Phil Foster

Phil Foster, born Fivel Feldman (March 29, 1913 – July 8, 1985)

Foster made his debut as a night club comic in Chicago in the late 1930s when he was pushed out on the floor suddenly to fill in for a stand-up comic. "I just got up and talked," he says. "I didn't know you were supposed to have an act. But I was offered the job at $125 a week." He always intended to go back to acting, but, staying with the money, he rapidly made a reputation in night clubs and found himself in constant demand from New York to Birmingham to Seattle. During World War II, Foster served in the United States Army. It was Garry Marshall, an old friend whom he helped get started as a comedy writer for Joey Bishop and other entertainers, who lured him to Hollywood, first to appear in The Odd Couple and then to co-star in Laverne & Shirley, at which time he was living in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Foster also had several return visits to The Ed Sullivan Show and Toast of the Town along with This Is Show Business, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Love Boat, and The Patty Duke Show. He also worked in film, notably Bang the Drum Slowly. He also recorded a handful of live stand-up comedy albums. He died of a heart attack in Rancho Mirage, California, at the age of 72. Foster is buried at Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills, California.