COMEDIAN MILTON BERLE MAY LEAVE HOSPITAL BY WEEKEND

Comedian Milton Berle was listed in fair condition but may be allowed to go home from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center by the end of the week, a hospital spokesman said Tuesday.

Berle, 76, underwent a four-hour quadruple bypass heart operation on June 10, four days after he entered the hospital. Berle was reported to have been cracking jokes with nurses just two days after the delicate surgical procedure.

The hospital expects to release Berle by Thursday or Friday.

“He continues to do extremely well,” said Ron Wise, a Cedars-Sinai spokesman. “His prognosis was excellent the minute he left the operating room.” He said that Berle’s spirits have been “terrific” since the surgery to clear blockage in a coronary artery.

Berle has granted no interviews since his surgery.

The New York-born celebrity who helped to establish the popularity of television as a medium in 1948 starred on TV in “The Texaco Star Theatre” and “The Milton Berle Show.”