Phil Foster (1913-1985)was born in Brooklyn, New York as Fivel Feldman. He took his stage name's
surname from Foster Avenue in Brooklyn.
He had his first taste of
performing when he was a child, when he and his pals began singing and
dancing in front of movie theatres. Then he began appearing in amateur
shows, competi
ng for prizes. With him on occasion was another beginner
named Jackie Gleason.
Foster
made his debut as a night club comic in Chicago in the late 1930s when
he was pushed out on the floor suddenly to fill in for a stand-up comic.
"I just got up and talked," he says. "I didn't know you were supposed
to have an act. But I was offered the job at $125 a week."
He always intended to go back to acting, but, staying with the money,
he rapidly made a reputation in night clubs and found himself in
constant demand from New York to Birmingham to Seattle.
During World War II, Foster served in the United States Army.
Upon his discharge, he returned to New York and become a variety show
favorite with an act comprising stories based on his curious childhood
in Brooklyn.
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