Although few people are familiar with him today, Eddie Cantor was one of radio's most popular performers in the 1930s and 1940s. In those days he made between $5,000 and $10,000 a week and had consistently high ratings.

Origins

  Born Isidor Iskowitz (there are several variant spellings) in 1892, Cantor was raised in poverty by his grandmother. He was attracted to performing at a very young age and was discovered by comedian Gus Edwards while working as a singing waiter in Coney Island, New York. By 1912 he was performing in vaudeville houses, touring with Edwards and George Jessel. Known for his bulging eyes-his nickname was "Banjo Eyes"-and his frenetic energy, at first Cantor performed in blackface, a common convention in vaudeville at that time. He was a close friend of Bert Williams, one of the highest-paid black performers in vaudeville, who was also expected to perform in blackface.

     By 1917 Cantor was appearing in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1917, along with such famous performers as Fanny Brice, Will Rogers, W.C. Fields, and Bert Williams. His vaudeville performances won him top billing and critical acclaim; he set box office records with his starring role in Make it Snappy in 1923, and by 1926 he was featured in his first movie, a film version of his successful 1924 Broadway show Kid Boots.

Radio

  Cantor had begun making occasional radio appearances as early as 1921 and would sometimes perform for a charitable event that was being broadcast (throughout his life, he was known for his philanthropy), but his radio success really began with a popular variety program-his first network show-on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), in September 1931. The Chase and Sanborn Hour, sponsored by Chase and Sanborn coffee, lasted until late 1934.

     In his program Cantor sang and told jokes and had a cast of talented performers who also took part. He especially enjoyed having the studio audience interact with the cast. According to Dunning (1976; 1998), this was quite unusual in 1931: "Before Cantor, audiences were sternly warned to make no noise ... while the shows were on the air. [Not even] laughter was permitted." But Cantor changed that: he wanted the audience to have a good time, and that attitude certainly contributed to his popularity. Not only did Cantor have a cast of regular performers, he also used his show to introduce new talent. Among the stars first heard on his program in the 1930s were comedienne Gracie Allen and dialect comic Harry Ein­ stein, whose character "Nick Parkyakarkas" went over very well at a time when ethnic humor was popular. During the early 1940s Cantor helped launch the career of vocalist Dinah Shore. He also helped several black performers, such as singer Thelma Carpenter, at a time when black vocalists were not usually in the regular cast of the predominantly white variety shows.

     The versatile Cantor was also successful in his own career as a singer; he had several hit songs, among them "Ida," "(Potatoes are Cheaper, Tomatoes are Cheaper) Now's the Time to Fall in Love," and "If You Knew Susie." He also continued appearing in movies; in 1934 Kid Millions grossed more than $2 million even though America was in the midst of the Depression. He became so famous internationally that his testimonial advertisements could be seen in European magazines, and he was frequently on the cover of U.S. fan publications such as Radio Stars. "Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies" used him as a character in a 1933 cartoon, a parody of the hit song "Shuffle Off to Buffalo," in which the cartoon characters all chanted "We Want Cantor!" until the cartoon version of Eddie appeared.

     In 1935 and again in 1940 and 1946 he had a new radio show with a new sponsor, but his style remained unchanged over the years; he was still the genial and energetic host with the clever one-liners and the topical humor. When not singing or performing skits about the events of the day, he made frequent jokes about his wife Ida and their five daughters; although today some critics find this misogynistic, back then the audience felt as if they were included in Eddie's life, and people felt they really knew his family. His radio career lasted till 1949, at which time, along with many others, he moved to television.

     In addition to his success as a performer, Eddie Cantor had the respect of his colleagues in the entertainment business. He was a founder of the Screen Actors Guild and served as its president from 1933 to 1935. In 1937 he became the first president of the American Federation of Radio Artists. He helped to start the March of Dimes to fight Infantile Paralysis, and he often gave benefit concerts for orphans' homes and hospitals. He contributed time and money to help Jewish refugees during World War II. He was a guest on such talk shows as America's Town Meeting of the Air and, although the stock market crash of 1929 cost him most of his fortune, he continued to help the poor. In a 1936 interview with Radio Stars magazine, he stressed the importance of giving to charity and feeding those who are hungry. At times, some of his critics said his perfectionism made him difficult to work with, but no one could ever dispute his dedication to charitable causes

     Although Cantor's humor has not aged well, he deserves to be remembered as one of the most popular and influential performers during radio's golden age, a man who brought laughter to millions of devoted fans. A year before his death, he issued a book of essays, As I Remember Them, a retrospective about some of the celebrities he had worked with during his 50-year career. He had first written about his life in a 1928 autobiography, My Life ls in Your Hands, and in 1959 he wrote about his philosophy of living in The Way I See It. He died in October 1964; only a few months earlier he had received a medal from President Lyndon Johnson for his years of humanitarian work.