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Shelley Berman is a Actor American born on 3 february 1925 at Chicago (USA)

Shelley Berman

Shelley Berman
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Birth name Sheldon Berman
Nationality USA
Birth 3 february 1925 at Chicago (USA)
Death 1 september 2017 (at 92 years)

Sheldon "Shelley" Berman (born February 3, 1925) is an American comedian, actor, writer, teacher, lecturer, philanthropist, and poet.

Biography

Berman has been married to Sarah Herman since April 19, 1947. The two met while they were studying acting at Chicago's Goodman Theatre.

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

Berman has authored three books, two plays, several TV pilot scripts, and numerous poems. For over twenty years, Berman taught humor writing in the Master of Professional Writing program at the University of Southern California, where he is now a Lecturer Emeritus. He continues to do film and television work and make personal appearances across the country year-round.

Berman and his wife are 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 contribute their time and resources to the benefit of the facilities and the residents.


Accusation of plagiarism
In a 2012 podcast interview with Marc Maron, 87-year-old Berman accused comedian Bob Newhart of plagiarizing his improvisational telephone routine style, describing its genesis and saying it was a "very special technique that couldn't really be imitated. 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!'" 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." Berman later added, "I thought it was a rotten thing to do. I thought the agents who sold him - I thought they were just as guilty as everybody else. But, my God, to go into a town and do my show, and the critics saying that I borrowed some stuff from Newhart..."

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...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.' ""
On his website, comedy writer Mark Rothman discussed the history of comic "telephone" monologists:


"As far back as 1920s George Jessel was doing phone conversations with his mother in vaudeville, with the opening line "Hello Mama? This is Georgie." In the 30's and 40's there was this radio comedienne named Arlene "Chatterbox" Harris, who did telephone monologues to one of her "friends." She was featured doing one of them on an episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show that featured many old radio entertainers. In the 50's, a great comedienne, Betty Walker, made several appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, doing essentially the same kind of act as Arlene Harris, talking to her friend Ceil. Only it was intensively Yiddishified. Whereas Arlene Harris was white bread, Betty Walker was challah. All of this pre-dated Shelley Berman. Even Mike Nichols and Elaine May, who were contemporaries of Berman's at The Second City, engaged in telephone dialogues, with very similar styled material.

Usually with

Martin Mull
Martin Mull
(2 films)
Paul Provenza
Paul Provenza
(1 films)
Penn Jillette
Penn Jillette
(1 films)
Larry Weir
Larry Weir
(1 films)
Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel
(1 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Shelley Berman (15 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

The Legend of Secret Pass, 1h32
Origin USA
Genres Fantasy, Animation
Actors Ron Perlman, Joe Pantoliano, Frankie Muniz, David Cross, Cheryl Hines, Christy Carlson Romano
Roles Ira (voice)
Rating49% 2.490662.490662.490662.490662.49066
The film takes place in the mountains of the American Southwest and involves Thunderbirds of Indian mythology and an animal refuge of mystical proportions. An unlikely troop of animals and humans are caught up in a clash of ageless magic. In this moment of crisis, the barest chance to avoid cataclysm falls into the hands of an Indian boy, Manu. With the help of his cousin Nika and aunt Nitika, Manu must face a terrifying trial if the family is to survive and he is to embrace his special destiny.
You Don't Mess with the Zohan, 1h53
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Action
Themes Films set in Africa, Spy films, Films about religion, Political films, Films about Jews and Judaism
Actors Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Nick Swardson, Lainie Kazan, Rob Schneider
Roles Zohan's Father
Rating56% 2.8009152.8009152.8009152.8009152.800915
Zohan Dvir (Adam Sandler) is a kind-hearted superhuman Israeli counter-terrorist and the finest and most respected soldier in the Israel Defense Forces. However, Zohan has become both disgusted and disenchanted by the constant fighting, secretly dreaming of moving to the USA and becoming a hairdresser. This reaches a breaking point when a barbecue he hosts is interrupted by the IDF sending Zohan on a mission to stop a Palestinian terrorist group being led by his personal arch-enemy, Fatoush "the Phantom" Hakbarah (John Turturro), another superhuman. Despite being upset over his ruined party, Zohan sees it as his long awaited chance to desert the IDF and move to America. During the pursuit he fakes his own death and smuggles himself onto a flight to New York City, cutting his own hair and taking the alias "Scrappy Coco" (the names of two dogs he shared the flight with) while claiming that he is "Half Australian, Half Mount Everest." Meanwhile, the Phantom becomes rich and famous for supposedly killing Zohan and starts his own fast-food business, "Muchentuchen".
The Holiday, 2h18
Directed by Nancy Meyers
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Themes Christmas films
Actors Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Shannyn Sossamon, Eli Wallach
Roles Norman
Rating69% 3.451463.451463.451463.451463.45146
Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet), a society column editor for The Daily Telegraph in London, has been in love with Jasper Bloom (Rufus Sewell) for over three years, despite his infidelities. When she finds out that he is engaged to the "other woman," Iris despairs over the state of affairs in her life. Meanwhile, Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz), a workaholic who owns a company that produces movie trailers in Los Angeles, discovers that her live-in boyfriend Ethan Ebbers (Edward Burns) has been cheating on her with his 24-year-old secretary. She decides she wants to get away for the holidays and visits a home swap website on which Iris had previously listed her "quaint cottage in Surrey.” Amanda contacts Iris about her interest. Iris quickly agrees and the two agree to swap homes for two weeks.
Meet the Fockers, 1h50
Directed by Jay Roach
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romance
Themes Films about families
Actors Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, Theresa Polo
Roles Judge Ira
Rating62% 3.149563.149563.149563.149563.14956
Gaylord "Greg" Focker (Ben Stiller) and his fiancée Pam Byrnes (Polo) decide to introduce their parents to each other. They first fly to Oyster Bay, New York, on Long Island, to pick up Pam's father, retired CIA operative Jack Byrnes (De Niro), her mother Dina (Danner) and one-year-old nephew Little Jack. But rather than going to the airport as planned, Jack decides to drive the family to Miami to meet the Fockers in his new RV.
The Last Producer, 1h30
Directed by Burt Reynolds
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Actors Burt Reynolds, Rod Steiger, Benjamin Bratt, Sean Astin, Ann-Margret, Lauren Holly
Roles Poker Player
Rating46% 2.326552.326552.326552.326552.32655
A washed-up, veteran producer tries to re-enter the movie business by producing a new film. He soon finds it is not as easy as it once was.
Motorama
Motorama (1993)
, 1h30
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Adventure
Themes Transport films, Films about automobiles, Road movies
Actors Martha Quinn, Susan Tyrrell, Drew Barrymore, John Laughlin, John Diehl, Robert Picardo
Roles Million Dollar Driver
Rating62% 3.103683.103683.103683.103683.10368
Gus, un jeune garçon âgé de 10 ans, fuit le domicile familial pour parcourir l'Amérique au volant d'une voiture volée, s'arrêtant aux stations-service pour obtenir des cartes du jeu de grattage Motorama, dans l'espoir d'obtenir les huit cartes qui lui permettront de gagner le magot de 500 millions de dollars.
Teen Witch
Teen Witch (1989)
, 1h30
Directed by Robyn Lively, Joshua John Miller, Larry Weir, Dan Gauthier
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Comedy, Fantasy, Musical, Romance
Actors Robyn Lively, Dan Gauthier, Joshua John Miller, Caren Kaye, Larry Weir, Dick Sargent
Roles Mr. Weaver
Rating60% 3.000793.000793.000793.000793.00079
After a bike accident, the sweet-yet-nerdy 15-year-old Louise Miller (Lively) knocks on the door of a strange-looking house, hoping to use the phone. Instead, she meets a strange but welcoming woman, the seer Madame Serena (Rubinstein). Reading Louise's palm, Serena is stunned when she learns that Louise is a reincarnated witch and an old friend from one of her previous lives. A week later, on Louise's 16th birthday, her magical powers return through a powerful amulet that was lost in a former life, an item that Madame Serena says searches for its owner.
Beware! The Blob, 1h31
Directed by Larry Hagman
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Comedy, Horror comedy, Horror, Comic science fiction
Themes Comedy science fiction films, Comedy horror films
Actors Robert Walker Jr., Carol Lynley, Gwynne Gilford, Richard Stahl, Richard Webb, Marlene Clark
Roles Mr. Carmel, Hair Stylist
Rating41% 2.0657852.0657852.0657852.0657852.065785
Left off after the events of the first movie The Blob, an oil pipeline layer named Chester (Godfrey Cambridge) returns to his suburban Los Angeles home from the North Pole, bringing with him a small sample of a mysterious frozen substance uncovered by a bulldozer on a job site. Prior to taking the blob to a lab to be analyzed, he places the storage container with the substance in his freezer, but he and his wife (Marlene Clark) accidentally let it thaw, releasing "the Blob". It starts by eating a fly, then a kitten, Chester's wife, and then Chester himself (while he is watching a television broadcast of the film The Blob).
Every Home Should Have One, 1h34
Directed by Jim Clark
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy
Actors Marty Feldman, Judy Cornwell, Patrick Cargill, Julie Ege, Jack Watson, Shelley Berman
Roles Nat Kaplan
Rating50% 2.5150552.5150552.5150552.5150552.515055
An advertising man is tasked by his boss with trying to come up with a sexy new image for porridge. He is also struggling with his chaotic home life, where his wife has become involved in a campaign to "clean up" television.
Divorce American Style, 1h49
Directed by Bud Yorkin
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Dick Van Dyke, Debbie Reynolds, Jason Robards, Jean Simmons, Van Johnson, Lee Grant
Roles David Grieff
Rating62% 3.1476153.1476153.1476153.1476153.147615
After seventeen years of marriage, affluent Los Angeles suburban couple Richard Harmon (Van Dyke) and his wife Barbara (Reynolds) seem to have it all, but they're constantly bickering. When they discover they can no longer communicate, even to argue, they make an effort to salvage their relationship through counseling. But after catching each other emptying their joint bank accounts (at the urging of friends), they file for divorce.
The Best Man, 1h42
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes Politique, Théâtre, Political films, Films based on plays
Actors Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Lee Tracy, Margaret Leighton, Edie Adams, Ann Sothern
Roles Sheldon Bascomb
Rating75% 3.795763.795763.795763.795763.79576
William Russell (Fonda) and Joe Cantwell (Robertson) are the two leading candidates for the presidential nomination of an unspecified political party. Both have potentially fatal vulnerabilities.
Dementia
Dementia (1955)
, 58minutes
Directed by Bruno VeSota
Genres Horror, Crime
Actors Angelo Rossitto, Ed McMahon, Bruno VeSota, Shelley Berman, Shorty Rogers, Jonathan Haze
Roles Stoned Beatnik (uncredited)
Rating66% 3.347753.347753.347753.347753.34775
A young woman awakens from a nightmare in a run down hotel. She leaves the building and wanders through the night, passing a newspaper man. The news headline "Mysterious stabbing" catches her eye, and she quickly leaves. In a dark alley, a wino approaches and grabs her. A policeman rescues her and beats up the drunken man. Shortly later, another man approaches her and talks her into escorting a rich man in a limousine. While they cruise the night, she remembers her unhappy youth with an abusive father, whom she stabbed to death with a switchblade after he had killed her unfaithful mother. The rich man takes her to various clubs and then to his noble apartment. As he ignores her while having an extensive meal, she tries to tempt him. When he advances her, she stabs him with her knife and pushes the dying man out of the window. Before his fall, he grabs her pendant. The woman runs down onto the street and, as the dead man's hand won't relieve her pendant, cuts off the hand while being watched by faceless passersby. Again, the patrol policeman shows up and follows her. She flees and hides the hand in a flower girl's basket. The pimp shows up again and drags her into a night club, where an excited audience watches a jazz band playing. The policeman enters the club, while the rich man, lying at the window, points out his murderess with his bloody stump. The crowd encircles the woman, laughing frantically. The woman wakes up in her hotel room, her encounters have supposedly been a nightmare. In one of her drawers, she discovers her pendant, clutched by the fingers of a severed hand. The camera leaves the hotel room and moves out into the streets, while a desperate cry can be heard.