Jack Berle

Jack Berle is another one of the sad tells of Hollywood. He was the older brother of Milton Berle and this turned into a blessing and a curse. As he was growing up, Jack's mother determined her son Milton was going to be the star and so she turned most of her attention on Milton. When Milton was doing his act, Jack often times was relegated to playing an audience member that Milton would use to set up his jokes. He would continue to work with his brother throughout most of the 1940s and early 1950s. By the late 1950s, Jack started working occasionally with his brother but he tried to establish himself as a dependable background actor. He would occasionally work as a stand-in for his brother but more often than not, he found work as an extra and doing bit roles through his connections at Desi-Lu studios. Jack would be called upon to appear in anything he could. It wasn't uncommon for him to do a western one day, then appear in one of his famous friends' shows the next day. During the late 1960s, Berle started to work as the stand-in for his brother though they never really had a good relationship. It wasn't uncommon for Berle to be upgraded to a silent bit part during these films but preferred to be one of the guys instead of working with his brother. He eventually left his brother and continued to establish himself as a dependable person that was willing to work any scene. Like many other background actors, Berle worked until he couldn't work anymore. Jack could frequently be seen on some of the most popular shows and movies of that era. He would constantly joke around with other extras and he always felt at home on the film set. He rarely talked about his brother but anybody who knew Jack could never say a negative word about him.