Editing Milton Berle (section)

===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"/>