PHIL SILVERS - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED CHECK 06/20/1963 CO-SIGNED BY: ROD AMATEAU - HFSID 292811

PHIL SILVERS and ROD AMATEAU
Preparing to start a new series, Silvers and his producer signed this check for $305.84.
Check signed: "Phil Silvers", "Rod Amateau", 8½¼x3. Los Angeles, California, 1963 June 20. Check #144, drawn on the corporate account of Gladasysa Productions at City National Bank, payable to Herbert Falick for $305. 84. Former vaudeville and burlesque performer PHIL SILVERS (1911-1985) starred in film comedies from the early 1940s, but his big successes came on TV and on stage. Television viewers will remember him best as Sergeant Bilko, winner of five Emmys in the sitcom You'll Never Get Rich (1955-1959). His Broadway successes include Yokel Boy (1939), High Button Shoes (1947), Top Banana (1950, which won him a Tony), Do Re Mi (1960), and a revival of A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To the Forum (1971, and his second Tony). In 1963, Silvers, with Rod Amateau as his producer, launched a new sitcom, The New Phil Silvers Show. Silvers was back with new moneymaking schemes, this time as a plant manager instead of an army sergeant. The show debuted on CBS on September 28, 1963, three months after this check was written. Silvers' new sitcom did not match the success of You'll Never Get Rich, however, beaten in its Saturday evening time slot by Joey Bishop and Lawrence Welk, and canceled after 30 episodes. It was an uncharacteristic failure, not only for Silvers but for ROD AMATEAU (1923-2003), who directed/and or produced Love That Bob (1955-1959), The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959-1963), Mister Ed (1961-1966), Gilligan's Island (1964-1967), My Mother the Car (1965-1966) and The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985). Bank processing stamps on front and verso. Lightly creased. Stamps effecting "P" in Phil. Otherwise, fine condition.