Los Angeles ? Family and friends said farewell to Milton Berle in a memorial service Monday that at times took on the tone of an impromptu celebrity roast.

Berle, who died Wednesday at 93, was known for abrasive comedy, but friends and family said he always treated them with warmth and grace. Nearly 300 people attended the funeral at Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary, including friends Don Rickles, Red Buttons and Norm Crosby.

“Milton was bold and brash and benevolent and he had the (guts) to be funny,” Buttons said.

Berle’s son-in-law Richard Moll, co-star of the sitcom “Night Court,” said the Berle was devoted to making his wife, children and grandchildren laugh.

“Being around Milton, I got to hear the best jokes in the world,” Moll said. “And I want to thank Shecky Greene and the late Henny Youngman for those.”

Moll was one of several speakers who made light of Berle’s reputation for stealing other comics’ punchlines. Producer-writer Larry Gelbart characterized Berle’s humor as “giving other people’s material a new home.”

“Jokes are a comic’s oxygen, and Milton never stopped inhaling,” Gelbart said.

Comedian Jan Murray told the crowd that he believed Berle’s first act in heaven would be to organize a roast for Moses.

Berle’s coffin was decorated with white roses and draped in his signature beige trench coat and black hat.

Among other entertainers paying tribute to the man affectionately called “Uncle Miltie” were Buddy Hackett, Larry Miller, Martin Landau and Fyvush Finkel.

“These people, these legends like Berle  once they’re gone you can never replace them,” said Finkel. “They don’t make ’em like that any more.”

Berle won the nickname “Mr. Television” for his work on the groundbreaking “Texaco Star Theater,” which was later renamed “The Milton Berle Show.”

The program, which debuted in 1948, drew such a wide audience that many movie theaters would close during its broadcast. Historians often credit his show with helping to popularize the new medium of television.

In 1983, he was among the first seven inductees into the TV Hall of Fame of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.