Biography

December 22, 1948 · New York City, New York, USA

Philip Mark Goldberg

After leaving Hollywood, he developed an interest in flying. So he became a flight attendant. He flew for 5 years, before becoming part of the company that trained flight attendants. He was happily married. After his wife's death from cancer, he needed to be distracted, and he wanted to be doing something where he knew he was helping people. He applied for and got a job as a 911 operator in Phoenix, Arizona, where he worked for more than 15 years.

(on how he got his stage name) "This agent was on the phone with a photographer offering some modeling for a red-haired, freckle-faced boy. I (Phillip Goldberg), who had just walked into the office for the first time with my mother, filled the bill exactly. The agent covered the phone receiver and asked my mother, "what's his name?" 'Phillip Goldberg' my mom said. "That won't work," the agent said. "Does he have a nickname?" 'Flip,' she answered. "That's good," the agent said. "Does he have a middle name?" 'Mark,' she answered. The agent uncovered the receiver and said, "His name is 'Flip Mark.'" That's literally how I got the name. It was that fast.".

According to an article published in The Pittsburgh Press in May 1961, Philip Mark Goldberg's stage name resulted from a last-minute decision in signing with an ad agency to use the nickname his parents had given him as his first name, i.e. 'Flip', and his real middle name, i.e. 'Mark', as his last name.