Milton Berle: An Autobiography

New York: Delacorte Press, 1974. 3rd Printing. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. 9x5x1. Signed by author. 3rd printing. Inscribed and signed by author on front endpaper ('To Ray & Dottie Van Zandt, With Love, Milton Berle, 1/4/75'). 1 inch closed jacket tear, jacket lightly toned. 1974 Hard Cover. vii, 337 pp. "When Milton Berle died in the Spring of 2002, The New York Times declared that the legendary comic "may have had a more profound influence on our way of life than some presidents or Nobel Prize winners." This landmark memoir, as startling today as it was when it was first published, reveals the life and times of the man known affectionately to millions as Uncle Miltie. Told with unflinching candor, here is one of the most fabled and influential show business careers of all time: from performing as a child in Vaudeville and making silent movies with Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford, to nightclub performances for Al Capone, working on radio during World War II, performing in Broadway musicals, and, finally, superstardom on television. Perhaps even more fascinating is Berle's scandal-ridden private life: his star-crossed love affair with a 1930's movie queen and the child they had out of wedlock, his numerous affairs with women ranging from evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson to Marilyn Monroe, and his stormy relationship with beautiful showgirl Joyce Mathews, whom Berle married twice. It is Berle's unsparing account of his life and his determination to show the world his real face that led Frank Sinatra, at the time, to call this "the gutsiest book I've read in years." Told with equal amounts of comedy and pathos, and featuring colorful appearancesby all the major stars of his day, Milton Berle is simply one of the best show business memoirs ever written.