Elvis performed on "The Milton Berle Show" on April 3rd and June 5th 1956. At the time the program was aired every Tuesday between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm on NBC-TV.

Production

Milton Berle was one of the true pioneers of television and the first mega star of this medium. At times more than 90% of the audience watched his show and so in 1951 NBC offered him a unique contract. The tv channel hired him for 30 years and paid him a million USD per year - regardless if he had a show or not. The only condition was, that he couldn't perform on tv shows not aired by NBC. However, he was free to do live performances. Just five years after the mega deal times had changed. "Mr. Television", as Berle was called by many, was somewhat outdated by now and CBS' "The Phil Silvers Show" had better ratings. In the spring of 1956, when Milton Berle booked Elvis for his show, he already knew that NBC was about to cancel the program.

Nevertheless it was a huge step up for the young singer, because even a Milton Berle heading south had a much bigger audience than "The Stage Show". Besides that, "The Milton Berle Show" was a technical highlight, because NBC aired it not just in regular black and white, but also in color. Back then a color tv was fancy hightec, very expensive and therefore not to be found in the average household. Another plus was the host himself. In contrast to the Dorsey brothers "Uncle Miltie" (another nickname for Berle) was quite laid-back and didn't press anybody in a corset. Maybe that's one of the reasons Elvis delivered some of his best television performances on "The Milton Berle Show". Financially the deal was also a good one, for his first appearance the young singer received $3,000, for the second one $5,000. For Milton Berle the booking of Elvis Presley was also some kind of coup. Both editions beat "The Phil Silvers Show" by far and the last episode even delivered the biggest scandal in television history so far. Not the worst finale for an outdated show!

April 03, 1956

This episode was something special, because it was aired live from the deck of the "USS Hancock", an aircraft carrier of the Essex class. After the introduction of the guests Milton Berle appears in a fantasy uniform and holds a comedy monologue. Then he welcomes Esther Williams for a little talk, which is enriched with prepared jokes. After that Milton announces the "new RCA recording artist" (RCA was one of the show's sponsors) and here he comes, Elvis Presley. The young singer is welcomed with applause and performs "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Blue Suede Shoes". Bill Black is running wild and rides his bass, Elvis plays so hard that he rips a string of his guitar. After the hillbilly cat has finished Milton Berle appears as his twin brother Melwin Presley. Milton's outfit is similar to what Elvis is wearing, but he has a wig, oversized shoes and a fake guitar. The singer performs another version of "Blue Suede Shoes" while "Melwin" tries to move to the music in pure Presley style. At the finale he smashes the guitar. The show ends with Harry James performing "You Made Me Love You" and Buddy Rich singing the "Two O' Clock Jump".

June 05, 1956

Elvis is the first one to perform on this edition of "The Milton Berle Show". The audience goes wild as the host announces "I'd like to present that new singing sensation" and is almost annoyed when he continues "...but first, here's a word from our sponsors". But then he appears: Elvis Presley. This time he doesn't use a guitar so is able to move freely. Just like in his live shows he turns "Hound Dog" into an event. When Scotty Moore plays a solo on his guitar, Elvis tops what he has done before and moves even wilder. Suddenly the whole thing stops and the band performs a slower version of the song. Elvis shakes his head, his body and waddles around the microphone. He obviously has fun spoofing himself and the audience goes wild. Young girls are screaming, the older people are laughing about the joke and applaude. Milton Berle follows with one of his typical comedy monologues, then Debra Paget appears, parodies the fans of Elvis and "attacks" the singer. So does the seven years old Barry Gordon, another guest in the show. Gordon imitates Elvis and sings "Then I'll Be Happy". He is followed by Paget singing "Too Close For Comfort" and delivering an erotic dance performance. After that Milton Berle jokingly announces a break of 25 seconds to enable the audience to wipe the condensation water off their screens. Actually there is a commercial for RCA Victor, of course the album "Elvis Presley" is also mentioned. Next up is a skit in which Elvis signes autographs in a record store. The fans mistake Berle for Presley and tear apart his suit. Then the real Elvis performs his latest single "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" and is awarded with a double Tripple Crown. It honors "Heartbreak Hotel" reaching the number ones of the Sales Chart, the Jukebox Chart and the Disc Jockey List in the fields of Popmusic and Countrymusic. That marks the end of the season 1955/1956 of "The Milton Berle Show" and the host promises to come back the next year.

After the show NBC received piles of angry calls and letters. In contrast to the audience in the studio the people at home were obviously very conservative and didn't understand the humor of the performace. To them "Hound Dog" was a display of lewdness and vulgarity and an attack on their Christian values. The majority of the critics shared this oppinion and condemned the show. Back then it was the biggest scandal ever caused by a tv program. NBC was in utter uproar, but I am pretty sure that the oh so outdated "Mr. Television" enjoyed the stir he had caused with his final show.

Elvis performing "Hound Dog"" on June 5, 1956