Phil Silvers - Personal Life

Personal Life

Phil Silvers was married twice, to Evelyn Patrick and to Jo-Carroll Dennison. Both of his marriages ended in divorce. He had five daughters — Candace, Cathy, Laurie, Nancey, and Tracey Edythe — all by his second wife.

Silvers was a compulsive gambler and suffered from depression on and off over the years. He suffered a severe mental breakdown while performing in Spain in 1962. While staying in Reno, Nevada, in the 1950s, he would often gamble all night. On one occasion, at the tiny Cal-Neva Lodge in nearby Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Silvers spent an entire night playing craps until he lost all his money, and then went through $1,000 in credit. A taxi was called to return him to Reno. It was "ne of the worst nights of my life', Silvers told the driver, adding, "Don't wait for any lights and don't wait for any tip . . . I left it at the Cal-Neva!"

His memoirs are titled This Laugh Is On Me.

Read more about this topic:  Phil Silvers

Famous quotes containing the words personal and/or life:

    Most personal correspondence of today consists of letters the first half of which are given over to an indexed statement of why the writer hasn’t written before, followed by one paragraph of small talk, with the remainder devoted to reasons why it is imperative that the letter be brought to a close.
    Robert Benchley (1889–1945)

    the sheets and towels of a life we were going to share,
    The milk-stiff bibs, the shroud, each rag to be ever
    Trampled or soiled, bled on or groped for blindly,
    Came swooning out of an enormous willow hamper
    Onto moon-marbly boards.
    James Merrill (b. 1926)