EDDIE CANTOR BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Eddie Cantor was born on January 31st, 1892 in New York City, New York with the birth name Israel Iskowitz. to parents Meta and Mechel Iskowitz. Eddie lost his mother at the age of one and his father just a year later, so he was raised by his grandmother. He attended school in the New York Public School System and in 1907 he made his first appearance working in Vaudeville at New York's Clinton Music Hall. He later was given the opportunity to tour vaudeville with Lila Lee.
Cantor also appeared on Broadway in such productions as, "Canary Cottage", "Make it Snappy", "Kid Boots", "Whoopee", "Banjo Eyes" and also performed with the Ziedfeld Follies. Along with working as a stage actor he became involved in radio and had his own radio program in the 1930's.
As his career progressed he became so involved in a variety of entertainment aspects such as working as a dancer, comedian, singer and even song writer. Some of his hit songs include, "Makin' Whoopee", "Ida", "If You Knew Susie", "Ma! He's Makin' Eyes at Me", "Margie" and "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm". Between 1921 and 1925 he had an exclusive contract with Columbia Records then he went back to Victor labels for the rest of his singing career.
After the stock market crashed, he experienced some financial turmoil, however he did not let anything stop him and chose to use his writing talents to sell to best selling books, "Caught Short! A Saga of Wailing Wall Street in 1928 and "Yoo Hoo Prosperity" helping him get out of debt.
Well into his career he never settled to one specialty. Whether it was film, television, or radio he remained busy. His final starring film role was in, "If You Knew Susie" (1948). Eddie was also given the job of working as the secondary host on the television show, "The Colgate Comedy Hour" in the 1950's.
Cantor was given the nickname, Banjo Eyes as well as The Apostle of Pep. In 1956, he was given a special award for distinguished service to the film industry. Cantor was also awarded three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to Radio, Television and the Motion Picture Industry.
Eddie Cantor married only one time to Ida Tobias Cantor in 1914 and they had five children together and remained married until she passed away on August 9th, 1962. Cantor was not just an amazingly talented man, he was also very involved in charity and humanitarian work. He was even very involved in organizing the, "March of Dimes" for which he invented the name for the donation campaigns of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Cantor also served as president for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) from 1933-1935.
Eddie Cantor passed away on October 10th, 1964 in Beverly Hills, California after suffering from a heart attack. In 2000, Eddie Cantor was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.
Filmography
1957 The Jackie Gleason Show
1956 Playhouse 90
1956 Matinee Theatre
1953 The Eddie Cantor Story
1948 If You Knew Susie
1947 Meet Mr. Mischief
1944 Show Business
1940 Forty Little Mothers
1937 Ali Baba Goes to Town
1936 Strike Me Pink
1934 Kid Millions
1933 Roman Scandals
1932 The Kid from Spain
1931 Palmy Days
1930 Whoopee!
1930 Insurance
1929 That Party in Person
1927 Special Delivery
1926 Kid Boots
