Johnny Silver

Johnny Silver was an American actor and singer. Born in East Chicago, Indiana, he sang as a child and later moved into acting, performing at L.A. City College with John Raitt, doing radio work and working as a burlesque comic. During World War II he arranged entertainment for the troops, met Mario Lanza, helped him get a role in On the Beam and joined him in variety acts. After the war he moved to New York, and in 1950 Frank Loesser's Broadway musical Guys and Dolls gave him the part of Benny Southstreet. He reprised it in the film Guys and Dolls (1955). For forty years he was a character actor in films and on television, including Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963), Lepke (1975), History of the World, Part I (1981) and Spaceballs (1987). His television work included H.R. Pufnstuf and an Emmy nomination for a 1967 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre episode. He died in 2003.