Television Legend Phil Silvers (Dick Cavett Show 1/20/82)

The King of Chutzpah. Top Banana. King Banana. Glad to see ya!

One of television's greats, Phil Silvers. Today, we take a moment to pay tribute to one of the best in the business. Mr. Silvers was one of the rare performers, like Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, George Burns, Red Skelton, Jackie Gleason, Danny Thomas, Sid Caesar and Bing Crosby (all with tributes here on Television Vanguard...Burns' tribute is coming) who excelled in virtually every aspect of the entertainment medium dating back to the 1930s and spanning almost the entire Twentieth Century.

Silvers worked on Broadway (Top Banana, 1951), vaudeville, burlesque, films, nightclubs, television and music (Nancy With The Laughing Face.) He won a Tony award in a great comeback in 1972 for 'A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum' revival, and was nominated for one for 1960s 'Do Re Mi.'

And then there was his career in television. His Phil Silvers Show (You'll Never Get Rich... aka Sgt. Bilko in syndication) was the gold standard for 1950s situation comedies. In an outstanding Vanity Fair magazine article from April 2003, written by David Kamp that looked back on Silvers career, this quote best sums up the impact and charm of the show and of Silvers as Sgt. Bilko -

"With its nakedly self-interested protagonist and its spring-loaded plotline, which always built up to a finish in which Bilko's scheme du jour explodes in his face like a trick cigar."

Another quote/interview for that VF article in 2003 was from Red Buttons, longtime friend and colleague of Phil Silvers who also had an amazing and varied career in the entertainment industry:

"Phil was a sharpshooter, very, very hip. Bing Crosby was the hippest of the singers, and Phil, I think, was the hippest of the comedians. He was today and tomorrow, not yesterday."

The Phil Silvers show ran on CBS from 1955-1959, starting out on Tuesday nights at 8:30, up against pal Milton Berle's hit variety show. His impact on television however, is not just in that 1950s arena... he was also a frequent guest star on hit television series of the 1960s, and a very successful television producer.

Mr. Silvers television production company, Glayasya, helped produce (along with Sherwood Schwartz) one of the most successful syndicated comedies in television history - Gilligan's Island. Yes, for all those kids who grew up watching Gilligan's Island and wondered (as did we here at Television Vanguard) what was the 'Gladasya' noted at the end of each episode, now you know the full story. Silvers' often used the phrase 'Glad to see ya', when meeting people, and the friendly hello was shortened to 'Gladdaseeya!' which became the name of his production company. Thus, we thought it appropriate to pay tribute to both Sherwood Schwartz and Phil Silvers at this time with back-to-back tributes.

Mr. Silvers was born on May 11, 1911 and passed away on November 1, 1985 ... just over thirty years ago. His legacy in show business is without peer with an incredible and vast history and wide ranging connection to many, many people and places throughout the industry. His memoir, 'This Laugh is on Me' is a must read.

Enjoy!

This video clip is presented here on YouTube for the entertainment and informational value of the viewer, and no copyright infringement is intended. We would like to extend our thanks to the fine folks at cable channel 'Decades' for their continued support of showing old episodes of the Dick Cavett Show (check your local cable channel listings), which is a great source of information and entertainment.

Gladaseeya!!

Видео Television Legend Phil Silvers (Dick Cavett Show 1/20/82) канала TelevisionVanguard