by Peter Tatchell (reprinted from LAUGH MAGAZINE #3, 1992)
A hundred years ago (on January 31st 1892) the lower east side of New York city saw the arrival of a tiny, banjo-eyed kid named Isidor Iskowitch. Thirty years later, having changed his name to Eddie Cantor, he’d fought his way to the top of the show business tree … a star of Broadway, movies and radio. He was also a popular recording artist and had penned half a dozen successful books. And a generation later he conquered television.
Cantor’s first big break came in 1912 when he was recruited by vaudeville headliner Gus Edwards for his Kid Kabaret troupe. Four years later he was touring America’s west coast in a show called Canary Cottage when the great Florenz Ziegfeld signed him for his Midnight Frolics and eventually The Ziegfeld Follies Of 1917 (alongside W.C. Fields, Will Rogers Fanny Brice and Bert Williams). Eddie stayed with Ziegfeld for the 1918 and 1919 editions as well, before switching to the Shuberts for Broadway Brevities Of 1920, Midnight Rounders Of 1921 and Make It Snappy. In 1923 he was back with The Follies (also appearing in the 1927 production) as well as being starred in two highly successful Ziegfeld hits Kid Boots and Whoopee.
With success on Broadway came the start of a long recording career, with Cantor singing all his popular hits and even performing the occasional monologue on 78rpm discs.
He was also appearing in movies as early as 1911 when he apparently took part in a Thomas Edison experimental sound short titled Widow at the Races (together with George Jessel). In 1924 he did some jokes and a couple of songs for Lee deForest in another talkie one-reeler A Few Moments with Eddie Cantor (a copy of which survives) but his motion picture career really began when Paramount starred him in a silent version of Kid Boots in 1926. He made a follow up feature called Special Delivery a year later, and with the coming of sound by the end of the twenties he performed a sketch from one of his Broadway shows in Glorifying The American Girl (1929) and appeared in five Paramount one and two-reelers (Ziegfeld’s Midnite Frolics, Getting A Ticket, That Party in Person, Cock-Eyed News and Insurance).
In 1930 Samuel Goldwyn bought the rights to Whoopee and Cantor moved to Hollywood to star in
the splashy technicolor adaptation (replete with Busby Berkeley dance numbers). He stayed with Goldwyn for five more features (Palmy Days, The Kid From Spain, Roman Scandals, Kid Millions and Strike Me Pink) before his movie stardom began to wane and from 1937 to 1953 he appeared in a number of productions for many of the major studios (Ali Baba Goes To Town, Forty Little Mothers, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Show Business and If You Knew Susie, plus featured roles in Hollywood Canteen, The Story Of Will Rogers and The Eddie Cantor Story).
Cantor’s radio debut is generally given as his guest shot on Rudy Vallee’s program of February 5 1931, but he’d appeared on the air several times during the 1920s, and in fact as early as February 10 1922 on a Roselle Park New Jersey station. The Vallee broadcast resulted in his being signed for a series of shows for Chase And Sanborn Coffee beginning in September 1931 on NBC. The hour-long programme featured Eddie and announcer Jimmy Wallington trading repartee to the accompaniment of Dave Rubinoff’s Orchestra. Only occasionally was there a guest star (Gracie Allen, George Jessel, and a handful of other Broadway notables appeared during the show’s run) but every Sunday night millions of people tuned in and it soon became the most popular on the air.
The orchestra leader Rubinoff was built up into a personality in his own right (although Cantor himself adopted a Russian dialect to portray the musician in front of the microphone) and a regular feature of the broadcast was an “honest” approach to the advertising message wherein the star often admitted he didn’t actually drink coffee, but if he did Chase And Sanborn would be the brand he’d choose.
By 1934 Eddie had started his habit of discovering new talent when he signed an advertising copywriter named Harry Einstein as a regular on the show. Within weeks his “Parkyakarkus” character was delighting listeners across the nation. Cantor also arranged for his friend Jimmy Durante to host the program during his summer breaks, thus launching Durante on a successful twenty-year career in the medium.
In radio’s early years, comedy and variety programs were performed in front of a studio audience who were under strict instructions not to laugh or react in any way, lest the listeners at home might feel the broadcast wasn’t being performed solely for them. But Cantor, with his considerable experience in the theatre knew that laughter was contagious and convinced the powers-that-be the error of their ways.
After four seasons on the Chase And Sanborn Hour, Eddie headed for Europe in December 1934 and returned to the airwaves the following February in his same timeslot (Sunday nights at 8 pm) but on the rival CBS network and for a new sponsor, Pebeco Toothpaste. The show only ran thirty minutes, but featured the old regulars of Parkyakarkus, Wallington and Rubinoff. Midway through a second series for Pebeco the program was moved to earlier in the evening to compete head on with the popular Jack Benny show but Cantor came off second best and reverted to a later time when he returned for a new season in September of 1936.
Now spruiking for Texaco Gasoline, he’d lost Parkyakarkus to rival Al Jolson and Jacques Renard was in charge of the orchestra, but the programme was still enjoying great popularity. Guest stars
were featured regularly, and two Cantor discoveries Deanna Durbin and Bobby Breen were launched on their show business careers with numerous appearances on the show. Bert Gordon also joined the cast, creating his character “The Mad Russian”, a worthy successor to Parkyakarkus.
Eddie switched from Texaco to Camel Cigarettes in March 1938 and Cantor’s Camel Caravan gained longtime Cantor bandleader Cookie Fairchild in the process (Fairchild provided the music for most of Eddie’s subsequent radio career).
In mid-1939 Cantor made a speech at the New York World’s Fair in which he criticized certain individuals (one of them a priest) for their association with Nazi causes. The resultant publicity led Camel to terminate his contract, and for over a year he was virtually blacklisted from the airwaves. It was only the support given by Jack Benny that enabled him to reappear, returning to NBC in October 1940 for the Bristol Myers Company (Sal Hepatica mouthwash and Ipana toothpaste).
Eddie’s new sponsor stayed with him for six seasons in a program which featured his latest “find” Dinah Shore (later replaced by Nora Martin, Bert Gordon and new announcer/straight man Harry von Zell). Early in the run he also found time to return to Broadway as the star of Banjo Eyes, which premiered on Christmas Day 1941.
In September 1946, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer took over the sponsorship for a further three seasons by which time the radio industry was preparing for the greatest challenge in its history … television. While gearing up for the new medium Eddie hosted the popular quiz show Take It Or Leave It for a year, before devising a program which would showcase his talents on the new medium.
The end of 1950 heralded the launch of many top-name performers into the video era, and Cantor reasoned that with the added rehearsal time needed and the demand for consistently good material – an artist should appear on a monthly rather than weekly basis. He sold his idea to Colgate-Palmolive who agreed to back a one-hour variety show on NBC every Sunday night with a rotating lineup of stars (initially Cantor, Martin and Lewis, Fred Allen and Bobby Clark). The Colgate Comedy Hour repeated the success of Cantor’s Chase And Sanborn Hour back in the thirties.
Eddie did a dozen programmes for each of the first two seasons, as well as over a hundred transcribed radio broadcasts under the title of Show Business Old And New where he’d reminisce about the greats of the entertainment world and play recordings.
On September 28 1952 he’d just performed his first Colgate television show of the new season when he was struck down with a heart attack. Unlike his friends Al Jolson and Fanny Brice who had died under similar circumstances a year or two before, Cantor was able to recover and returned to the series four months later. Though surviving the heart attack, the one time “apostle of pep” was now forced to limit his workload for the rest of his career and took part in fewer Comedy Hours as a result.
He didn’t disappear entirely though. Warner Bros. had decided a movie about Cantor’s life story might capture some of the enormous success of Columbia’s The Jolson Story of a few years earlier. Keefe Braselle was chosen to play the starring role (miming to Eddie’s vocals) and Eddie and Ida could be seen in cameos. Cantor was in good voice, but the schmaltzy storyline came nowhere near creating the magic of the Jolson film and it was not a success. While at the studio, Eddie also took part in a biopic of his friend Will Rogers.
Meanwhile, back on the small screen, after four years with Colgate Eddie signed with Ziv Productions to produce a series of half hour programmes called The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theatre. Each week he would introduce the stories, and appear in about a third of them. Despite a lineup of Hollywood greats (Joe E. Brown, Buster Keaton, The Three Stooges, Basil Rathbone and many others) Cantor came to regret his involvement, feeling the venture was more akin to a sausage factory than the world of entertainment. The thirty-eight episodes were offered to syndication, and played on a number of ABC Network stations throughout 1955.
As part of the deal with Ziv, Eddie also recorded 260 half-hour radio shows for broadcast on a Monday to Friday basis. Simply titled The Eddie Cantor Show, they recycled many of the old scripts from his heyday and his original announcer, Jimmy Wallington, was brought back to take part in the series.
By the following year, continuing ill health had forced Cantor to limit himself to the occasional dramatic role or guest appearance on television, and by the end of the decade it led to his retirement. His final radio work was a series of five-minute segments titled Ask Eddie Cantor aired on a daily schedule in 196l/2.
He died on October 10 1964.
RADIO
The Chase and Sanborn Hour (NBC, Sundays)
(Sponsor: Chase and Sanborn Coffee)
Series 1: September 13 1931 to January 31 1932 (21 shows)
a programme from Fall 1931 is with collectors (also possibly Dec 13 1931)
Series 2: October 30 1932 to April 23 1933 (26 shows)
October 30, and the songs from November 5 1932 are with collectors
Series 3: November 19 1933 to April 15 1934 (22 shows)
November 26 to December 31 1933, January 28 to April 8 1934 (except Feb 18) are with collectors
Series 4: October 7 to November 25 1934 (8 shows)
with Jimmy Wallington and Dave Rubinoff ‘s Orchestra (* Harry “Parkyakarkus” Einstein joined in late 1934)
The Eddie Cantor Pebeco Show (CBS, Sundays)
(Sponsor: Pebeco Toothpaste)
Series 1: February 3 to April 28 1935 (13 shows)
Series 2: September 29 1935 to May 10 1936 (33 shows)
with Harry Einstein, Jimmy Wallington and Dave Rubinoff’s Orchestra (replaced by Louis Gress’ Orchestra from November 10 1935)
no known recordings
The Eddie Cantor Texaco Show (CBS)
(Sponsor: Texaco Gasoline)
Series 1: Sundays September 20 1936 to May 30 1937 (37 shows)
Series 2: Wednesdays September 29 1937 to March 23 1938 (26 shows)
with Deanna Durbin, Bobby Breen, Bert Gordon (from Dec 1 1937), Jimmy Wallington and Jacques Renard’s Orchestra
all 63 programmes are with collectors
Cantor’s Camel Caravan (CBS, Mondays)
(Sponsor: Camel Cigarettes)
Series 1: March 28 to June 27 1938 (14 shows)
April 25 1938 is with collectors
Series 2: October 3 1938 to June 26 1939 (39 shows)
October 31 1938 is with collectors
with Bert Gordon, Walter Wolf King (replaced by Bert Parks from January 9 1939)and Edgar “Cookie” Fairchild’s Orchestra
It’s Time To Smile (NBC, Wednesdays)
(Sponsor: Sal Hepatica Mouthwash and Ipana Toothpaste)
Series 1: October 2 1940 to June 25 1941 (39 shows) pre-empted October 23 1940
October 23 1940 (not broadcast), January 15 and 22, February 5 to March 12, April 2, April 23 to May 14, June 4 and June 25 1941 are with collectors
Series 2: September 3 1941 to June 24 1942 (42 shows) pre-empted December 24 1941
December 17, April 1, May 27 and June 3 1942 are with collectors
Series 3: September 30 1942 to June 23 1943 (39 shows)
November 25, December 23, January 6 to February 3, March 31, April 28, May 5, May 19 and June 9 to 23 1943 are with collectors
Series 4: September 29 1943 to June 21 1944 (39 shows)
April 12 and May 3 1944 are with collectors
Series 5: September 27 1944 to June 20 1945 (38 shows) pre-empted November 1 1944
recordings of the whole season are with collectors
Series 6: September 26 1945 to June 19 1945 (39 shows)
recordings of the whole season are with collectors
with Dinah Shore (replaced by Nora Martin from September 29 1943), Bert Gordon, Harry Von Zell, Bobby Sherwood’s Orchestra (1940/1), Cookie Fairchild’s Orchestra (1942/4) and Leonard Sues’ Orchestra (1944/6)
The Eddie Cantor Pabst Blue Ribbon Show (NBC)
(Sponsor: Pabst Beer)
Series 1: Thursdays September 26 1946 to June 19 1947 (39 shows)
January 30, March 6 and June 12 1947 are with collectors
Series 2: Thursdays September 25 1947 to June 3 1948 (also June 8 & 15 1948) (39 shows)
November 6 to December 4 1947, January 8, May 6 to 27 and June 8 1948 are with collectors
Series 3: Fridays October 1 1948 to June 24 1949 (39 shows)
October 1, October 15, October 29 to December 17 1948 and January 7 1949 are with collectors
with Margaret Whiting (1946/7), Bert Gordon, Billie Burke (Apr – Dec 1948), Dinah Shore (1948/9). Harry Von Zell and Cookie Fairchild’s Orchestra
The Eddie Cantor Show
(syndicated by Ziv Radio Productions)
250 half-hours were leased on a Monday to Friday basis from 1955/6
with Patti Lewis, Dorothy Carless, Roy Edwards, Ronnie Harris and Jimmy Wallington
Ask Eddie Cantor
(syndicated by Lika Production Corporation)
260 five-minute segments were leased on a Monday to Friday basis in 1961/2
Eddie also appeared in a number of 30 minute AFRS programmes during World War 2 …
Command Performance
#1 March 1 1942
#6 April 1 1942
#143 October 21 1944
#197 October 25 1945
#216 spring 1946
#281 summer 1947
#325 spring 1948
shows 1, 6, 143, 197, 216 and 281 are with collectors
Mail Call
#40 June 2 1943
#71 December 29 1943
#81 March 8 1944
#100 July 12 1944
#198 summer 1946
#299 May 19 1948
shows 40, 71, 81, 100 and 299 are with collectors
A Salute from the U.S.O. 1949
TELEVISION
The Colgate Comedy Hour (NBC Sundays, 60 min)
(Sponsor: Colgate Toothpaste)
September 10 1950 with Ima Sumac
October 8 1950 one man show
November 5 1950 one man show
December 3 1950 with Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt
December 31 1950 with Ed Wynn, Danny Thomas, Sigmund Romberg
January 28 1951 with Basil O’Connor
February 25 1951 with Lena Horne
March 25 1951 with Jimmy Durante
April 1 1951 with Johnny Weissmuller
April 21 1951 with Johnny Weissmuller, Anne Jeffreys
May 27 1951 with Connie Haines, Joel Grey
June 17 1951 with Milton Berle
September 9 1951 with Cesar Romero
September 30 1951 one man show
October 28 1951 with Cesar Romero, Sheilah Graham
November 25 1951 with Cesar Romero, Eddie Fisher
December 9 1951 with The Nillson Twins
December 23 1951 with Bobby Breen, Farley Granger
January 20 l952 with The Herman McCoy Swing Choir
February 17 1952 with The Will Mastin Trio
March 16 1952 with Dorothy Kirsten, The Will Mastin Trio
April 13 1952 with Joe E. Brown
May 18 1952 with Cesar Romero, Rusry Draper
June 8 1952 with Ida Cantor, Pat O’Brien, Harry Von Zell
September 28 1952 with Dorothy Lamour, Eddie Fisher
January 18 1953 with Dinah Shore, Joel Grey
February 15 1953 with Frank Loesser, Billy Daniels
March 15 1953 with George Jessel, Harry Ruby
March 22 1953 *** special all-star 100th edition
April 12 1953 with Gloria Grahame
May 10 1953 with Jan Pearce, Billy Daniels
June 7 1953 with Jack Benny, George Jessel, Dinah Shore
October 18 1953 with Jack Benny, Billy Daniels
November 29 1953 with Brian Donlevy, Eddie Fisher
December 21 1953 with Jimmy Durante, Donald O’Connor
January 31 1953 with Groucho Marx, Wally Cox
March 7 1954 with Audrey Hepburn, William Holden
April 4 1954 with Daryl F. Zanuck, Billy Daniels
May 16 1954 with Milton Berle, Eddie Fisher
The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theatre (30 min)
syndicated by Ziv Productions in 1955
Now In Rehearsal …
with Eddie Cantor and Brian Aherne
Variety format with Eddie performing his ‘Maxie The Taxi” routine
Nearly Normal …
with Don Defore and Pat Crowley
An oil tycoon won’t part with his special wedding gift until his niece and her new husband stop quarreling
The Big Bargain …
with James Gleason and Billie Burke
A man has to put up with a wife who is obsessed with bargain hunting
The Hypochondriac …
with Eddie Cantor, Eddie Fisher and Reginald Denny
Thinking he has only twelve minutes to live, a hypochondriac pursues a maniac with nitro-glycerine high atop a building
A Hunting We Will Go …
with Lizabeth Scott and Craig Stevens
A 27-year-old spinster decides to trap a husband using methods of big game hunting
The Suspicious Husband …
with Buddy Ebsen and Bonita Granville
A man becomes very suspicious when his wife insists he take out life insurance
Garage…
with Eddie Cantor and Connie Russell
A bus breakdown delays the performers’ so Eddie asks for talent from the audience
The Romance Wrecker …
with Charles Coborn and Cathy Downs
A retired colonel decides to stop an infatuation which is plaguing his grand-daughter’s life
The Atomic Brain …
with Allyn Joslyn and Marie Windsor
A mathematical genius uses his numbering skills against the roulette wheel
The Mink Coat …
with Eddie Cantor, Jean Parker and Adel Jergens
Eddie’s wife has accidentally acquired a mink coat and is determined to keep it
The Finer Points …
with Robert Strauss and Jack La Rue
details unknown.
The Helper . ..
with Eddie Cantor, Bill Goodwin and Marjorie Reynolds
Eddie’s sponsor hires public relations people to handle all the minor matters, like calls from Eddie’s wife
Commercially Ever After …
with Eddie Cantor and Tris Coffin
A performer causes a national crisis with a ruse to get a TV sponsor
The Practical Joker …
with Joe E. Brown
A man has a compulsion for staging practical jokes which backfire
The Sure Cure …
with Peter Lorre and Veda Ann Borg
A sad sack resorts to using a joke book to impress his lady love
The Critics…
with Eddie Cantor, The Honey Brothers and The Double Daters
Variety format with comedy sketches, acrobatics and music
This Marine Went To Town …
with Stan Freberg and Victor McLaglan
A tough sergeant decides to help an inept marine spend his $20,000 winnings
V For Victoria …
with Mona Freeman, Peter Leeds and Mario Dwyer
A young wife is offered a hundred dinners if she can keep a job for one whole week
Always The Butler …
with Basil Rathbone
A butler is indignant at the slur cast on his profession in murder plays
A Night At The Follies …
with Eddie Cantor, John Barrymore Jr, Joe Besser
Variety format with comedy sketches, singing and dancing
How Much For Van Such …
with Vincent Price
Kidnappers come off second best when they underestimate their victim
Dying To Live …
with Eddie Cantor and Jane Frazee
A short-sighted man causes havoc when let loose in an atomic bomb station
Bombshell Goes To College …
with Joan Blondell and Michael Fox
While holidaying in Mexico a meek college professor marries acrazy blonde
Call Me Irving …
with Johnny Johnston and Mary Beth Hughes
The casting of a Broadway show causes many hilarious events
10, 000 Years From Now …
with Eddie Cantor and Reginald Denny
The Play Pen …
with Edward Arnold and Walter Kingsford
A man gets even with the crooked partner who sent him to jail by using the prison workshops to send him out of business
Triple Vision…
with Mona Freeman, Russ Conway and Ken Tobey
Three navy penpals of the same girl all arrive in port at the same time
What Do You Want In A Show? …
with The Three Stooges and Ida Cantor
A revue about three crooks robbing the mint help save a theatre from closing down
The Playboy …
with Rudy Vallee
A man challenges his wealthy prospective son-in-law to hold a job for a week
The Man Who Liked Little People …
with Edmund Gwenn
details unknown.
The Square World Of Alonzo Pennyworth …
with Buster Keaton
A clerk in a travel agency uses his imagination to visit exotic lands
The Hollwood Story …
with Eddie Cantor and Johnny Johnston
Variety format in which Eddie sings his favourite songs
The Tester …
with Alan Young
As part of his job a man must test smearproof lipstick
Strange Little Stranger …
with Tommy Noonan, Joyce Holden, Thurstan Hall
A compulsive liar tells everyone he is about to become a father, much to the annoyance of his wife, who decides to teach him a lesson
And Now From The Audience …
with William Frawley
A send-up of TV give-away shows
Matinee Theatre: George Has a Birthday
NBC June 11 1956 starred Eddie
Playhouse 90: Seidman and Son
CBS October 18 1956 starred Eddie
DISCOGRAPHY
Studio vocals
The Modern Maiden’s Prayer / That’s the Kind of a Baby for Me
Victor 78rpm 18342 (1917)
The Modern Maiden’s Prayer / That’s the Kind of a Baby for Me
Aelian Vocalion 78rpm 1220 (1917)
Down in Borneo Isle / Hello Wisconsin
Aelian Vocalion 78rpm 1228 (1917)
Dixie Volunteers / I Don’t Want to Get Well
Aelian Vocalion 78rpm 1233 (1917)
The Last Rose of Summer / We Don’t Need the Wine to Have a Wonderful Time
Pathe 78rpm 22163 (1917)
When They’re Old Enough to Know Better / I’ve Got My Captain Working for Me Now
Pathe 78rpm 22201 (1919)
Don’t Put a Tax on the Beautiful Girls / At the High Brown Babies Ball
Pathe 78rpm 22260 (1919, 1920)
When it Comes to Lovin’ the Girls, I’m Away Ahead of the Times / I Never Knew I Had a Wonderful Wife
Pathe 78rpm 22318 (1920)
You Don’t Need the Wine to Have a Wonderful Time / Don’t Put a Tax on the Beautiful Girls
Emerson 78rpm 1071 (1919)
When They’re Old Enough to Know Better / (non-Cantor track)
Emerson 78rpm 1094 (1919)
I Used to Call Her Baby / You’d Be Surprised
Emerson 78rpm 10102 (1919)
Give Me the Sultan’s Harem / When It Comes to Loving the Girls I’m Away Ahead of the Times
Emerson 78rpm 10105 (1919, 1920)
Come on and Play Wiz Me, My Sweet Babee / All the Boys Love Mary
Emerson 78rpm 10119 (1920)
The Last Rose of Summer / You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet
Emerson 78rpm 10134 (1920)
The Argentines, the Portuguese, the Greeks / Noah’s Wife Live a Wonderful Life
Emerson 78rpm 10200 (1920)
The Older They Get, the Younger They Want ‘Em / Snoops the Lawyer
Emerson 78rpm 10212 (1920)
Dixie Made Us Jazz Band Mad / When I See All That Lovin’ They Waste on Babies
Emerson 78rpm 10263 (1920)
She Gives Them All the Ha1 Ha! Ha! / Palasteena
Emerson 78rpm 10292 (1920)
I Wish That I’d Been Born in Borneo / Margie
Emerson 78rpm 10301 (1920)
You Oughta See My Baby / (non-Cantor track)
Emerson 78rpm 10327 (1920)
I Never Knew / (non-Cantor track)
Emerson 78rpm 10349 (1921)
Timbuktu / My Old New Jersey Home
Emerson 78rpm 10352 (1921)
Anna in Indiana / Oh, They’re Such Nice People
Emerson 78rpm 10397 (1921)
I Love Her, She Loves Me / I’m Hungry for Beautiful Girls
Columbia 78rpm A3624 (1922)
Susie / Oh, is She Dumb!
Columbia 78rpm A3682 (1922)
Sophie / He Loves It
Columbia 78rpm A3754 (1922)
Joe is Here / How Ya Gonna Keep Your Mind on Dancing
Columbia 78rpm A3784 (1922)
I Love Me (I’m Wild About Myself) / Ritzi-Mitzi
Columbia 78rpm A3906 (1923)
Oh! Gee, Oh! Gosh, Oh! Golly, I’m in Love / Eddie (Steady)
Columbia 78rpm A3934 (1923)
No, No, Nora / (I’ve Got the) Yes We Have No Bananas Blues
Columbia 78rpm A3964 (1923)
O, Gee, Georgie / If You Do – What You Do
Columbia 78rpm 56D (1924)
I’ll Have Vanilla / On a Windy Day Down in Waikiki
Columbia 78rpm 120D (1924)
Oh Papa / Monkey Doodle
Columbia 78rpm 140D (1924)
Charley, My Boy / (non-Cantor track)
Columbia 78rpm 182D (1924)
No-one Knows What it’s All About /
Columbia 78rpm 196D (1924)
Doodle-Doo-Doo / (non-Cantor track)
Columbia 78rpm 213D (1924)
How I Love That Girl / (non-Cantor track)
Columbia 78rpm 234D (1924)
Those Panama Mamas Are Ruining Me / (non-Cantor track)
Columbia 78rpm 256D (1924)
Goo-Goo-Goodnight Dear! / (non-Cantor track)
Columbia 78rpm 277D (1924)
Laff It Off / (non-Cantor track)
Columbia 78rpm 283D (1925)
If You Knew Susie / (non-Cantor track)
Columbia 78rpm 364D (1925)
We’re Back Together Again / (non-Cantor track)
Columbia 78rpm 379D (1925)
Row, Row, Rosie / (non-Cantor track)
Columbia 78rpm 415D (1925)
Oh Boy! What a Girl / (non-Cantor track)
Columbia 78rpm 457D (1925)
Makin’ Whoopee / Hungry Women
Victor 78rpm 21831 (1928)
Eddie Cantor’s Automobile Horn Song / I Faw Down and Go “Boom!”
Victor 78rpm 21862 (1929)
Hello, Sunshine, Hello / If I Give Up the Saxophone
Victor 78rpm 21982 (1929)
My Wife is on a Diet / Eddie Cantor’s Tips on the Stock Market
Victor 78rpm 22189 (1929)
There’s Nothing Too Good for my Baby / (non-Cantor track)
Victor 78rpm 22851 (1931)
Cheer Up (Ballyhoo) / (non-Cantor track)
Hit of the Week 78rpm K6 (1931)
What a Perfect Combination / Look What You’ve Done
Columbia 78rpm 2723D (1932)
Over Somebody Else’s Shoulder / The Man on the Flying Trapeze
Monument 78rpm M13001 (1934)
Mandy / An Earful of Music
Monument 78rpm M13183 (1934)
Okay Toots / When My Ship Comes In
Monument 78rpm M13184 (1934)
That’s the Kind of a Baby for Me / Making the Best of Each Day
Rex 78rpm 8389 (1934)
(introduction to) Alexander’s Ragtime Band / (non-Cantor track)
Decca 78rpm 1887 (1938)
Says My Heart + Little Lady Make-Believe / Lambeth Walk
British Decca 78rpm F6741 (1938)
The Only Thing I Want for Christmas / If You Knew Susie
Columbia 78rpm 35325 (1939)
Little Curly Hair in a High Chair / Margie
Columbia 78rpm 35428 (1940)
Makin’ Whoopee / Yes, Sir! That’s My Baby
Decca 78rpm 3798 (1941)
Oh! Gee, Oh! Gosh, Oh! Golly, I’m in Love / They Go Wild, Simply Wild, Over Me
Decca 78rpm 3873 (1941)
We’re Having a Baby (with June Clyde) / Now’s the Time to Fall in Love
Decca 78rpm 4314 (1942)
Around and Around and Around / You Kissed Me Once (both with Nora Martin)
Decca 78rpm 23529 (1944)
Ma (He’s Makin’ Eyes at Me) / Margie
Decca 78rpm 23723 (1944)
If You Knew Susie / (non-Cantor track)
Decca 78rpm 23986 (1944)
You’d Be Surprised / Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider
Decca 78rpm 23987 (1944)
Dinah / How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm?
Decca 78rpm 23988 (1944)
Alabamy Bound / (non-Cantor track)
Decca 78rpm 24597 (1944)
In My Arms
V-Disc 4
How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm
V-Disc 358
One-Zy, Two-Zy / (non-Cantor track)
Pan American 78rpm PAN 036
Josephine, Please No Lean on the Bell / Makin’ Whoopee
Pan American 78rpm PAN 044
I Never See Maggie Alone /
Victor 78rpm 54-0005 (1949)
Oh! Gee, Oh! Gosh, Oh! Golly I’m in Love / The Old Piano Roll Blues
Victor 78rpm 30-0010 (1949)
Enjoy Yourself / I Love Her
Victor 78rpm 20-3705 (1949)
The Old Piano Roll Blues / Juke Box Annie (both with Lisa Kirk)
Victor 78rpm 20-3751 (1950)
reissues
Rare Early Recordings
Biograph LP 12054
Margie
I Wish That I’d Be Born in Borneo
Don’t Put a Tax on the Beautiful Girls
You Don’t Need Wine to Have a #Wonderful Time
I Never Knew
Oh! The Last Rose of Summer
Dixie Made Us Jazz Band Mad
And She Gave Them All the Ha! Ha! Ha!
When It Comes to Living the Girls I’m Way Ahead of the Times
Anna in Indiana
You’d Be Surprised
You Oughta See My Baby
Ol’ Banjo Eyes is Back
Pelican LP 134
Okay Toots
If You Knew Susie
Look What You’ve Done
There’s Nothing Too Good for My Baby
Now That the Girls Are Wearing Long Dresses
An Earful of Music
Enjoy Yourself
Row, Row, Rosie
Mandy
The Dumber They Come (The Better I Like ‘Em)
Hello, Sunshine, Hello
Lambeth Walk
Little Lady Make Believe + Says My Heart
When My Ship Comes In
Jolson and Cantor – The Immortals
Epic 10”LP LN 1128
If You Knew Susie
Margie
What a Perfect Combination
(plus 3 Al Jolson tracks)
The Cantor Story – Eddie Cantor Sings
Decca 10”LP DL 5504
If You Knew Susie
Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider
Margie
Makin’ Whoopee
Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby
How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm?
Now’s the Time to Fall in Love
Ma (He’s Makin’ Eyes at Me)
Songs He Made Famous
Decca LP DL 4431
Makin’ Whoopee
Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby
Dinah
Oh! Gee, Oh! Gosh, Oh! Golly, I’m In Love
Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider
Now’s the Time to Fall in Love
If You Knew Susie
Ma (He’s Makin’ Eyes at Me)
Alabamy Bound
Margie
They Go Wild, Simply Wild, Over Me
How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm?
The Best of Eddie Cantor
RCA Victor LP VIK 1119, RCA Camden LP (S) 531
Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby
If You Knew Susie
Makin’ Whoopee
How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm?
Josephine, Please No Lean on the Bell
Ma (He’s Makin’ Eyes at Me)
Waiting for the Robert E. Lee
Margie
Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider
Ballin’ the Jack
Ain’t She Sweet
Baby Face
Eddie Cantor Sings “Ida Sweet as Apple Cider”
RCA Camden LP (s) 870
Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider
Margie
If You Knew Susie
Ma (He’s Makin’ Eyes at Me)
Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby
Waiting for the Robert E. Lee
Makin’ Whoopee
How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm?
Ballin’ the Jack
Baby Face
Josephine, Please No Lean on the Bell
Ain’t She Sweet
Jimmy Durante Sings/Eddie Cantor Sings
Decca/Ace of Hearts LP AH 25
If You Knew Susie
Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider
Margie
Makin’ Whoopee
How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm?
Now’s the Time to Fall in Love
Ma (He’s Makin’ Eyes at Me)
(plus 6 Jimmy Durante tracks)
Whoopee
Smithsonian American Musical Theater Collection LP DPM1 0349
Makin’ Whoopee
Hungry Woman
Eddie Cantor’s Automobile Horn Song
I Faw Down and Go Boom!
(plus 78rpm recordings by Ruth Etting, George Olsen Orchestra, etc.)
Eddie Cantor – Collectibles
MCA LP 1506
If You Knew Susie
Ma (He’s Making Eyes at Me)
Alabamy Bound
Margie
How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm?
Oh! Gee, Oh! Gosh, Oh! Golly, I’m in Love
Dinah
Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby
Makin’ Whoopee
Ida, Swee6t as Apple Cider
Makin’ Whoopee
Pro Arte CD CDD 460 (1989)
Makin’ Whoopee
If You Knew Susie
Hungry Women
When My Ship Comes In
You’d be Surprised
Mandy
I Faw Down an’ go Boom!
Margie
My Wife is On a Diet
Okay Toots
(plus 9 Fanny Brice tracks)
Makin’ Whoopee
Conifer CD CMSCD 006 (1989)
That’s the Kind of a Baby for Me
Mandy
My Wife is On a Diet
A Girlfriend of a Boyfriend of Mine
Okay Toots
When My Ship Comes In
There’s Nothing Too Good for My Baby
Over Somebody Else’s Shoulder
Hello Sunshine, Hello
Makin’ Whoopee
An Earful of Music
Put a Tax on Love
Making the Best of Each Day
What a Perfect Combination
The Man on the Flying Trapeze
Yes, Yes, My Baby Says “Yes, Yes”
If I Give Up the Saxophone
Look What You’ve Done
Hungry Women
Build a Little Home
Memories
EMI/Axis CD CDAX 701589 (1990)
Making the Best of Each Day
If You Knew Susie
Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider
Makin’ Whoopee
Yes Sir, That’s My Baby
How Ya Gonna Keep ‘em Down on the Farm?
Now’s the Time to Fall in Love
Margie
Ma! She’s Making Eyes at Me
You’d Be Surprised
You Kissed Me Once
Oh Gee, Oh Gosh, Oh Golly I’m in Love
Dinah
Alabamy Bound
They Go Wild, Simply Wild Over Me
The Best of Eddie Cantor
RCA/BMG CD 07863 66033-2 (1992)
Yes Sir, That’s My Baby
If You Knew Susie
Makin’ Whoopee
How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm?
Josephine Please No Lean on the Bell
Ballin’ the Jack
Waiting for the Robert E. Lee
Ma (He’s Making Eyes at Me)
Margie
Baby Face
Ain’t She Sweet
Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider
That’s the Kind of a Baby for Me
The Modern Maiden’s Prayer
It Goes Like This
Hello Sunshine, Hello
Does an Elephant Love Peanuts?
Eddie Cantor’s Tips on the Stock Market
There’s Nothing Too Good for My Baby
Now I Always Have Maggie Alone
Al Jolson & Eddie Cantor
Broad Music CD BRCD 030 (1994)
That’s the Kind of a Baby for Me
Keep Young and Beautiful
An Earful of Music
Okay Toots
Makin’ Whoopee
Mandy
There’s Nothing Too Good for My Baby
Making the Best of Each Day
(plus 8 Al Jolson tracks)
The Columbia Years (1922-1940) – Art Deco Series
Columbia/Legacy 2CD C2K 57148 (1994)
I Love Her – She Loves Me
I’m Hungry for Beautiful Girls
Oh, Is She Dumb?
Susie
Sophie
He Loves It
Joe is Here
How Ya Gonna Keep Your Mind on Dancing
I Love Me (I’m Wild about Myself)
Ritzi Mitzi
Oh! Gee, Oh! Gosh, Oh! Golly I’m in Love
Eddie (Steady)
No No Nora
I’ve Got the Yes! We Have No Bananas Blues
Oh, Gee, Georgie!
If You Do What You Do
I’ll have Vanilla
On a Windy Day ‘Way Down in Waikiki
Oh Papa!
Monkey Doodle
Charley My Boy
No One Knows What It’s All About
Doodle Doo Doo
How I Love That Girl
Those Panama Mammas
Goo-Goo-Good-Night Dear!
Laff It Off!
If You Knew Susie
We’re Back Together Again, My Baby and Me
Row, Row, Rosie!
Oh! Boy, What a Girl
What a Perfect Combination
Look What You’ve Done
Over Somebody Else’s Shoulder
The Man on the Flying Trapeze
Mandy
An Earful of Music
When My Ship Come In (2 versions)
Okay Toots
The Only Thing I Want for Christmas (Is Just to Keep the Things That I’ve Got)
If You Knew Susie
Little Curly Hair in a High Chair
Margie
The Early Days
Original Cast 2CD OC-9872 (1998)
That’s the Kind of a Baby for Me
The Modern Maiden’s Prayer
Hello, Wisconsin
Down on Borneo Isle
The Dixie Volunteers
I Don’t Want to Get Wed
Oh! The Last Rose of Summer (3 takes)
You Don’t Need the Wine to Have a Wonderful Time (2 versions)
Don’t Put a Tax on the Beautiful Girls (2 versions)
When They’re Old Enough to Know Better (3 takes)
I’ve Got My Captain Working For Me Now
I Used to Call Her Baby
Give Me the Sultan’s Harem (3 takes)
You’d be Surprised
At the High Brown Babies’ Ball
When It Comes to Loving the Girls (2 versions)
Come On and Play Wiz Me
All the Boys Love Mary
You Ain’t Heard Nothing Yet
I Never Knew I Had a Wonderful Wife
The Argentines and the Greeks
Noah’s Wife Lived a Wonderful Life
The Older They Get, the Younger They Want ‘Em
Snoops, the Lawyer
She Gives Them all the Ha! Ha! Ha!
Dixie Made Us Jazz Band Mad
When I See All the Loving They Waste on Babies
I Wish That I’d Been Born in Borneo
Palesteena
Margie (3 takes)
You Ought to See My Baby
Timbuktu
I Never Knew I Could Love Somebody
Anna in Indiana
Movie soundtracks
Puttin’ on the Ritz / Whoopee
Meet-Patti Records LP PRW 1930
Features vocals from the soundtrack of Whoopee
(plus vocals from the Harry Richman film Puttin’ on the Ritz)
Kid Millions / Roman Scandals
Classic International Filmusicals LP CIF 3007
Features vocals from the soundtracks of these two Eddie Cantor films
The Eddie Cantor Story
Capitol 10”LP L 467
Now’s the Time to Fall in Love
When I’m the President
If You Knew Susie
Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider
Josephine, Please No Lean on the Bell
Pretty Baby + You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby + Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby
Makin’ Whoopee
Ma (He’s Makin’ Eyes at Me)
Bye, Bye, Blackbird
Margie
Row, Row, Row
How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm?
One Hour with You
Miscellaneous recordings
Tweedle De Dee and Tweedle De Dum / The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Royale 18145 (1946)
Eddie narrates the story of Tweedle De Dee and Tweedle De Dum
(plus Milton Cross narrating the story of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice)
In Person – The Original Complete Carnegie Hall Concert
Original Cast 2CD OC-9217 (1992)
Features the 90-minute March 21 1950 concert at Carnegie Hall
Maxie the Taxi
Capitol 78rpm 32159 (1954)
Great Comedians of the Century
Columbia Promotional Record
Eddie narrates the half-hour tribute to comedians, featuring numerous extracts
A Date with Eddie Cantor
Audio Fidelity LP AFLP 702 (1960)
Features a re-creation of Eddie’s 1950 Carnegie Hall concert
Radio airchecks
Eddie Cantor
Top Ten Records 4 x 78rpm set TT-5 (1947)
recreating sketches from Eddie’s radio show:
Hall Of Records
How Old Is Cantor?
His School Days
His Fool Days
He Kills Vaudeville
He Flunks His Physical (2 parts)
The Girls in Cantor’s Life
The Eddie Cantor Show
Memorabilia LP MLP 702
Features the complete Pabst Blue Ribbon Show of January 30 1947
with guests Jack Benny, Peter Lind Hayes and Ralph Edwards
The Eddie Cantor Show
Memorabilia LP MLP 703
Features the complete Pabst Blue Ribbon Show of November 12 1948
with guest Cesar Romero
Eddie Cantor
Mark 56 LP 757
Features the complete lt’s Time To Smile Show of June 3 1942
with guest Veronica Lake
plus a 30-minute tribute to Eddie narrated by Frank Bresee with extracts from a number of broadcasts
The Great Radio Comedians
Murray Hill 5-LP set 931699
Features the complete Pabst Blue Ribbon Show of November 19 1948
with guest George Montgomery
The Legend of Eddie Cantor
Show Biz LP SB-1004
Features a tribute to Eddie narrated by George Jessel with extracts from a number of broadcasts
Club Richman Presents Harry Richman and Eddie Cantor
Torrington LP 432
Features 20 minutes of vocals taken from a number of Cantor broadcasts.
The Show That Never Aired
Original Cast CD OC-9347 (1993)
Features the unaired broadcast of October 23 1940
The Eddie Cantor Radio Show (1942-1943)
Original Cast 3CD set OC-9494 (1994)
Features 6 broadcasts:
April 1 1942, December 23 1942, February 3 1943, March 31 1943, May 5 1943 and May 19 1943
Old Time Radio Comedy Favorites
Radio Spirits 4CD set (1994)
Features the broadcast of January 6 1943
The Eddie Cantor Radio Show
Original Cast CD OC-9617 (1996)
Features the broadcasts of April 28 and June 9 1943
Cantor Meets Jolson
Original Cast 3CD set OC-9753 (1997)
Features 6 broadcasts:
January 3 1937, June 4 1941, March 6 1947, January 8 1948, June 8 1948 and January 7 1949
Chase and Sanborn’s Eddie Cantor Radio Show (1931-1933)
Original Cast 4CD set OC-8715 (1999)
Features 9 broadcasts:
December 13 1931, October 30 1932, November 5 1932 and November 26 to December 31 1933
Pals – Eddie Cantor and George Jessel
Original Cast CD OC-9918 (1999)
Reissue of The Legend of Eddie Cantor LP, plus TV extracts from
George Burns in The Big Time (November 17 1959)
and The George Jessel Show (September 1958)
I Remember Jolson
Original Cast CD OC-2073 (2000)
Eddie with Joan Davis (Time to Smile, February 2 1944)
Old Man Jolson (Guest Star Time, June 13 1948)
The Stories (Show Business, Old and New, 1951-54)
Jolson Salute (Show Business, Old and New, October 22 1953)
Carolina in the Morning*
For Me and My Gal*
By the Light of the Silvery Moon*
(* Eddie singing along to Jolson Decca 78s)
The Eddie Cantor Radio Show
Original Cast CD OC-6037 (2002)
Features the October 30 1932 broadcast
The Eddie Cantor Show
Radio Spirits 9CD set 47072 (2002)
Features 18 episodes:
January 15, February 5 to March 12, March 26, April 2, April 23 to May 14 and June 25 1941 and January 13 to 27 1943
BOOKS
MY LIFE IS IN YOUR HANDS
by Eddie Cantor, with David Freedman (Blue Ribbon Books, New York. 1928 / 1932)
CAUGHT SHORT! – A SAGA OF WAILING WALL STREET
by Eddie Cantor (Simon and Schuster, New York. 1929)
BETWEEN THE ACTS
by Eddie Cantor (Simon and Schuster, New York. 1930)
EDDIE CANTOR’S SONG AND JOKE BOOK
by Eddie Cantor (Pryor Press, Chicago. c.1930)
YOO-HOO PROSPERITY! THE EDDIE CANTOR FIVE YEAR PLAN
by Eddie Cantor (Simon and Schuster, New York. 1931)
A BOOK FULL OF LAUGHS
by Eddie Cantor (Simon and Schuster, New York. 1932)
YOUR NEXT PRESIDENT
by Eddie Cantor (R. Long and R.R. Smith, New York. 1932)
WORLD’S BOOK OF BEST JOKES
by Eddie Cantor (World Publishing, New York. 1943)
TAKE MY LIFE
by Eddie Cantor, with Jane Kesner Ardmore (Doubleday, New York. 1957)
THE WAY I SEE IT
by Eddie Cantor (Prentice-Hall, New Jersey. 1959)
AS I REMEMBER THEM
by Eddie Cantor (Duell, Sloan and Pearce, New York. 1963)
EDDIE CANTOR – A LIFE IN SHOW BUSINESS
by Gregory Koseluck (McFarland, Jefferson, North Carolina. 1995)
BANJO EYES
by Herbert G. Goldman (Oxford University Press, New York. 1997)
THE EDDIE CANTOR STORY – A JEWISH LIFE IN PERFORMANCE AND POLITICS
by David Weinstein (University of New England/Brandeis University Press. 2017)
Laughterlog.com 