Desc | Ra | Eddie Cantor Its Time To Smile | Variety

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Before Jack Benny, Al Jolson, Ed Wynn, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Fred Allen. It was this banjo-eyed singer that stole the hearts of many audiences in the early 1930s. It was his expertise in vaudeville and things that were in the burlesque that catapulted Eddie's career into the radio stratosphere.

Eddie was born Edward Israel Iskowitz to Russian immigrants. His mother died soon after his birth and his father died of pneumonia a week after his mother's death. Little orphan Edward, grew up in the tenement houses in New York with his grandmother. He was placed in the lowly public schools, where the school register misspelled his last name, and put down, "Kanter." It was later on that Edward changed it to "Cantor." A frequent truant, hooligan, and cart napper, Edward befriended his future wife, Ida Tobias, who gave him the nickname "Eddie." It was during this time that little Eddie discovered his talent for singing. During school, he sang in the cafeteria. He admitted that performing was his version of "heat and food." It was here that Eddie decided that going into show business was his future.

During his late teens, Eddie got a job as a singing waiter on Coney Island, where he met Jimmy Durante, who was the restaurant's pianist. While working at the restaurant, Gus Edwards decided to have Eddie appear in one of his play. After his role in the play, a slew of jobs opened up for Eddie.

Eddie's air career took off when he appeared on Rudy Vallee's "Fleischmann Hour," which led to a four-week long tryout with Chase and Sanborn, who were looking to replace one of their actors. It wasn't long before Eddie's extreme talent took over the show, thus changing the name from the "Chase and Sanborn Show" to "The Eddy Cantor Show."

During it height of popularity, the show pulled off many publicity stunts, one being announcing Eddie Cantor for president, while people in the background chanted "We want Cantor! We want Cantor!" The stunt proved effective when Eddie received a ton of write-in votes for president. Click here to read more about Its Time To Smile

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Please enjoy these 77 old time radio episodes:

Air Date	Title	Synopsis
06.09.1943	guest george burns	+ Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Eddie starts the show by singing, "What's The Good Word, Mr. Bl...
04.28.1943	guest fred astarie
03.31.1943	guest edward g robinson	+Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica, Trushay. 9:00 P. M. The program begins with Harry reading a tele...
02.03.1943	guest adolphe menjou	+ Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Eddie's opening monologue is about his meeting with Henry Kaise...
01.27.1943	guests rudy vallee jimmy mchugh betty hutton	+ Sponsored by: Ipana Toothpaste (you've got to turn in an old tube to get a new one). Eddie went to...
01.20.1943	guests george raft and george w holley	+Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Everyone's in the Army but Eddie; he tried to enlist in the Mari...
01.06.1943	guest tommy dorsey
12.23.1942	guest ida lupino
11.25.1942	guest jack benny	+ Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Guest Jack Benny has a deal for Eddie. He wants Eddie's cast to...
05.27.1942	guest gracie allen	+Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica, Trushay. The program originates from Camp Elliot, San Diego. Gue...
04.01.1942	guest john charles thomas	+Dinah Shore sings, "How About You?" Bert Gordon (as "The Mad Russian") sings opera!
12.17.1941	guest boris karloff	+Sponsored by: Ipana Sal Hepatica, Toushay Hand Lotion (not "Trushay"). Eddie appears as Santa Claus...
06.25.1941	guest victor mature	+Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Eddie's opening monologue is about summertime fashions for women...
06.04.1941	eddies life story	+Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Al congratulates Eddie on his twenty-seventh wedding anniversary...
05.14.1941	guest bob feller	+ Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Eddie plans to play baseball against a team from The Jack Benny...
05.07.1941	guest john garfield	+Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Eddie has just returned from the Kentucky Derby. Guest John Garf...
04.30.1941	guests ezra stone and adelaide moffat	+Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Eddie talks about his farm and still plans to put on a play in t...
04.23.1941	guest tallulah bankhead	+ Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Eddie describes his new farm. He wants to open a theatre on the...
04.02.1941	guest oscar levant	+Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Eddie's opening monologue is about Deanna Durbin and the movies....
03.26.1941	i r s tries to give eddie a refund	+ Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. The program originates from New York. Eddie wants to do things,...
03.12.1941	guest sidney toler	+Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Eddie's opening monologue is about paying the income tax. Eddie ...
03.05.1941	guests humphrey bogart and hattie mcdaniel	+Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Eddie's opening monologue is about California weather and the ne...
02.26.1941	guest john barrymore	+Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Eddie's opening monologue is about the rainy weather in Los Ange...
02.19.1941	guest dr m sayle taylor	+ Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Eddie's been shopping for items for his newly found baby boy. T...
02.12.1941	guest joe di maggio	+ Sponsored by: Ipana, Sal Hepatica. Eddie's back from a desert vacation with a fine tan (he called ...