Biography for
Phil Silvers More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

11 May 1911, New York City, New York, USA

Date of Death

1 November 1985, Century City, California, USA (heart attack)

Birth Name

Philip Silver

Nickname

The King of Chutzpah

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Spouse

Evelyn Patrick	(21 October 1956 - 1966) (divorced) 5 children
Jo-Carroll Dennison	(2 March 1945 - 1950) (divorced)

Trade Mark

Glasses

The greeting "Gladaseeya!" (glad to see you)

Trivia

Interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park, Los Angeles, California, USA.

He wrote the lyrics to the Jimmy Van Heusen song "Nancy (With the Laughing Face)" for friend Frank Sinatra's firstborn child Nancy Sinatra.

His Gladasya production company co-produced "Gilligan's Island" (1964).

Had 5 daughters with his second wife, Evelyn Patrick: Tracey Silvers (1957), Nancey Silvers, Cathy Silvers, Candace Silvers (1961) and Laury Silvers (1963). Grandfather of Jaclyn Sara Silvers.

Enjoyed a long string of Broadway successes, most notably "High Button Shoes" (1948), "Top Banana" (1951, for which he won a Tony award), "Do-Re-Mi" (1961), "How the Other Half Loves" (1970), and the revival of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (1971, and another Tony win).

He was a gambling addict. Once, when complaining about his lack of work and being broke in Los Angeles, he absent-mindedly pulled out a large wad of bills. When asked about why did not live on that money, he replied it did not count because it was only his gambling money.

Daughter Tracey Silvers is a film producer and writer.

Has won two Tony Awards as Best Actor (Musical): in 1952 for "Top Banana," a part that he recreated in the film version of the same name, Top Banana (1954), and in 1972 for a revival of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." He was also nominated in the same category in 1961 for "Do Re Mi."

Father-in-law of writer/director/composer Iren Koster.

Later in life, after having cataract surgery on both eyes and with lenses then implanted in his eyes, he no longer needed eyeglasses. However, he continued to wear them without any glass in them -- just the frames -- because his glasses were, after all, his trademark.

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 740-741. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.

His first wife, Jo-Carroll Dennison was Miss America of 1942.

Suffered a stroke in 1972.

Silvers' sight was failing fast, and to compensate for this fact he was wearing contact lenses as well as glasses. It was a familiar sight to see Jim Dale, Peter Butterworth, and Silvers scatting around the sand for a lost lens while filming Follow That Camel (1967).

Appears as Master Sergeant Ernest G. (Ernie) Bilko on a 44¢ USA commemorative postage stamp, issued 11 August 2009, in the Early TV Memories issue honoring "The Phil Silvers Show" (1955).

Personal Quotes

I'm an impatient comedian. And I feel the audience is as impatient as me.

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