Milton Berle Toy Car
USA, 1950s
Printed sheet metal, plastic
Museum Collection
Must Know
The tin toy car with Milton Berle’s figure sitting in it was manufactured in the 50s by a company called Louis Marx and Company (1919-1980). By stretching the spring, it turns the car into movement and also the figure moves his head.
Milton Berle (1908-2002) was a Jewish-American comedian, entertainer, and TV star in the 50s in the US, originally from New York. he was known as ”Mr. Television”. he started his entertainment career at the age of 5 and built an extensive career in the American television and radio in the 30s and the 40s.
he achieved significant success thanks to his role as host on the show “Texaco Star Theater” (funded by the fuel company Texaco) on the American NBC channel. In 1949, the series was one of the five most watched shows and this remained so for the next four consecutive years. he would all the time appear in drag, together with a cigar in his mouth, which later became his trademark. From 1953, the American multinational corporation General Motors Company, the manufacturer of the Buick automotive, took over the funding of the show, and the name was changed to “Buick-Berle Show”. For a period of two years, Berle received a new Buick model for each season. In 1959, he purchased a Rolls-Royce that he kept until his death.
he also continued to appear in movies, in Las Vegas, and on Broadway. In the last years of his life, he appeared on the MTV Awards and in the famous series “Beverly Hills 90210”.
