名人轶事:Milton Berle was "Mister Television" to the M

Milton Berle was "Mister¹ Television" to the Millions of Americans Who Watched Him

VOICE ONE:

I'm Mary Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

Milton Berle 

And I'm Doug Johnson with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today, we tell the story of Milton Berle. He was famous for his funny programs in the early years of American television. To many Americans, he was known simply as Mister Television.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Milton Berle performed in theaters, on radio and in movies. Yet he is best known as a television performer. He began working in television in nineteen forty-eight. At the time, television was so new that few people could receive it.

Milton Berle's weekly program was so popular that it may have influenced many Americans to buy their first television. Years ago, Americans who did not own a television often went to the home of someone who did to watch his shows. Many others watched it in stores that sold televisions.

Milton Berle became so famous that some Americans considered him as part of their family. He was often called Uncle Milty. Like a family member, he was loved when his jokes were funny and even when they were not.

VOICE TWO:

He was born in New York City on July twelfth, nineteen-oh-eight. His parents, Moses Berlinger and the former Sarah Glantz, were Jews. They named him Mendel Berlinger. He was one of five children.

One day, Mendel put on some of his parents' old clothes. All the adults who saw him said he looked like a small version² of the film actor Charlie Chaplin. So, at the age of five years, he entered -- and won -- a local Chaplin look-alike competition.

He became a child actor a short time later. In nineteen fourteen, he appeared in his first film, "The Perils³ of Pauline." He was just six years old. The same year, he appeared with Charlie Chaplin in another movie.

VOICE ONE:

Mendel was given a chance to join a vaudeville⁴ act. Vaudeville was the most popular form of show business in the United States in the early nineteen hundreds. Vaudeville shows presented short plays, singers, comedians⁶ who told jokes, and other acts.

Sarah Berlinger supervised⁷ her boy's rise in show business. She pushed him to be a success. Missus Berlinger attended all of her son's performances.

(SOUND: Milton Berle)

"I reached millions of people, who fortunately couldn't reach me. There was one laugh that projected out of the top of them all. That was my mother. And, if people didn't laugh that sat next to her, she used to shove⁸ them with the arm and say, 'Laugh it up. That's my son.'"

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen twenty -- at the age of twelve – Mendel first appeared in a show on Broadway in New York City. He formed a vaudeville act with a girl named Elizabeth Kennedy. Later, he formed his own group. As the years passed, his act improved and he worked as a single performer.

By the age of sixteen, he was forced to make changes. He had grown too tall to be a child actor.

Mendel Berlinger changed his name to Milton Berle. He began performing at New York's famous Palace Theater in nineteen thirty-one. He was twenty-three years old. Later, he appeared in several Broadway shows, including "Ziegfeld Follies⁹."

VOICE ONE:

Early in his adult life, Milton Berle was moderately successful in movies and on radio. He was better known as a comedian⁵ who told jokes in nightclub shows for adults. He was reported to be one of the best-paid performers in the country.

Yet, Berle did not become truly famous until he appeared on the "Texaco Star Theater" television program in June, nineteen forty-eight. Three months later, the Texaco Company offered him a permanent position with the program.

The "Texaco Star Theater" opened with four men who looked like gasoline¹⁰ station employees. They sang a song that the company used to sell its oil and gasoline products.

(MUSIC:Texaco Theme)

"Oh, we're the men of Texaco. We work from Maine to Mexico. There's nothing like this Texaco of ours. Our show tonight is powerful. We'll wow you with an hour-full of howls from a showerful of stars. We're the merry Texaco men. Tonight we may be showmen. Tomorrow, we'll be servicing your cars…"

VOICE TWO:

Milton Berle was a performer who won the love of a crowd by not being lovable. He developed a show business personality that was funny, yet not always pleasant. He acted aggressive, and often appeared to be selfish or uncivilized. Sometimes, he greeted people with the saying, "Good evening, ladies and germs¹¹."

Milton Berle dressed in "drag"

One thing that made Berle's television shows popular was the way he appeared. He knew how to use funny movements and clothing to make people laugh. He would do anything for a laugh. He sometimes wore women's clothing and beauty products. In one show, he explained that he had just paid his taxes. He wore only an empty wooden container, which suggested that the government had taken everything, including his clothes.

VOICE ONE:

Other comedians accused Berle of stealing their jokes. Yet many of the best-known performers in the United States appeared on the "Texaco Star Theater." Like any vaudeville show, his program also offered a mix of singers, dancers and animal acts.

One Tuesday night, trained elephants appeared on the program. The animals left large droppings on the floor. This was a big surprise to the next act -- a group of dancers.

Berle's programs were filled with lots of energy, as we hear in this example.

(SOUND: Texaco Star Theater)

TEXACO MEN:"And now ladies and gentlemen, introducing America's number one television star, who gets his nose into everybody's act, your Cyrano de Bergerac, Milton Berle…"

BERLE:"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen…" (laughing) "Don't laugh, lady. You and I go to the same plastic surgeon…" (laughing) "That's your own nose. I like it. It's my basketball nose. I just had it fixed…"

VOICE TWO:

Milton Berle had a weekly television series from the late nineteen forties into the middle of the nineteen fifties. More than one hundred shows competed on other networks against his program. They all failed. During one period, four of five Americans who watched television on Tuesday nights watched the program.

In nineteen fifty-one, Berle signed a long-term agreement with NBC, the network that provided¹² his program to television stations across the country. Under the agreement, NBC agreed to pay him two hundred thousand dollars a year for thirty years, even if he did not work.

VOICE ONE:

Berle was tired from performing countless¹³ shows. So he demanded the right to take a rest from the program one week in every month. He later said that decision proved to be a mistake. The program began to lose its popularity¹⁴.

The taste of the American public was changing, and new funny acts were developing. The program also lost popularity when an opposing network added a series of religious talks.

Berle left weekly television in nineteen fifty-six. In the late nineteen fifties, he appeared in a few NBC shows, but then the work seemed to stop.

VOICE TWO:

Berle returned to his roots as a comedian who told jokes, mainly at nightclub shows. He appeared in plays and movies. They included, "Let's Make Love," "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," and "Broadway Danny Rose." He also made appearances on television.

Milton Berle was known for his work with non-profit groups. He performed for soldiers during World War Two. He appeared in thousands of shows that helped to raise money for different kinds of organizations. In nineteen forty-nine, he helped to organize a television show for the Damon Runyon Memorial Cancer Fund¹⁵. It may have been the first time that television was used to raise money for a non-profit group.

Berle was married two times to a showgirl named Joyce Matthews. Each time, they agreed to end their marriage. Later, he was married more than thirty-five years to another woman, Joyce Cosgrove. After she died in nineteen eighty-nine, he married Lorna Adams.

VOICE ONE:

For many years, Milton Berle remained a funnyman loved by Americans. He produced projects for several media, and collected awards for his work in television. The Television Academy¹⁶ Hall of Fame added him as one of its members. The story of his life led to the nineteen ninety-two film, "Mister Saturday Night." He also wrote books of jokes and his memories.

Milton Berle had colon¹⁷ cancer. He died at his Los Angeles home on March twenty-seventh, two thousand two. He was ninety-three years old. He had spent more than eighty-five years making people laugh.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This Special English program was written and produced by George Grow. I'm Doug Johnson.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Mary Tillotson. Join us again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America
 

1 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

2 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

3 perils   

极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境）

参考例句：

• The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
• With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难？

4 vaudeville   

n.歌舞杂耍表演

参考例句：

• The standard length of a vaudeville act was 12 minutes.一个杂耍节目的标准长度是12分钟。
• The mayor talk like a vaudeville comedian in his public address.在公共演讲中，这位市长讲起话来像个歌舞杂耍演员。

5 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

6 comedians   

n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The voice was rich, lordly, Harvardish, like all the boring radio comedians'imitations. 声音浑厚、威严，俨然是哈佛出身的气派，就跟无线电里所有的滑稽演员叫人已经听腻的模仿完全一样。 来自辞典例句
• He distracted them by joking and imitating movie and radio comedians. 他用开玩笑的方法或者模仿电影及广播中的滑稽演员来对付他们。 来自辞典例句

7 supervised   

v.监督，管理( supervise的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The architect supervised the building of the house. 建筑工程师监督房子的施工。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He supervised and trained more than 400 volunteers. 他指导和培训了400多名志愿者。 来自辞典例句

8 shove   

vt.乱推，乱塞；vi.用力推，挤；n.猛推

参考例句：

• She will not shove the heavy load onto others.她不愿意把重担推给别人。
• Help me shove this furniture aside.帮我把这家具推到一边去。

9 follies   

罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He has given up youthful follies. 他不再做年轻人的荒唐事了。
• The writings of Swift mocked the follies of his age. 斯威夫特的作品嘲弄了他那个时代的愚人。

10 gasoline   

n.(美)汽油

参考例句：

• This car runs 5 miles on a gallon of gasoline.这部汽车一加仑汽油可以行驶五英里。
• There is still some gasoline left in the tank.油箱里还剩下一些汽油。

11 germs   

n.微生物( germ的名词复数 )；病菌；起源；发端

参考例句：

• Dirty hands can be a breeding ground for germs. 脏手会滋生病菌。
• The air is full of millions of invisible germs. 空气中充满了许多看不见的细菌。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

13 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

14 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

15 fund   

n.基金，资金，存款，财源，贮藏；vt.提供资金，积累

参考例句：

• They decided to set up a fund for this purpose.他们决定为此专立一项基金。
• This fund may not be drawn on without permission.这笔钱非经批准不得动用。

16 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。

17 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。