Another centenary to celebrate today! For on this day one hundred years ago, a certain Phil Silvers was born...
Best known over here as the wonderfully wily Sergeant Bilko (a childhood favourite), Mr Silvers' career began as a youngster in vaudeville shows, progressing via burlesque to Broadway before moving to Hollywood to feature in numerous movies, from Summer Stock (with Gene Kelly) to It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Carry On (Follow That Camel).
Facts about Phil Silvers:
- He wrote the lyrics for Nancy (With the Laughing Face), which was a big favourite of Frank Sinatra.
- Silvers was as compulsive a gambler in real life as his character Bilko, and suffered bouts of depression.
- Bilko was the inspiration for for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Top Cat.
A star whose influence is immeasurable, Mr Silvers died in 1985. RIP.
Phil Silvers Show website
