Who Am I? April 6, 2024

I was born at the Fordham Hospital in the Bronx but soon after that the family moved to South Philadelphia. My dad, Jacob, was Austrian-Jewish. He worked at odd jobs and later ran a bicycle shop. My mom, Chana, (“Anna”) was a Romanian Jew who bore 5 children.

I wasn’t much of a student. In fact, I was quite an indifferent one. Later on I quipped that “In kindergarten I flunked sand pile.” I liked to do impersonations in elementary school. My dad was somewhat of a musician and he taught me Yiddish songs. I dropped out of high school.

In the spring of 1942 I was drafted into the U.S. Army and served for 3 years in Special Services entertaining troops mostly at Fort Sam in San Antonio. After my discharge I worked a bit in vaudeville, burlesque and nightclubs doing stand-up.

I became financially successful after a stint at the Latin Quarter. As luck would have, I came to the attention of Ol’ Blue Eyes who let me open for him at Bill Miller’s Riviera Club in Fort Lee, New Jersey which was located not too far from the JHSNJ. I thought the world of Francis Albert. Once I remarked that “he regularly calls Dial-A-Prayer to pick up his messages.” 

I have appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Dinah Shore Chevy Show, and other variety shows and as a game show panelist. I have guest-hosted the Tonight Show from the days of Jack Paar through Johnny Carson. For awhile I starred in a situational comedy of my own on TV and had my own late night talk show. 

You probably know me as a stone-faced, cynical comedian with good timing who was a whiz at ad-libing. I was a member of a close-knit group that appeared together at the Sands Hotel in Los Vegas and made a couple of films together. I wrote a lot of material for our group. That’s my image below.

(1a) Who am I? (1b)How did I choose my stage surname? (1c)What professional sobriquet was I given? (2a)What musical instruments could I play? (2b)What was my sport of choice (2c) Name one person who played my sport of choice with me? (3a)I was the staid, non-skirt-chasing member of a close-Knit group. What was the name of that group? (3b)Who were the other members of my close-knit group? (3c)Name one movie our close-knit group made jointly. (4a)Who was my side-kick on my late night talk show? (4b)When I was booted off of ABC on my late night talk show, who took my time slot? (5a)What connection did I have with JFK? (5b)In the early 1980’s I replaced a famous child actor in a Broadway production. Who was that child actor? (5c)What was the name of that Broadway production?