The Phil Silvers Show
The Eating Contest
TV Flash files “The Eating Contest” as hour 9 of 142 in the TV Flash guide — The Phil Silvers Show (1955–1959) on CBS, season 1, episode 9, aired 1955-11-15, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E09: listed hour 9 of 142 in the The Phil Silvers Show guide, hour 9 of 34 in season 1. It aired 1955-11-15 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Mardi Gras” (S01E08). Next is “The Centennial” (S01E10).
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Eating Contest sit in the The Phil Silvers Show guide?
S01E09 is listed hour 9 of 142 — hour 9 of 34 in season 1, season 1 episode 9.
When did The Phil Silvers Show S01E09 air?
The Eating Contest aired 1955-11-15 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start with Bilko in the motor pool at full hustle — Silvers talking faster than the army can regulate. Ensemble chaos is the form from week one.
In the series
Why this series still plays
The Phil Silvers Show is Sgt. Bilko's motor-pool hustle: the funniest con man in uniform television ever licensed, Nat Hiken's breakneck rewrites, a shelf of Emmys. Watch it now as fast-talk ensemble sitcom that influenced every later schemer comedy — gambling-debt legend included, the con as a weekly military workplace.
CBS window: 1955–1959. Originally titled *You'll Never Get Rich*. **142 episodes, four seasons**, a shelf of Emmys, Nat Hiken's breakneck rewrites, Phil Silvers as Sgt. Ernie Bilko in the fictional Fort Baxter motor pool. That is not a cozy service half-hour. That is a hustler sitcom with military branding, fast-talk ensemble as the engine, the con as a weekly workplace. Rex can hymn the barracks. The metric is the rewrite speed and the Emmy shelf.
Filed against
- Phil Silvers as MSgt. Ernie Bilko
Phil Silvers made MSgt. Ernie Bilko the funniest con man in uniform television ever licensed — 1950s motor-pool hustle, Nat Hiken’s breakneck rewrites, a shelf of Emmys, gambling-debt legend included. Fast-talk ensemble sitcom that…
- Paul Ford as Col. John Hall
Paul Ford played Col. John Hall on The Phil Silvers Show, 1950s motor-pool hustle with Sgt. Bilko as the funniest con man in uniform television ever licensed. Nat Hiken’s breakneck rewrites, a shelf of comedy hardware. TV Flash files him…
- Harvey Lembeck as Cpl. Rocco Barbella
Harvey Lembeck's Cpl. Rocco Barbella hustled beside Sgt. Bilko on The Phil Silvers Show — motor-pool con man television, Nat Hiken's breakneck rewrites, a shelf of Emmys, the funniest uniform scheme the 1950s licensed. TV Flash files him…
- Herbie Faye as Cpl. Sam Fender
Herbie Faye's Cpl. Sam Fender kept The Phil Silvers Show's motor pool staffed — Bilko's hustle, Nat Hiken's breakneck rewrites, fast-talk ensemble sitcom, a shelf of Emmys, gambling-debt legend included. TV Flash files him as 1950s…
- Maurice Gosfield as Pvt. Duane Doberman
Maurice Gosfield bungled the hustle as Pvt. Duane Doberman on The Phil Silvers Show — Sgt. Bilko’s motor-pool con, Nat Hiken’s breakneck rewrites, the funniest schemer in uniform television ever licensed. Fast-talk ensemble that…