Shelley Berman

Sheldon Leonard Berman (February 3, 1925 – September 1, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, writer, teacher, and lecturer.[1]

Shelley Berman
Berman in the 1960s
Born
Sheldon Leonard Berman

(1925-02-03)February 3, 1925
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedSeptember 1, 2017(2017-09-01) (aged 92)
Bell Canyon, California, U.S.
Resting placeHillside Memorial Park Cemetery
EducationArt Institute of Chicago (BFA)
Occupation
  • Comedian
  • actor
  • writer
  • teacher
  • lecturer
Years active1954–2014
Spouse(s)
Sarah Herman
​
(m. 1947)​
Children2
Comedy career
MediumStand-up, film, television
GenresObservational comedy
Websiteshelleyberman.com

In his comedic career, he was awarded three gold records and he won the first Grammy Award for a spoken comedy recording in 1959.[2] He played Larry David's father on Curb Your Enthusiasm, a role for which he received a 2008 Emmy Award nomination.[3]

Berman taught humor writing at the University of Southern California for more than 20 years.[4]

Early life and education

Berman was born in Chicago, the son of Irene (née Marks) and Nathan Berman. He was Jewish.[5]

He served in the Navy during World War II.[6] He then enrolled in Chicago's Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University) as a drama student. There he met fellow student Sarah Herman; they married in 1947.[6] His acting career began with an acting company in Woodstock, Illinois.[5] Leaving Woodstock in 1949, the couple made their way to New York City.[7] He studied acting at the HB Studio.[8] To make ends meet, Berman found employment as a social director, cab driver, speech teacher, assistant manager of a drug store, and a dance instructor at Arthur Murray Dance Studios.[7]

Eventually, Berman found work as a sketch writer for The Steve Allen Plymouth Show.[9]

Career

Early career

Berman began as a straight actor, receiving his training at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, honing his acting skills in stock companies in and around Chicago and New York City.[10]

In the mid-1950s, he became a member of Chicago's Compass Players, which later evolved into The Second City.[11] While performing improvised sketches with Compass, Berman began to develop solo pieces, often employing an imaginary telephone to take the place of an onstage partner.[11]

Nightclubs and live performances

In 1957, Berman was hired as a comedian at Mister Kelly's in Chicago, which led to other nightclub bookings, and a recording contract with Verve Records.[12] His comedy albums earned him three gold records and he won the first Grammy Award for a spoken comedy recording.[2] Berman appeared on numerous television specials and all of the major variety shows of the day.[2]

He starred on Broadway in A Family Affair and continued with stage work in The Odd Couple, Damn Yankees, Where's Charley?, Fiddler on the Roof, Two by Two, I'm Not Rappaport, La Cage aux Folles, The Prisoner of Second Avenue and Guys & Dolls.[12]

Berman's voice was used as the inspiration for the voice of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Fibber Fox, performed by Daws Butler.[13]

Television career

Berman portrayed the role of Mendel Sorkin in an episode of CBS's Rawhide ("The Peddler", 1962).[14]

Berman also appeared fairly regularly as a panelist (and once as the "Mystery Guest") on the famous CBS game show What's My Line in the early and mid-1960s.

Berman performed both comedic and dramatic roles on television, including appearances on episodes of The Twilight Zone (both radio and TV versions), Bewitched, Peter Gunn, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Adam-12, Emergency!, Brothers, Night Court, MacGyver, L.A. Law, Friends, Walker, Texas Ranger, The King of Queens, Grey's Anatomy, Boston Legal, Lizzie McGuire, Hannah Montana, CSI: NY and the revived Hawaii Five-0.[15][16] He also had a recurring role on the short-lived sitcom Walter & Emily.[17]

From 2002 to 2009, Berman appeared as Larry David's aged father on Curb Your Enthusiasm, a role for which he received a 2008 Emmy Award nomination.[3]

Film career

Among Berman's film credits are Dementia (1955, with Shorty Rogers), The Best Man (1964, with Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson), Divorce American Style (1967, with Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds), Every Home Should Have One (1970, with Marty Feldman), Beware! The Blob (1972, with Robert Walker Jr.), Rented Lips (1988, with Martin Mull and Robert Downey Jr.), Teen Witch (1989, with Robyn Lively and Zelda Rubinstein), The Last Producer (2000, with Burt Reynolds), Meet the Fockers (2004, with Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller), The Holiday (2006, with Cameron Diaz), and You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008, with Adam Sandler).[18][10][12][16][17]

Late career

For over 20 years, Berman was a lecturer (later lecturer emeritus) in humor writing in the Master of Professional Writing program at the University of Southern California. He was also a teacher for the Improv Olympics program.[4]

Works

Film
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1955DementiaStoned BeatnikUncredited[19]
1964The Best ManSheldon Bascomb
1967Divorce American StyleDavid Grieff
1970Every Home Should Have OneNat Kaplan
1972Beware! The BlobHair Stylist
1988Rented LipsBill Slotnik
1989Teen WitchMr. Weaver
1990Elliot Fauman, Ph.D.Stromberg
1991MotoramaMillion Dollar Driver
2000The Last ProducerPoker Player #1
2004Meet the FockersJudge Ira
2006The HolidayNorman
2008You Don't Mess with the ZohanZohan's Father
2010The Legend of Secret PassIra (voice)

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1954The Repertory TheatreSheldon BermanEpisode: Time of Delivery
1955Goodyear PlayhouseManagerEpisode: The Catered Affair
1959Peter GunnDanny HollandEpisode: The Comic
1961The Twilight ZoneArchibald BeechcroftEpisode: The Mind and the Matter
General Electric TheaterStanleyEpisode: The $200 Parlay
Car 54, Where Are You?Rabbi EinsenbergEpisode: Catch Me on the Paar Show
1962RawhideMendel SorkinEpisode: The Peddler
1963Breaking PointRoy ChaseEpisode: Whatsoever Things I Hear
1964Burke's LawKing DmitriEpisode: Who Killed Cassandra Cass?
BewitchedMr. BrinkmanEpisode: The Witches Are Out
1966Mister RobertsPerformerEpisode: The Replacement
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.Sheldon VeblenEpisode: The Super Colossal Affair
The HeroPerformerEpisode: The Truth Never Hurts
1967Get SmartElwood BoxEpisode: Classification: Dead
1968-69That's LifeMr. Quigley6 episodes
1969The Tommy Leonetti ShowPerformer1 episode
1970The Mary Tyler Moore ShowDr. Walter UdallEpisode: Divorce Isn't Everything
1971Adam-12Phil DukeEpisode: Log 165: Once a Cop
1970-71Love, American StyleVarious Roles3 episodes
1974Emergency!Art FrommichEpisode: The Screenwriter
1975Police WomanEddie BenderEpisode: The Company
1977Forever FernwoodMel Beach1 episode
1978Vega$MickeyEpisode: Milliken's Stash
Flying HighPhilEpisode: High Rollers
1979Brenda Starr, ReporterA.J. LivwrightTelevision Movie
EischiedPerformerEpisode: Angels of Terror
1978-81CHiPsStrum/Desperate Car Owner2 episodes
1983Matt HoustonDickie BevakEpisode: The Yacht Club Murders
1984BrothersMarcus2 episodes
1985HotelBarneyEpisode: Obsession
1985Knight RiderJosh BevinEpisode: Knight Song
1987St. ElsewhereBill BelvedereEpisode: Getting Ahead
The New Mike HammerComedianEpisode: The Last Laugh
CBS Summer PlayhouseHarryEpisode: Mabel and Max
ABC Afterschool SpecialHaroldEpisode: The Kid Who Wouldn't Quit
1988Night CourtAlEpisode: I'm OK, You're Catatonic
1989What's Alan Watching?Mel KrasoenTelevision Special
The Munsters TodaySam HawkinsEpisode: The Trial
1990What a DummyGrandpa LouEpisode: Grandpa Lou
1991MonstersLeo TandoskiEpisode: Werewolf of Hollywood
MacGyverCIA-Agent AbeEpisode: Honest Abe
Walter & EmilyAlbert1 Episode
1992Carol Leifer: Gaudy, Bawdy & BlueHimselfTelevision Movie
Civil WarsPerformerEpisode: The Triumph of DeVille
1992-93L.A. LawBen Flicker6 episodes
1994Garfield and FriendsDick Drake (voice)Episode: Horror Hostess
1995Living SingleHymanEpisode: Baby I'm Back...Again
1996-96FriendsMr. Kaplan Jr.2 episodes
1997Chicago SonsMcGlashanEpisode: The Things We Do for Love
1997The Blues Brothers Animated SeriesAlderman J. Alderman (voice)8 episodes
1998Arlis$Ollie FogleEpisode: The American Game
1999L.A. DoctorsPerformerEpisode: Been There, Done That
2000ProvidencePerformerEpisode: Syd in Wonderland
Walker, Texas RangerIra GoldbergEpisode: Lazarus
2001That's My Bush!PrincipalEpisode: Fare Thee Welfare
2002Lizzie McGuireNobby FrostybumpEpisode: Xtreme Xmas
2003The King of QueensSkitchEpisode: Queens'bro Bridge
2004Dead Like MeTheoEpisode: The Shallow End
2005Grey's AnatomyJed SorentoEpisode: Let it Be
2007EntourageUncle ShelleyEpisode: The Return of the King
State of MindHarvey FleischmanEpisode: Passion Fishing
2006-08Boston LegalJudge Robert Sanders11 episodes
2008Hannah MontanaDr. FromanEpisode: Don't Go Breakin' My Tooth
Pushing DaisiesGustav HoferEpisode: Robbing Hood
2009CSI: NYGeorge SavarEpisode: Yahrzeit
The UnusualsTom SpeigelmanEpisode: The Tape Delay
Raising the BarDanny RoseEpisode: Rules of Engagement
2002-09Curb Your EnthusiasmNat David13 episodes
2012Hawaii Five-0Morty SappersteinEpisode: Ohuna

Theatre
Year Title Role Venue Ref.
1959The Girls Against the BoysHusbandAlvin Theatre[20]
1962A Family AffairAlfie NathanBilly Rose Theatre
1973-74The Prisoner of Second AvenueMel EdisonNational Tour
1980Insideoutsideandallaround with Shelley BermanPlaywright-PerformerBijou Theatre

Discography
  • Inside Shelley Berman (1959)
  • Outside Shelley Berman (1959)[21]
  • The Edge of Shelley Berman (1960)[21]
  • A Personal Appearance (1961)[21]
  • New Sides (1963)[21]
  • The Sex Life of The Primate (And Other Bits of Gossip) (1964)[21]
  • Let Me Tell You a Funny Story (1968)[21]
  • Live Again! Recorded at the Improv (1995)[21]
  • To Laughter with Questions (2013)[21]
  • When Jews Were Funny (2013)[21]

Bibliography
  • Cleans and Dirtys (1966)
  • A Hotel Is a Place ... (1972)
  • Up in the Air With Shelley Berman (1986)[22]
  • To Laughter With Questions (2013)[23]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
1959Grammy AwardsGrammy Award for Best Comedy AlbumInside Shelley BermanWon[24]
2006Screen Actors Guild AwardsOutstanding Ensemble in a Comedy SeriesCurb Your EnthusiasmNominated
2008Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy SeriesNominated

Personal life

Berman married Sarah Herman on April 19, 1947. The two met while they were studying acting at Chicago's Goodman Theatre.[25]

In the mid-1960s, Berman and wife Sarah adopted two children, son Joshua and daughter Rachel.[10] The Bermans were planning Joshua's bar mitzvah when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Joshua died on October 29, 1977 at age 12.[25]

Berman and his wife were both enthusiastic supporters of the Motion Picture and Television Fund (located in Woodland Hills, California), a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries with limited or no resources, and contributed their time and resources to the benefit of the facilities and the residents.[3]

In the 1980s, the Chamber of Commerce in Canoga Park, California selected Berman to be one of the celebrities to serve a term as honorary mayor of Canoga Park.[26]

Allegation of plagiarism

In a 2012 podcast interview with Marc Maron, Berman alleged that comedian Bob Newhart plagiarized his improvisational telephone routine style, describing its genesis and saying it was a "very special technique that couldn't really be imitated.[27] It could be stolen. And it was." He continued, "I was coming to work at night and a guy stopped his car, passed me by, and said 'Hey, Shelley! There's a guy [who] stole your act!'"[27] When asked by Maron if it was done maliciously, Berman replied, "Maliciously? He wouldn't do it maliciously. Nobody does that. But he did it to make a living. And he became a star."[28]

When asked in interviews about the telephone issue, Bob Newhart noted that:

Shelley Berman did it before I did it. Mike (Nichols) and Elaine (May) did a version of it. There was a thing called 'Cohen on the Telephone,' which was a very, very early recording by Edison [Records] of a guy on the phone.[29]...George Jessel had a radio show...At the end, he would call up his mother and tell her how the show had gone. As a kid growing up, I remember listening to him and he would call his mother up and say, 'Mama, this is Georgie'" – he paused, skillfully – "'from the money.'"[28]

On his website, comedy writer Mark Rothman discussed the history of comic "telephone" monologists, who dated the routine as far back as the 1920s, George Jessel who was doing phone conversations with his mother in vaudeville, with the opening line "Hello Mama? This is Georgie." In the 30s and 40s there was this radio comedienne named Arlene Harris, often referred to as Arlene "Chatterbox" Harris, who did telephone monologues to one of her "friends." In the 50s, a great comedienne, Betty Walker, made about a zillion appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, doing essentially the same kind of act as Arlene Harris. All of this pre-dated Shelley Berman. Even Mike Nichols and Elaine May, who were contemporaries of Berman's at Second City, engaged in telephone dialogues, with very similar styled material.[30]

Death

Berman died from Alzheimer's disease-related complications at his home in Bell Canyon, California, in the early morning of September 1, 2017.[10] He was 92 years old. His archive was donated to the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York.[31]

Comedian Steve Martin praised Berman on Twitter, thanking him for "changing modern stand-up [comedy]".[32] Marc Maron also tweeted praising "Shelley Berman has hung up the phone. RIP. The guy who inspired me to sit. Great comic."[33]

References
  1. "Shelley Berman, Famed 'Sit-Down' Comedian, Dies at 92". Hollywoodreporter.com. September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  2. "Grammy Winner Shelley Berman Dies". Grammy.com. September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  3. "Shelley Berman, Stand-Up Comic and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Actor, Dies at 92". NBC News. September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  4. "Shelley Berman". University of Southern California. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  5. "18Doors". 18doors.org. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  6. McLellan, Dennis (September 1, 2017). "Shelley Berman, angst-filled comedian who pioneered standup (or sit-down) comedy, dies at 92". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  7. "Shelley Berman, angst-filled comedian who pioneered standup (or sit-down) comedy, dies at 92". Los Angeles Times. September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  8. "HB Studio - Notable Alumni | One of the Original Acting Studios in NYC". Hbstudio.org. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  9. "Vintage Television". Kine Video. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  10. Keepnews, Peter (September 1, 2017). "Shelley Berman, Stand-Up Comic Who Skewered Modern Life, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  11. "The Second City Mourns the Loss of Shelley Berman". Broadway World. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  12. "Comedian Shelley Berman, who got his start in Chicago, dies at 92". The Chicago Sun-Times. September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  13. "Yakky Doddle in Foxy Duck". Yowp.blogspot.com. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  14. "Rawhide "The Peddler"". TV Guide. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  15. "Shelley Berman Biography". Film Reference. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  16. "'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Star Shelley Berman Has Passed Away". The Observer. September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  17. "Shelley Berman dead: Curb Your Enthusiasm alum dies at 92". Entertainment News. September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  18. "Shelley Berman, Famed Comedian and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Actor, Dead at 92". The Rolling Stone. September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  19. "Shelley Berman". IMDb.com. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  20. "Shelley Berman – Broadway Cast & Staff". IBDb.com. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  21. "Shelley Berman Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  22. Shelley Berman obituary The Guardian, accessdate February 20, 2018
  23. Shelley Berman, Comic And ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Actor, Dead At 92, Huff Post, accessdate February 20, 2018
  24. "Shelley Berman". IMDb.
  25. "Shelley Berman, comedian-bard of everyday life, has died". The Washington Post. September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  26. "The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California · Page 270". The Los Angeles Times. September 9, 1991. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  27. "Episode 332 – Shelley Berman". Wtfpod.com. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  28. Martel, Ned (April 12, 2005). "For Bob Newhart, Dean of Deadpan, the Laughs Go On". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  29. Thorn, Jesse (May 16, 2012). "Bob Newhart talks about stand-up, sitcoms, and why he stays busy | Comedy | Interview". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  30. Rothman, Mark (March 28, 2013). "The Telephone Hour". Markrothmansblog.blogpot.com. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  31. "National Comedy Center Acquires Archive Comedian Shelley Berman". The Post-Journal. February 1, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  32. "Steve Martin on Twitter". Twitter. September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  33. Ivie, Devon (September 2, 2017). "Shelley Berman, Comedian and Curb Your Enthusiasm Actor, Dead at 92". Vulture.com. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
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