Phil Silvers

Phil Silvers was an American entertainer and comedic actor. He first received his fame in the 1950s, when he starred as Sergeant Bilko in The Phil Silvers Show. His most notable film role was in 1963's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World, where he played the sly motorist Otto Meyer.

There were many occasions where Hanna-Barbera referenced Phil, mostly by having some of their characters have voice impressions based on him.

HB references

• In "Sheep-Shape Sheepherder", a short from Huckleberry Hound, Chiefy uses a Phil Silvers voice.
• In "Oinks and Boinks", a short from Yogi Bear, the wolf uses a Phil Silvers voice.
• In the Hokey Wolf shorts, the titular Hokey Wolf, uses a Phil Silvers voice.
• In the Top Cat TV series, the title character, Top Cat, uses a Phil Silvers voice and the show itself uses a format from The Phil Silvers Show.
  • As a side note, Arnold Stang (who played as Top Cat in his series) appeared in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World, as one of the two gas station owners whom Silvers's character met.
• In "The Snorkasaurus Hunter," an episode of The Flintstones, the Snorkasaurus was given a Sergeant Bilko-styled voice and character.
• In "The Astra' Nuts", another episode of The Flintstones, after Fred and Barney were recruited into the army, they were conned by an unnamed Bilko-like character into becoming astronaut test pilots.
• In "The Volunteers", the first episode of Yippee, Yappee and Yahooey, the sargent uses a Phil Silvers-like voice similar to that of Hokey Wolf.
• In the CB Bears shorts, the character Hustle uses a Phil Silvers voice.
• In "Film Flam," an episode of The Powerpuff Girls, Bernie Bernstein is a Silvers-sounding con artist who faked the production of a movie just to rob a bank.
• In "All Cat Jazz," a segment of the The Tom and Jerry Show, Frankie acts like a Silvers-sounding con mouse managing Tom, Jerry, and Spike in a band just to get food.