strictly vaudeville, with dancers, jugglers, acrobats, and guest stars in sketches--in short, a close approximation of the show that Berle was already doing for ABC on Wednesday nights.}}</ref> They did not settle on Berle as the permanent host right away; he was originally part of a rotation of hosts (Berle himself had only a four-week contract). [[Jack Carter (comedian)|Jack Carter]] was the host for August. Berle was named the permanent host that fall. Berle's highly visual style, characterized by vaudeville slapstick and outlandish costumes, proved ideal for the new medium.<ref name="Young2010p706">Young, William H. and Young, Nancy K. (2010) [https://books.google.com/books?id=YjbR9EXABPEC&pg=PA706 ''World War II and the Postwar Years in America: A Historical and Cultural Encyclopedia, Volume 1''], p.706 quotation: {{blockquote|Radio exists as an aural medium, and no matter how physically animated a performer may be or how clownish his or her costume ... Berle's comedic gift shone in slapstick, something he had mastered in his vaudeville experiences. Many radio stars found it difficult to make the transition to TV ... Not so Berle. Radio had confined the comedian, making him reliant on his wealth of jokes and little else. ... Berle clearly considered no costume too outlandish, no stunt too foolish.}}</ref> Berle modeled the show's structure and skits directly from his vaudeville shows and hired writer Hal Collins to revive his old routines.<ref name="Epstein2002">Epstein, Lawrence J. (2002) [https://books.google.com/books?id=iTarGWLM5CEC&pg=PT86 ''The Haunted Smile: The Story of Jewish Comedians in America''], ch.6 ''The Magic Box'', pp. 86–7, quotation: {{blockquote|Berle had hired the writer Hal Collins to revive old vaudeville, burlesque, and radio routines that Berle has used successfully. ... The shows were clearly vaudeville brought into the home. ... Berle was the ringmaster, the master of ceremonies who did his opening monologue and introduced each new act. Keeping to his own vaudeville tradition of entering into the acts of other performers, Berle often interrupted or joined in the act. When "Buffalo Bob" Smith came on, Berle appeared dressed as Howdy Doody.}}</ref><ref name="Madigan2001">Madigan, S.P. ''Texaco Star Theatre'' entry in Browne, Pat (2001) [https://books.google.com/books?id=U3rJxPYT32MC&pg=PA833 ''The guide to United States popular culture''], p.833, quotation:
{{blockquote|Texaco Star emulated a vaudeville variety hour, with several guests each week, including singers, comedians, ventriloquists, acrobats, dramatic performances, and so forth.}}</ref>

Berle dominated Tuesday night television for the next several years, reaching the number one slot in the [[Nielsen ratings]] with as much as a 97% share of the viewing audience.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/fifties00halb |chapter=Ch. Thirteen |title=[[The Fifties (book)|The Fifties]] |publisher=[[Villard (imprint)|Villard]] |author=David Halberstam |author-link=David Halberstam |year=1993 |isbn=9780679415596 }}</ref> Berle and the show each won [[Emmy Award]]s after the first season. Fewer movie tickets were sold on Tuesdays. Some theaters, restaurants, and other businesses shut down for the hour or closed for the evening so their customers would not miss Berle's antics.<ref name="tvmuseum"/> Berle's autobiography notes that in [[Detroit]], "an investigation took place when the water levels took a drastic drop in the reservoirs on Tuesday nights between 9 and 9:05. It turned out that everyone waited until the end of the ''Texaco Star Theatre'' before going to the bathroom."<ref name="Sackett1993p1954">Sackett, Susan (1993) [https://books.google.com/books?id=viLuAAAAMAAJ ''Prime-time hits: television's most popular network programs, 1950''] p.1954 quotation: {{blockquote|The city of Detroit was baffled when the reservoir water levels dropped each Tuesday evening shortly after 9:00 pm. An investigation revealed that Detroit's citizens were waiting until Berle was off the air to go to the bathroom; the simultaneous flushing of thousands of toilets created havoc with Detroit's water works.}}</ref><ref>Milton Berle, Haskel Frankel (1974)  [https://books.google.com/books?id=-0BaAAAAMAAJ ''Milton Berle: an autobiography, with Haskel Frankel''] p.271</ref>

Television sales more than doubled after ''Texaco Star Theatre''<nowiki/>'s debut, reaching two million in 1949. Berle's stature as the medium's first superstar earned him the sobriquet "Mr. Television".<ref name="tvmuseum"/> He also earned another nickname after ending a 1949 broadcast with a brief ad-libbed remark to children watching the show: "Listen to your Uncle Miltie and go to bed".<ref>{{cite book|title=Milton Berle: An Autobiography|url=https://archive.org/details/miltonberleautob00berl_0|url-access=registration|editor-last=Berle|editor-first=Milton|editor2-last=Frankel|editor2-first=Haskel|publisher=Delacorte Press|year=1974|pages=[https://archive.org/details/miltonberleautob00berl_0/page/337 337]|isbn=0-440-05609-8}}</ref> [[Francis Craig]] and [[Kermit Goell]]'s "[[Near You]]" became the theme song that closed Berle's TV shows.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classicthemes.com/50sTVThemes/themePages/texacoStarTheater.html|title=Texaco Star Theater / The Milton Berle Show|work=classicthemes.com}}</ref>

Berle risked his newfound TV stardom at its zenith to challenge Texaco when the sponsor tried to prevent black performers from appearing on his show:

<blockquote>I remember clashing with the advertising agency and the sponsor over my signing [[the Four Step Brothers]] for an appearance on the show. The only thing I could figure out was that there was an objection to black performers on the show, but I couldn't even find out who was objecting. "We just don't like them," I was told, but who the hell was "we?" Because I was riding high in 1950, I sent out the word: "If they don't go on, I don't go on." At ten minutes of eight—minutes before showtime—I got permission for the Step Brothers to appear. If I broke the color-line policy or not, I don't know, but later on, I had no trouble booking [[Bill Robinson]] or [[Lena Horne]].<ref>Milton Berle, Haskel Frankel (1974)  [https://books.google.com/books?id=-0BaAAAAMAAJ ''Milton Berle: an autobiography, with Haskel Frankel''] p.285</ref></blockquote>

Berle's mother Sadie was often in the audience for his broadcasts; she had long served as a "plant" to encourage laughter from his stage show audiences.<ref name="childwonder"/> Her unique, "piercing, roof-shaking laugh"<ref name="childwonder"/><ref name=Ruth/> would stand out, especially when Berle made an entrance in an outrageous costume. After feigning surprise he would "ad-lib" a response; for example: "Lady, you've got all night to make a fool of yourself. I've only got an hour!"

Berle asked NBC to switch from live broadcasts to film, which would have made possible reruns (and residual income from them); he was angered when the network refused. However, NBC did consent to make a [[kinescope]] of each show. Later, Berle was offered 25% ownership of the [[TelePrompTer Corporation]] by its inventor, [[Irving Berlin Kahn]], if he would replace [[cue card]]s with the [[teleprompter|new device]] on his program. He turned down the offer.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SWcxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mwEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7291,3455107&dq=milton+berle+son&hl=en|title=Berle Recalls Beginning of TV|date=June 13, 1968|author=Humphrey, Hal|newspaper=Toledo Blade|access-date=January 23, 2011}}</ref>

A frequent user of tranquilizers, Berle frequently endorsed [[Meprobamate|Miltown]] on his show and became one of its leading advocates in 1950s America. Due to his promotion of the drug, Berle was dubbed "Uncle Miltown" by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/302287405|title=The age of anxiety: a history of America's turbulent affair with tranquilizers|first=Andrea|last=Tone|date=2009|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=9780786727476|location=New York|oclc=302287405}}</ref>

For Berle's contribution to television, he was inducted to the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in 1960.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://walkoffame.com/milton-berle/|title=Milton Berle|date=October 25, 2019|website=Hollywood Walk of Fame|language=en-US|access-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref>

Berle's imperious, abrasive and controlling manner on the show was the inspiration for the 1957 [[CBS]] [[Playhouse 90]] production of "[[The Comedian (Playhouse 90)|The Comedian]]". starring [[Mickey Rooney]] as egomanaical TV comic Sammy Hogarth, who ran his weekly show through explosive tantrums, intimidation, bullying and cruelty. Writer [[Ernest Lehman]] had been assigned to profile Berle for a magazine, and captured Berle's high-handedness so completely that the magazine declined to run it, but suggested he fictionalize it and recast it as a novella. When it was picked up for the show, [[Rod Serling]] wrote the teleplay. [[John Frankenheimer]] directed the live production which received considerable acclaim. The cast included [[Edmond O'Brien]], [[Kim Hunter]] and jazz singer [[Mel Tormé]] in his first dramatic role, portraying Hogarth's spineless brother Lester. While some speculated the play was based on [[Jackie Gleason]]'s loud, controlling personality, Berle, aware the production echoed his own reputation, was quoted as saying, "I wasn't that bad". The episode won two [[Emmy Awards]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

===TV decline===
In 1951, NBC signed Berle to an unprecedented 30-year exclusive television contract at a million dollars a year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/03/19/archives/30year-contract-is-signed-by-berle-nbc-to-have-first-call-on.html|title=30-YEAR CONTRACT IS SIGNED BY BERLE; N.B.C. to Have First Call on Services as Actor, Director, Writer or Producer|date=March 19, 1951|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 22, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In 1953, Texaco pulled out of sponsorship of the show but [[Buick]] picked it up, prompting a renaming as ''The Buick-Berle Show''. The program's format was changed to include the backstage preparations for the variety show. Critics generally approved of the changes, but Berle's ratings continued to fall, and Buick pulled out after two seasons.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7ecKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CVADAAAAIBAJ&pg=2406,1249723&dq=milton+berle+son&hl=en|title=Berle Traded For Gleason|date=December 20, 1954|newspaper=Prescott Evening Courier|access-date=January 23, 2011}}</ref> In addition, "Berle's [[persona]] had shifted from the impetuous and aggressive style of the ''Texaco Star Theater'' days to a more cultivated but less distinctive personality, leaving many fans somehow unsatisfied."<ref name=Newcomb/>

By the time the again-renamed ''Milton Berle Show'' finished its only full season (1955&ndash;56), Berle was already becoming history—though his final season was host to two of [[Elvis Presley]]'s earliest television appearances, April 3 and June 5, 1956.<ref>[http://www.elvispresleynews.com/MiltonBerle.html Milton Berle — Milton Berle Show<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070123000046/http://www.elvispresleynews.com/MiltonBerle.html |date=January 23, 2007 }}</ref> The final straw during that last season may have come from CBS scheduling ''[[The Phil Silvers Show]]'' opposite Berle. Silvers was one of Berle's best friends in show business and had come to CBS's attention in an appearance on Berle's program. ''Bilko's'' creator-producer, Nat Hiken, had been one of Berle's radio writers.

Berle knew that NBC had already decided to cancel his show before Presley appeared.<ref>The Blue Moon Boys — The Story of Elvis Presley's Band. Ken Burke and Dan Griffin. 2006. Chicago Review Press. page 52. {{ISBN|1-55652-614-8}}</ref> He later hosted the first television version of the popular radio variety series, The ''[[Kraft Music Hall]]'' from 1958 to 1959,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zTwyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-eQFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6842,4109474&dq=milton+berle+son&hl=en|title=Milton Berle Not Moping|author=Torre, Marie|date=March 11, 1959|newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World|access-date=January 23, 2011}}</ref> but NBC was finding increasingly fewer showcases for its one-time superstar. By 1960, he was reduced to hosting a [[Ten-pin bowling|bowling]] program, ''[[Jackpot Bowling]]'', delivering his quips and interviewing celebrities between the efforts of that week's bowling contestants.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LBIrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YpwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4633,5663479&dq=goodman+ace&hl=en|title=Berle's 'Jackpot Bowling' Is A Really Striking Series|author=Ashe, Isobel|date=November 27, 1960|newspaper=Reading Eagle|access-date=May 8, 2011}}</ref>

===Life after ''The Milton Berle Show''===
[[File:Leavelaugh.jpg|right|thumb|Poster of Berle's film ''[[Always Leave Them Laughing]]'']]
In Las Vegas, Berle played to packed showrooms at [[Caesars Palace]], [[Sands Hotel|the Sands]], the [[Desert Inn]], and other casino hotels. Berle had appeared at the [[El Rancho Vegas|El Rancho]], the first Las Vegas Strip full service resort, starting in the late 1940s. In addition to constant club appearances, Berle performed on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in [[Herb Gardner]]'s ''[[The Goodbye People]]'' in 1968. He also became a commercial spokesman for the thriving [[Lum's|Lum's restaurant]] chain.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bionicdisco.com/2017/02/08/70s-spots-milton-berle-for-lums-restaurants-1975/|title=70s Spots: Milton Berle For Lums Restaurants (1975)|last=Moore|first=David|date=February 8, 2017|website=Bionic Disco|language=en-US|access-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref>

He appeared in numerous films, including ''[[Always Leave Them Laughing]]'' (released in 1949, shortly after his TV debut) with [[Virginia Mayo]] and [[Bert Lahr]]; ''[[Let's Make Love]]'' with [[Marilyn Monroe]] and [[Yves Montand]]; ''[[It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]];'' ''[[The Loved One (film)|The Loved One]];'' ''[[The Oscar (film)|The Oscar]];'' ''[[Who's Minding the Mint?]];'' ''[[Lepke]];'' [[Woody Allen]]'s ''[[Broadway Danny Rose]];'' and ''[[Trabbi Goes to Hollywood|Driving Me Crazy]]''.

Freed in part from the obligations of his NBC contract, Berle was signed in 1966 to a new weekly variety series on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1966/09/10/archives/milton-berle-yesterdays-mr-television-returns-the-vitality-is-there.html "Milton Berle, Yesterday's 'Mr. Television,' Returns; The Vitality Is There, but the Material Isn't"], by Jack Gould, ''The New York Times'', September 10, 1966, p.59</ref> Unrelated to the 1950s Texaco Star show, the new 1966 ABC series was also called ''The Milton Berle Show''.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060008/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_8_nm_0_q_The%2520Milton%2520Berle%2520Show "The Milton Berle Show (1966-1967)"]</ref> made its debut on September 9, 1966, and ABC announced its cancellation within two months.<ref>"Berle Show Canceled", by Matt Messina, ''Daily News'' (New York), October 31, 1966, p.56</ref> The show failed to capture a large audience and was canceled after half a season.<ref>"ABC Cancels Latest Losers", NYT News Service report in ''Austin (TX) American-Statesman'', December 4, 1966, p.T17</ref> with the final show running on January 6, 1967.<ref>"Miltie Spoofs Old Radio", ''Dayton (O.) Daily News'', January 6, 1967, p.59</ref> Berle later appeared as guest villain [[List of Batman (TV series) episodes#Season 3|Louie the Lilac]] on ABC's ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' series. Other appearances included stints on ''[[The Barbara Stanwyck Show]]'', ''[[The Lucy Show]]'', ''[[The Jackie Gleason Show]]'', ''[[Get Smart]]'', ''[[Laugh-In]]'', ''[[The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour]]'', ''[[The Hollywood Palace]]'', ''[[Ironside (TV series)|Ironside]]'', ''[[F Troop]]'', ''[[Fantasy Island]]'', ''[[The Mod Squad]]'', ''[[I Dream of Jeannie]]'', ''[[CHiPs]]'', ''[[The Muppet Show]],'' and ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]''.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

Like his contemporary [[Jackie Gleason]], Berle proved a solid dramatic actor and was acclaimed for several such performances, most notably his lead role in "Doyle Against the House" on ''[[The Dick Powell Show]]'' in 1961, a role for which he received an [[Emmy Award|Emmy]] nomination. He also played the part of a blind survivor of an airplane crash in ''Seven in Darkness'', the first in ABC's ''[[ABC Movie of the Week|Movie of the Week]]'' series. He also played a dramatic role as a [[talent agent]] in ''[[The Oscar (film)|The Oscar]]'' (1966) and was one of the few actors in that movie to get good notices from critics.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

During this period, Berle was named to the ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'' for the greatest number of charity performances made by a show-business performer. Unlike the high-profile shows done by [[Bob Hope]] to entertain the troops, Berle did more shows, over a period of 50 years, on a lower-profile basis. Berle received an award for entertaining at stateside military bases in [[World War I]] as a child performer, in addition to traveling to foreign bases during [[World War II]] and the [[Vietnam War]]. The first charity [[telethon]] (for the [[Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation]]) was hosted by Berle in 1949.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000926/|title=Milton Berle|work=IMDb}}</ref> A permanent fixture at charity benefits in the Hollywood area, he was instrumental in raising millions for charitable causes.

===Late career===
On April 14, 1979, Berle guest-hosted NBC's ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. Berle's long reputation for taking control of an entire television production—whether invited to do so or not—was a cause of stress on the set. In addition, he appeared skeptical about the show's satirical bent.<!--In Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller's ''Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live'',--> One of the show's writers, [[Rosie Shuster]], described the rehearsals for the Berle ''SNL'' show and the telecast as "watching a comedy train accident in slow motion on a loop." Upstaging, camera mugging, doing [[spit-take]]s, inserting old comedy bits, and climaxing the show with a maudlin performance of "[[September Song]]" complete with a pre-arranged standing ovation (something producer [[Lorne Michaels]] had never sanctioned) resulted in Berle being banned from hosting the show again. The episode was also barred from being rerun until surfacing in 2003 because Michaels thought it brought down the show's reputation.<ref>[http://www.zimbio.com/Infamous+moments+in+Saturday+Night+Live+history/notes/1 Infamous moments in ''Saturday Night Live'' history] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722084110/http://www.zimbio.com/Infamous+moments+in+Saturday+Night+Live+history/notes/1 |date=July 22, 2012 }} at zimbio.com, retrieved June 27, 2013.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120917165422/http://xfinity.comcast.net/slideshow/entertainment-bestworstsnl/11/ Best and Worst 'SNL' Hosts] at xfinity.comcast.net, retrieved June 27, 2013.</ref>

As a guest star on ''[[The Muppet Show]]'',<ref>{{cite book|last1=Garlen|first1=Jennifer C.|last2=Graham|first2=Anissa M.|title=Kermit Culture: Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson's Muppets|year=2009|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0786442591|page=[https://archive.org/details/kermitculturecri0000unse/page/218 218]|url=https://archive.org/details/kermitculturecri0000unse/page/218}}</ref> Berle was memorably upstaged by the heckling theater critics [[Statler and Waldorf]].<ref>{{YouTube|PGfx3QAV64M|Milton Berle Vs. Statler & Waldorf}}</ref> The Statler and Waldorf puppets were inspired by a character named Sidney Spritzer, played by comedian [[Irving Benson]], who regularly heckled Berle from a box seat during episodes of the 1960s ABC series. Milton Berle also made a cameo appearance in ''[[The Muppet Movie]]'' as a used car dealer, taking Fozzie Bear's 1951 Studebaker in trade for a station wagon. {{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

In 1974, Berle had a minor altercation with a younger actor/comedian [[Richard Pryor]] when both appeared as guests on ''[[The Mike Douglas Show]]''. At the time, Berle was discussing the emotional fallout from an experience he had with impregnating a woman with whom he was not married, having to then decide whether or not they would keep the child. During his talk, Pryor let out a laugh, to which Berle took exception and confronted him, stating, "I wish, I wish, Richard, that I could have laughed at that time at your age when I was your age, the way you just laughed now, but I just couldn't ... I told you this nine years ago, and now I'll tell you on the air in front of millions of people: Pick your spots, baby." This prompted Pryor to mockingly quip back, "All right, sweetheart" in a Humphrey Bogart voice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://afflictor.com/2011/10/26/pick-your-spots-baby/|title=This website is currently unavailable.|website=Afflictor.com}}</ref>

[[File:Milton Berle at the 41st Emmys.jpg|left|thumb|Berle at the [[41st Primetime Emmy Awards]] in 1989]]
Another well-known incident of upstaging occurred during the 1982 [[Emmy Award]]s, when Berle and [[Martha Raye]] were the presenters of the Emmy for Outstanding Writing. Berle was reluctant to give up the microphone as the award's numerous recipients from ''[[Second City Television]]'' (SCTV) flooded the stage. Berle interrupted actor/writer [[Joe Flaherty]]'s acceptance speech several times, with comments like, "Hurry up, we're 15 minutes over." After Flaherty made a joke about the size of the ''SCTV'' crew rivaling ''[[Hill Street Blues]]'', Berle replied sarcastically, "That's funny." Flaherty's follow-up response of "Sorry, Uncle Miltie ... go to sleep," flustered Berle.<ref name="emmy">{{cite web|title=SCTV Wins 1982 Emmy For Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4HXCyfcD6M&t=140| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211111/H4HXCyfcD6M| archive-date=2021-11-11 | url-status=live|publisher=[[YouTube]]|access-date=March 18, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In 1984, Berle appeared in [[Drag (clothing)|drag]] in the video for [[Round and Round (Ratt song)|"Round and Round"]] by the 1980s metal band [[Ratt]] (his nephew Marshall Berle was then their manager).<ref>{{cite web|title=Ratt: Round and Round|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4649346/|website=IMDb.com|access-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref> He also made a brief appearance in the band's "Back For More" video as a motorcyclist.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ratt: Back for More|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt8532376/|website=IMDb.com|access-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref>

In 1985, he appeared on NBC's ''[[Amazing Stories (1985 TV series)|Amazing Stories]]'' (created by [[Steven Spielberg]]) in the episode "Fine Tunin'". In it, friendly aliens from space receive TV signals from the Earth of the 1950s and travel to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] in search of their idols, [[Lucille Ball]], [[Jackie Gleason]], [[The Three Stooges]], [[Burns and Allen]], and Milton Berle. When Berle realizes the aliens are doing his old material, Uncle Miltie is thunderstruck: "Stealing from Berle? Is that even possible?" Speaking gibberish, Berle is the only person able to communicate directly with the aliens.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fine Tuning|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0511093/|website=IMDb.com|access-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref>

One of Berle's most popular performances in his later years was guest-starring in 1992 in ''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]]'' alongside [[Will Smith]] as womanizing, wise-cracking patient Max Jakey. Most of his dialogue was improvised and he shocked the studio audience by mistakenly blurting out a curse word. He also appeared in an acclaimed and Emmy-nominated turn on ''[[Beverly Hills, 90210]]'' as an aging comedian befriended by [[Steve Sanders (90210)|Steve Sanders]], who idolizes him, but is troubled by his bouts of senility due to [[Alzheimer's disease]]. He also voiced the Prince of Darkness, the main antagonist in the Canadian animated television anthology special ''The Real Story of Au Clair De La Lune''. He appeared in 1995 as a guest star in an episode of ''[[The Nanny]]'' as her lawyer and great uncle.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

In 1994, Berle released a fitness videotape titled "Milton Berle's Low Impact/High Comedy Workout" which was targeted towards seniors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-11-17-1994321127-story.html|title = Exercise tapes are enough to make you break out in cold sweat| date=November 17, 1994 }}</ref>

Berle was again on the receiving end of an onstage gibe at the 1993 [[MTV Video Music Awards]] when [[RuPaul]] responded to Berle's reference of having once worn dresses himself (during his old television days) with the quip that Berle now wore diapers. A surprised Berle replied by recycling a line he had delivered to [[Henny Youngman]] on his ''Hollywood Palace'' show in 1966: "Oh, we're going to [[ad lib]]? I'll check my brain and we'll start even."{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}