American actor Phil Foster started out as a stand-up comedian when he was quite young. Most of his early routines were slapstick, and the material was drawn from his life growing up in a Brooklyn neighborhood. After working the nightclub circuit through the 1940s, Foster began appearing on television variety shows such as Ed Sullivan. In the 1970s, he became a regular on Laverne and Shirley. Beginning in 1954, he made infrequent journeys into feature films. Foster made his final feature film, Sno-Line in 1985.
Phil Foster
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- Adopted his stage surname from Foster Avenue in Brooklyn. His Russian-immigrant parents had previously changed their name from Vishnodosky to Feldman.
- Fervently supported the Brooklyn Dodgers, but never forgave the team for moving to Los Angeles.
- Honored with a plaque on the Celebrity Path at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
- Joked that the only two steady jobs in his career were "Laverne & Shirley and World War II."