Phil Silvers

Biographie

American Jewish comic actor, born Fischl Silver, who won the 1952 Tony Award for Top Banana and later became famous as Sergeant Bilko. In Jewish World Records, Phil Silvers is connected to the record “First Jewish Winner of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical,” based on the stored achievement of Actor (Musical) — Top Banana, 30 March 1952. Phil Silvers won Actor (Musical) for Top Banana at the 6th Tony Awards on 30 March 1952. Masterworks Broadway states that he was born Fischl Silver, the youngest of eight children in a Russian Jewish family. The Tony Awards official 1952 winners list names Phil Silvers as Actor (Musical) winner for Top Banana. The official Tony category chronology lists Paul Hartman (1948), Ray Bolger (1949), Ezio Pinza (1950) and Robert Alda (1951) before Silvers; JWR found no earlier verified Jewish winner, making Silvers the earliest qualifying recipient.