Johnny Silver

Johnny Silver, born John Silverman on April 16, 1918, in East Chicago, Indiana, was an American actor and singer whose career spanned stage, film, and television across several decades. He died on February 1, 2003, of heart and kidney failure at the age of 84.

Silver's involvement in the performing arts began in childhood, when he sang at a young age before expanding into acting. His early professional work included performing alongside actor John Raitt at L.A. City College, radio appearances, and work as a burlesque comic.

During World War II, Silver was assigned to organizing entertainment for military troops, a role that brought him into contact with singer Mario Lanza. Silver assisted Lanza in obtaining a part in On the Beam, a play written by Peter Lind Hayes and Frank Loesser, and the two performed together in variety acts for servicemen. That connection to Loesser would later prove significant to Silver's career.

After the war, Silver relocated to New York, where his breakthrough came with his casting as Benny Southstreet in Loesser's Broadway musical Guys and Dolls in 1950. Five years later, he reprised the role in the film adaptation of the same production.

Over the following four decades, Silver worked extensively as a character actor in both film and television. His film credits include Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963), The Great Race (1965), Lepke (1975), History of the World, Part I (1981), and Spaceballs (1987). On television, he accumulated dozens of credits, among them seven episodes of Make Room for Daddy, fifteen episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, six episodes of Mannix, and five episodes of The Odd Couple. He also portrayed Dr. Blinky and Ludicrous Lion in H.R. Pufnstuf. His final television appearance came in 1995 in an episode of Seinfeld. Silver received an Emmy Award nomination for his performance in the 1967 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre episode Free of Charge.

Silver married actress Gloria Manos in 1954. The couple had two daughters, Stephanie and Jennie, and remained married until Manos's death in 1993.