- Born
- Died
- Birth nameTilly Edelstein
- Gertrude was born in New York City and her father owned a summer resort hotel. In her teens she wrote dialogues about her father and grandfather and recited them to guests at the hotel. This was the beginning of her writing which eventually led her to write "The Goldbergs." She married British-born chemical engineer Lewis Berg and they moved to Louisiana, where they lived on a sugar plantation for many years. Eventually they moved back to New York and to the same neighborhood where Gertrude had grown up. In her late 20s she returned to college; during this time a friend took her to a radio network executive, to whom she read one of her scripts. He liked it so much that he said he would put the show on the radio as a series if she would play the leading role. It premiered in 1929 and lasted until 1946 with over 5000 scripts. In 1949, "The Goldbergs" debuted on television and had a five-year run. According to Gertrude, she turned out over 15 million words and 10,000 performances during this run. Gertrude was a lady of great modesty who was universally loved and respected. But she did keep track of career with scrapbooks that reached over 100. She was regarded as homey as apple pie. Milton Berle called her "Goodness personified." Actress Faye Emerson said she had "the face of mother." Gertrude's career included stage, screen, record albums, books, and live television.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bill Hafker thehuntzie@yahoo.com
- SpouseLewis Berg(1918 - September 14, 1966) (her death, 3 children)
- Gertrude Berg is of German ancestry.
- Getrude Berg's "The Goldbergs" (on NBC and CBS from 1931 to 1950) was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989.
- In 1952, Gertrude and hes husband adopted two war orphans who resided in Europe with foster families. They were a 10 year old Italian boy and a 12 year old French girl.
- Her two children were Cherney Berg (1922-2003) and Harriet (1926-2003).
- Awards received were the Quaker City Humanitarian Award, Veterans of Foreign Wars Citation, Girls club of American Motherhood medal, U.S. Treasury department certificate of Merit, and the National Conference of Christians and Jews plaque.
- Won Broadway's 1959 Tony Award as Best Actress (Dramatic) for "A Majority of One."
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