Eddie Cantor

Overview

Born
January 31, 1892 · New York City, New York, USA
Died
October 10, 1964 · Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA (heart attack)
Birth name
Edward Israel Iskowitz
Nicknames
- Banjo Eyes
- The Apostle of Pep
- Ol' Banjo Eyes
Height
5′ 8″ (1.73 m)

Singer, songwriter ("Merrily We Roll Along"), comedian, author and actor, educated in public schools. He made his first public appearance in Vaudeville in 1907 at New York's Clinton Music Hall, then became a member of the Gus Edwards Gang, later touring vaudeville with Lila Lee as the team Cantor & Lee. He made Broadway stage appearances in "Canary Cottage," "Broadway Brevities of 1920," "Make It Snappy," "Kid Boots," "Whoopee," "Banjo Eyes," and the Ziegfeld Follies of 1917, 1918, 1919 and 1927. He had his own radio program in the 1930s, appeared often on television in the 1950s, and made many records. Joining ASCAP in 1951, and his popular-song compositions also include "Get a Little Fun Out of Life," "It's Great to Be Alive," and "The Old Stage Door." Eddie Cantor also wrote the books "Ziegfeld, the Great Glorifier" and "As I Remember Them," and the autobiographies "My Life Is In Your Hands" and "Take My Life."
- IMDb mini biography by: Hup234!

Taking his show on a national tour, he was preparing to open one night at a theater in Minneapolis, in which every seat had been sold. Shortly before the show was to begin that night, a terrific snowstorm hit Minneapolis, effectively shutting the city down, and of the hundreds of people who had bought tickets to see the show, only seven managed to make it to the theater. When the management wanted to cancel the show and refund the patrons' money, Cantor refused, saying, "These people have paid their money to come and see me, and that's what they're going to get". So he put on the full show--elaborate musical numbers, sketches, dancing girls, comics, etc.--for an audience of just seven people.
Often ate the breakfast staple cornflakes and milk for dinner at fancy restaurants. It had been the foodstuff he could afford as an up-and-coming comedian, and due to some personal quirk, he preferred it even after he was rich and famous.
At one time, when the rights to The Wizard of Oz (1939) were owned by Samuel Goldwyn, Cantor was considered for the role of the Scarecrow. Goldwyn eventually sold the rights to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Cantor reportedly received 3200 write-in votes for President in 1928 in an election won by Herbert Hoover. In another year he received over 1000 write-ins for Governor of New Jersey.
Received a Special Academy Award in 1956 for distinguished service to the film industry.

[after attending the premiere of the film The Eddie Cantor Story (1953)] If that was my life, I didn't live.
[commenting about losing most of his money in the 1929 stock market crash] Well, folks, they got me in the market just like they got everybody else. In fact, they're not calling it the stock market any more. They're calling it the stuck market.
[on Al Jolson] He was more than just a singer or an actor. He was an experience.
It takes twenty years to make an overnight success.
We call our relatives the kin we love to touch.