'Mr Television' dies at 93

Milton Berle, the acerbic, cigar-smoking vaudevillian who eagerly embraced a new medium and became America’s ‘‘Mr Television’’ in the dawn of the video age, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 93.

Berle died at his home yesterday under hospice care, publicist Warren Cowan said. Berle’s wife, Lorna, and several family members were at his side. Berle had been diagnosed with colon cancer last year.

‘‘What a remarkable man, what a remarkable career,’’ Bob Hope and his wife, Dolores, said in a written statement. ‘‘Eighty-eight years in showbusiness, a brilliant comedian, an accomplished actor, a lifelong friend.’’

Hope, 98, and his wife, 93, joked: ‘‘We are among the select few who could call him ‘kid’.’’

‘‘Uncle Miltie’’ was the king of Tuesday nights with his weekly comedy show for Texaco. The programme’s popularity spurred sales of television sets and helped make the new technology a medium for the masses.