Title: Milton W. Sklansky Papers and Photographs
Inclusive Dates: 1942-1945

Creator:

• Sklansky, Milton W.

Call Number: WVM Mss 626

Quantity: 0.3 linear ft. (1 archives box and 1 oversize folder) of papers and 1.2 linear ft. (3 archives boxes and 2 oversize folders) of photographs.

Repository:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Have questions? Contact the Reference Archivist

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)

See the catalog entry for current shelf locations and additions.

Abstract:

Papers and photographs of Milton W. Sklansky, a member of the 16th Evacuation Hospital and performer with the U.S.O. during World War II. The papers include scattered letters that he wrote home to his family while overseas. The letters show his attempts to make light of the danger he was in. His Jewish faith is highlighted by several holiday cards. Newspaper clippings and programs document his role as one of the “Three Goldbricks,” a trio of soldiers who dressed up like women and pretended to sing Andrews Sisters songs for troops all over the European Theater. Photographs make up the majority of the collection, and they focus on Sklansky's role as an entertainer and his work with the U.S.O. Shots of the “Three Goldbricks” and other famous U.S.O. performers, including Marlene Dietrich and Joe E. Brown, are included. Other photographs show the Spaghetti Bowl, a football game played in Rome between two US military units. Pictures of Sklansky, his girlfriend, and other acquaintances in the military along with numerous shots of scenic locations around Italy make up the rest of the series.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss00626

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Milton W. Sklansky was born on February 14, 1922 in Chicago, Illinois. He attended local schools and enrolled at the Goodman Theater to train as an actor. He enlisted into the Army in 1942 and became part of the 16th Evacuation Hospital. Mustered into service at Fort Sheridan, he trained at Camp Blanding in Stark, Florida. There, along with his high school friend Norman “Whitey” Schwartzberg, he met Al Williams. Together, the three began performing a lip-synch act to entertain their fellow soldiers. Dressing up as women, they took the name “The Three Goldbricks,” pretended to be the Andrews Sisters and lip-synched popular songs of the time.

The act gained notoriety as the 16th Evacuation Hospital prepared to deploy to North Africa. Upon crossing the Atlantic, the trio began performing at Red Cross and U.S.O. shows. Sklansky remained with the 16th Evacuation Hospital and took part in the Allied invasion of Italy, landing at Salerno. In November 1943 he and his fellow performers were transferred to the headquarters company (special service) of the 5th Army. In that capacity they continued to travel to different venues in the theater and entertain troops. As their reputation grew and spread, they often became the opening act for well-known entertainers. After their unit established headquarters in Rome, Sklansky was put in charge of booking U.S.O. shows and arranging their accomodations.

After the war ended Sklansky returned home. He married his wartime sweetheart Beverly Buchalter in 1946. The two moved to Racine, Wisconsin where he operated a wholesale liquor business until 1995. Sklansky passed away on May 17, 1998 in Racine, Wisconsin.

The papers of Milton W. Sklansky are divided into two series: Papers and Photographs.

Papers (1942-1945) contains scattered correspondence between Sklansky and his family during his service in the war. In the letters, especially those to his sister, he writes in the style of a novel and makes light of his experiences. Aware of censors, little explicit detail is given about his movements, but he discusses the general conditions that he faced. There are several letters that Sklansky received from Joe E. Brown, a prominent entertainer that he met through the USO. Also included are newspaper clippings that describe Sklansky's service, mostly focusing on his role in “The Three Goldbricks” and their efforts to entertain the troops overseas. Programs to entertainment performances document his involvement in both “The Three Goldbricks” and other acts. Other items are mostly ephemeral and include a Thanksgiving menu from Camp Blanding, an itinerary from his furlough in Switzerland, and the document officially transferring him from the 16th Evacuation Hospital to the 5th Army headquarters. A photocopied scrapbook preserves captions that Sklansky wrote for many of his photographs. The scrapbook was dismantled due to deterioration, with the pictures going to the photograph series.

Photographs (1942-1945) contains shots of Sklansky and the people and places he encountered during his service. Many of the photographs have witty captions written on the back. There are photographs of him and his two partners performing their trademark show as “The Three Goldbricks.” There are also pictures of famous actors and actresses who performed with the U.S.O., such as Marlene Dietrich and Joe E. Brown. Pictures of the Spaghetti Bowl, a football game played in Rome between men from the 5th Army and the 12th Air Force, shows Sklansky as a member of the coed cheerleading squad. This series includes photographs of individuals, including Sklansky, his girlfriend and future wife Beverly Buchalter, and entertainer Edie Feinstein. There are numerous scenery shots that Sklansky took while serving in Italy, and also some from his furlough in Switzerland.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Ronald Sklansky, Madison, WI, 2004. Accession Number: Mss 2004.46.. This collection was organized as a result of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission project grant (2003-075).

Processing Information

Processed by Russell Horton in 2004.

	Series: Papers
Box   1 Folder   1	Bulletin, Thanksgiving Service, 1942
	Subseries: Correspondence	⇧
	From Milton Sklansky
Box   1 Folder   2	To Beverly Buchalter (girlfriend), 1943
Box   1 Folder   3	To Annette Barsky (sister), 1943-1945
Box   1 Folder   4	To Mr. and Mrs. Jack Sklansky (parents), 1943-1945
Box   1 Folder   5	To Marvin Sklansky (brother), 1945
	To Milton Sklansky
Box   1 Folder   6	From Joe E. Brown (actor, comedian), 1944
	Others
Box   1 Folder   7	Edie Feinstein to Mrs. Jack Sklansky, 1944
Box   1 Folder   8	Unidentified to Annette Barsky, 1944
Box   1 Folder   9	Ephemera, undated
Box   1 Folder   10	Itinerary, circa 1945
Box   1 Folder   11	Menu, Thanksgiving, 1942
	Subseries: Newsclippings	⇧
Box   1 Folder   12	Milton Sklansky, undated
Box   1 Folder   13	Spaghetti Bowl, 1945
Box   1 Folder   14	“Three Goldbricks,” circa 1944
Box   1 Folder   15	Newsletters, 1943-1944
Box   1 Folder   16	Programs, circa 1944
Ov   15 Folder   7	Scrapbook (photocopy), 1943-1945
Box   1 Folder   17	Transfer to HQ Co, 5th Army, 1943
	Series: Photographs	⇧
	Subseries: Candids
Box   2 Folder   1	Army [6] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   2	Beach [3] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   3	Burning gas truck [4] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   4	Entertainment desk [3] , circa 1944
	Subseries: Groups	⇧
Box   2 Folder   5-8	Army [24] , circa 1944
	Milton Sklansky
Box   2 Folder   9-12	With others [21] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   13	With women/USO entertainers [7] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   14	U.S.O. entertainers [5]
	Subseries: Individuals	⇧
Box   2 Folder   15	Army [7] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   16	Beverly Buchalter (girlfriend) [5] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   17	Edith “Edie” Delaney Feinstein [7] , circa 1944
PhOv   2 Folder   19	Oversized [1] , undated
Box   2 Folder   18-19	Mary the W.A.C. [8] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   20-22	Milton W. Sklansky [15] , circa 1944
Box   2 Folder   23	Scenery [2] , undated
Box   2 Folder   24-29	Italy [24] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   1	Alassio [2] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   2	Bologna [4] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   3-5	Capri [12] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   6	Cathedral [5] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   7-8	Florence [10] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   9-10	Fourth of July boat race [7] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   11-12	Garda Lake [10] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   13	Genoa [1] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   14	Milan [2] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   15	Monte Carlo [2] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   16	Naples [2] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   17	Nice [2] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   18	Pisa [2] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   19	Rome [3] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   20	Venice [6] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   21	Volcano [2] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   22	North Africa [4] , circa 1944
Box   3 Folder   23-28	Switzerland [30] , circa 1944
	Subseries: Scrapbook	⇧
Box   3 Folder   29-36	Pages 1-10 [23] , 1942-1943
Box   4 Folder   1-12	Pages 11-22 [50] , 1943-1944
Box   4 Folder   13	Spaghetti Bowl [6] , 1945
	Cheerleaders
Box   4 Folder   14	5th Army [4] , 1945
Box   4 Folder   15	12th Air Force [5] , 1945
Box   4 Folder   16	Players [5] , 1945
Box   4 Folder   17-19	Three Goldbricks [14] , circa 1944
	Subseries: U.S.O.	⇧
Box   4 Folder   20-21	Official Army photographs [11] , 1944
Box   4 Folder   22	Performances [8] , circa 1944
Box   4 Folder   23-24	Performers [9] , circa 1944
Box   4 Folder   25	Roscoe Ates and Primo Carnera [5] , circa 1944
Box   4 Folder   26	“Blythe Spirit” cast [2] , circa 1944
Box   4 Folder   27	Joe E. Brown [4] , undated
Box   4 Folder   28	Marlene Dietrich [3] , circa 1944
Box   4 Folder   29-30	“Head shots” [9] , circa 1944
Box   4 Folder   31	Tom Meany [1] , circa 1944
PhOv   2 Folder   20	Oversized [1] , undated