MY FATHER, PHIL SILVERS

A letter by Laury Silvers Alario

Hi,

Phil Silvers is my Dad. I want to thank you for your web page on my father. He would have loved it!

I want to respond to the comments on your page about my dad's life. The A&E show was not at all a truthful picture of my father. Milton Berle even complained to my sister about its negative slant. He said to her, " so he was depressed so he was a gambler, that wasn't his life!"

We feel the same way. We just wanted other people who love our Dad too to know this. The Production Company lied to us, they used only negative material out of 1 and 1/2 hour interviews each. Milton complained about that too. But they make it seem as if the show has the stamp of approval of the family.

Some stories were just plain wrong. Like Rose Marie said my Father was depressed despite the hit of Top Banana. But he told us that it was the best time of his life. Every night he walked back to the hotel through the New York City streets to meet Marlon Brando and others for dinner. She was just putting her own interpretation of my Dad walking back to the hotel alone.

He was never defeated by his depression and he always knew how happy he had made people. He loved his fans. I always saw him give them time and consideration.

My dad, despite his problems, was the most generous warm fun person you could know. He was a real trickster and liked to play harmless jokes and see if he could sneak into movie theaters by walking in backwards while people were walking out or by running up and saying, "Am I late, Am I late?" and walking in right past the usher.

Please let people know this.

Thanks!
Laury Silvers Alario