Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Untitled [Milton Berle, Danny Thomas, and Sid Caesar] |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Description |
Milton Berle, Danny Thomas, Sid Caesar Professional Photograph. Black and white photograph of Milton Berle, Danny Thomas, and Sid Caesar. Berle and Caesar and sitting on a sofa while Thomas is behind the two with his hands on their shoulders. All three men are wearing suits and ties. Berle has a cigar in his right hand. Above each of their heads are autographs written in black ink: "TO MIKE / [illegible] / MILTON BERLE", "HI! MIKE / DANNY / THOMAS", "TO / MIKE + / CAROL [sic] / THANK YOU / SID / CAESAR". Part of a collection related to Circle Star Theatre that Carol (Selby) Bancroft collected when she was a limo driver that handled Circle Star performers' transportation. |
Date |
c. 1971 - 1991 |
Photographer |
Unknown |
Studio |
Unknown |
Processing Method |
Black and White |
Catalog Number |
2018.026.005.9 |
Collection |
Archival - Photographs |
Place |
unknown |
Provenance |
Part of collection related to Circle Star Theater that donor's sister, Carole Selby Bancroft, collected when she was a limo driver that handled Circle Star performers' transportation. Carole and her husband Mike operated a limo service. |
Notes |
"Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American comedian and actor. Berle's career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and television. As the host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater (1948–55), he was the first major American television star[4] and was known to millions of viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr. Television" during TV's golden age." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Berle] "Danny Thomas (born Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an American nightclub comedian, singer, actor, and producer whose career spanned five decades. He created and starred in one of the most successful and long-running situation comedies in the history of American network television, in addition to guest roles on many of the comedy, talk, and musical variety programs of his time, and his legacy includes a lifelong dedication to fundraising for charity. Thomas’s long career began in films in 1947, playing opposite child actress Margaret O'Brien in The Unfinished Dance (1947) and Big City (1948). He then starred in the long-running television sitcom Make Room for Daddy (also known as The Danny Thomas Show) (1953–1964), in which he played the lead role of Danny Williams. He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He is the father of Marlo Thomas, Terre Thomas, and Tony Thomas.[2]" [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Thomas] "Isaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor and writer, best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: Your Show of Shows, which was a 90-minute weekly show watched by 60 million people, and its successor, Caesar's Hour, both of which influenced later generations of comedians.[1] Your Show of Shows and its cast received seven Emmy nominations between the years 1953 and 1954 and tallied two wins. He also acted in movies; he played Coach Calhoun in Grease (1978) and its sequel Grease 2 (1982) and appeared in the films It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Silent Movie (1976), History of the World, Part I (1981), Cannonball Run II (1984), and "Vegas Vacation" (1997). Caesar was considered a "sketch comic" and actor, as opposed to a stand-up comedian. He also relied more on body language, accents, and facial contortions than simply dialogue. Unlike the slapstick comedy which was standard on TV, his style was considered "avant garde" in the 1950s. He conjured up ideas and scene and used writers to flesh out the concept and create the dialogue. Among the writers who wrote for Caesar early in their careers were Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Larry Gelbart, Carl Reiner, Michael Stewart, Mel Tolkin, Selma Diamond, and Woody Allen. "Sid's was the show to which all comedy writers aspired. It was the place to be," said Steve Allen. His TV shows' subjects included satires of real life events and people—and parodies of popular film genres, theater, television shows, and opera. But unlike other comedy shows at the time, the dialogue was considered sharper, funnier, and more adult-oriented. He was "...best known as one of the most intelligent and provocative innovators of television comedy," who some critics called television's Charlie Chaplin and The New York Times refers to as the "...comedian of comedians from TV's early days."[2] Honored in numerous ways over 60 years, he was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards, winning twice. He was also a saxophonist and author of several books, including two autobiographies in which he described his career and later struggle to overcome years of alcoholism and addiction to barbiturates." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Caesar] "The Circle Star Theatre was a performing arts venue in San Carlos, San Mateo County, California. Its name is based on it being a theater in the round, featuring a rotating circular stage with none of its 3,743 seats further than 50 feet (15 m) from the stage. Unlike similar venues across the United States, the Circle Star Theatre stage had the ability to rotate in either direction without limit, thanks to the slip ring and brush system that supplied electrical power and lighting signals to it. The theatre's address was 2 Circle Star Way, San Carlos, CA 94070. "In 1971, the theatre was purchased by Marquee Entertainment, run by Don Jo Medlevine of the famed Chicago nightclub Chez Paree. Marquee Entertainment booked Las Vegas acts such as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, and Liberace, among many others. In the mid-1970s the theatre was kept solvent by booking Motown acts to increase its diversity.[1] "Don Jo Medlevine sold the Circle Star Theater to Dr. Leonard Bloom. Dr. Bloom later sold the theater to a local car dealer. The new ownership did not have the same elite relationships with the top entertainers as Dr. Bloom had, so it was closed in December 1993.[2] The building caught fire on April 18, 1997, damaging much of the backstage area, though by this time plans had already been made for its demolition.[3] The theater was ultimately demolished to make way for the Circle Star Center, a complex containing two four-story office buildings and a small hotel, since 2015 or 2014 Softbank owns the buildings and uses them as offices. The hotel is now a extended stay America." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_Star_Theater (8/23/2018)] |
People |
Berle, Milton Caesar, Sid Thomas, Danny |
Search Terms |
Circle Star Theatre |
Subjects |
Celebrities Entertainers Portrait photographs |
Credit line |
Courtesy of Jim Kelly |