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CNN Live At Daybreak

Milton Berle, Entertainer, Dies at 93

Aired March 28, 2002 - 05:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Comedian Milton Berle died at his home yesterday. He was 93 years old. Our National Correspondent, Frank Buckley, looks back at the amazing 88-year-long career of Uncle Miltie.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mr. Television, Uncle Miltie, whatever you called him, you laughed. He invented variety television when he came on the air in 1948, when TV was a new thing. He was so good at it that Americans bought TVs by the millions just to watch Milton Berle on "The Texaco Star Theater."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please don't call me between 8:00 and 9:00, because tonight is Tuesday, and you know what that means? That's right, Uncle Miltie's on again.

BUCKLEY: That's right, at the height of his popularity, he had the hottest stars of the day on his show. Four out of every five TV sets in America tuned in on Tuesdays to see the funny man, his guests, his gags. He was famous for dressing in drag.

MILTON BERLE, ENTERTAINER: Me, Berle, wear a gown? You must be kidding.

BUCKLEY: He made famous phrases still associated with TV like...

BERLE: Makeup!

BUCKLEY: ... all for a laugh.

BERLE: I think laughter is very, very imperative. And that's an important part of my life, of making people laugh so they can forget their problems. I don't care if it's for a minute or two or five minutes. It takes away the stress and the pressure. A good laugh is better than anything.

BUCKLEY: He got into show business as a boy, opposite Charlie Chaplin in "Tillie's Punctured Romance."

BERLE: That was me with Chaplin in the picture, where he slapped me. I never got a chance to slap him back, though.

BUCKLEY: He was a regular fixture on TV even decades after "The Milton Berle Show" left NBC in 1956. He was a movie star in pictures like, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World." But it's the early stuff they'll remember.

ROGER EBERT, FILM CRITIC: Milton Berle will be remembered as one of the great stars of the early days of television. In fact, the star who put television on the map even before Jackie Gleason, Lucille Ball and Ed Sullivan.

BUCKLEY: Tonight in Hollywood there are already flowers on Berle's star on the walk of fame. Fans remember Mr. Television.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was wonderful. And I will sorely miss him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because he brought happiness into our lives. Especially in children's lives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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