Emerging from a New York City candy-store family, the future comedian left Seward Park High School at sixteen to work as a singing waiter before moving into announcing and stand-up on the Bronx club circuit. After a stint in the Army Air Corps during World II, he returned to entertainment, appearing in the burlesque-style film Teaserama (1955) and catching the eye of Nat Hiken and Phil Silvers, wh…
