Eddie CantorEddie Cantor (January 31, 1892 - October 10, 1964) was a comedian, singer, actor, songwriter, and one of the most popular entertainers in the United States of America in the early and middle 20th century. His nickname was "Banjo Eyes." Eddie Cantor in the 1920s Cantor was born as Edward Israel Iskovitz in New York City, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. He was orphaned in childhood and made a living entertaining for coins on the city streets of Manhattan's Lower-East-Side. By his early teens he began winning talent contests at local theaters, and started appearing on stage and in 1907 became a billed name in Vaudeville. In 1912 he appeared in Gus Edwards Review, and in 1916 debuted in the Ziegfeld Follies, where he would appear for years. For some time Cantor co-starred in an act with pioneer African-American comedian Bert Williams, both appearing in blackface; Cantor played William's son. Cantor started making phonograph records in 1917, recording both comedy songs and routines and popular songs of the day, first for Victor, then for Aeoleon-Vocalion, Pathé, and Emerson. From 1921 through 1925 he had an exclusive contract with Columbia Records, then returned to Victor for the remainder of the decade. He starred in the Broadway musical Whoopie! in 1928. Cantor was one of the era's most successful entertainers, but the 1929 Stock market crash suddenly took him from multi-millionaire status to being broke and deeply in debt. Cantor soon bounced back thanks to Hollywood movies and the radio. Cantor had appeared in a number of short films in the 1920s, but became a feature star in 1930 with the film Whoopee!. He continued making feature films through 1948, the most notable including Roman Scandals, Ali Baba Goes to Town, and If You Knew Susie. In the 1930s he also began hosting his own radio show, and by 1936 Cantor was the world's highest paid radio star. His radio shows began with a crowd chanting "We want Cantor - We want Cantor", said to have originated when a vaudeville audience used that chant to chase off an opening act who was on a bill before Cantor. Cantor's theme song was the 1903 pop tune "Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider", dedicated to Eddie's wife Ida. In addition to film and radio, Cantor recorded for Hit of the Week Records, then again for Columbia, for Banner and Decca and various small labels. He was a founder of the March of Dimes, and did much to publicize the battle against polio. Cantor also served as first president of the Screen Actors Guild. Cantor's career declined somewhat in the late 1930s due to his public denunciations of Adolf Hitler and Fascism. Wishing to distance themselves from any political controversy, many sponsors dropped Cantor's shows. However Cantor's career bounced back with the United States entry into World War II. In the 1940s his NBC national radio show was Time To Smile. In the 1950s he hosted a television show. Cantor wrote eight books, including Caught Short (about the Crash of 1929) and his autobiography, My Life is in Your Hands. He was awarded an honorary Academy Award in 1964. Eddie Cantor died of a heart attack in Beverly Hills, California, and was buried in Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery. This page about Eddie Cantor includes information from a Wikipedia article. Additional articles about Eddie Cantor News stories about Eddie Cantor External links for Eddie Cantor Videos for Eddie Cantor Wikis about Eddie Cantor Discussion Groups about Eddie Cantor Blogs about Eddie Cantor Images of Eddie Cantor |
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Eddie Cantor died of a heart attack in Beverly Hills, California, and was buried in Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery. In the 1940s his NBC national radio show was Time To Smile. "Our children are angry. However Cantor's career bounced back with the United States entry into World War II. "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.". Wishing to distance themselves from any political controversy, many sponsors dropped Cantor's shows. "Human beings are the only creatures that allow their children to come back home.". Cantor's career declined somewhat in the late 1930s due to his public denunciations of Adolf Hitler and Fascism. Anger over his remarks continued, but often the validity of what Cosby said wasn't in question (Senator Barack Obama had made similar remarks regarding the decline of the African-American family), it was the forum that was the issue. Cantor also served as first president of the Screen Actors Guild. He expanded upon his remarks in San Jose, CA during an event to promote the Read-2-Lead Classic. He was a founder of the March of Dimes, and did much to publicize the battle against polio. He further stated that it was up to the black community to fix its own problems. In addition to film and radio, Cantor recorded for Hit of the Week Records, then again for Columbia, for Banner and Decca and various small labels. Starting in 2004, Cosby publicly denounced black communities for having low standards in allowing fatherless single parent households, high crime rates, and high illiteracy rates. Cantor's theme song was the 1903 pop tune "Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider", dedicated to Eddie's wife Ida. [1] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/07/01/cosby.comments.ap/index.html). His radio shows began with a crowd chanting "We want Cantor - We want Cantor", said to have originated when a vaudeville audience used that chant to chase off an opening act who was on a bill before Cantor. The talk was interrupted several times by applause and received praise from leaders such as Jesse Jackson. In the 1930s he also began hosting his own radio show, and by 1936 Cantor was the world's highest paid radio star. Cosby admonished struggling young men to "stop beating up your wife because you can't find a job" and stated that African-Americans had forgotten the sacrifices of those in the Civil Rights Movement. He continued making feature films through 1948, the most notable including Roman Scandals, Ali Baba Goes to Town, and If You Knew Susie. Board of Education. Cantor had appeared in a number of short films in the 1920s, but became a feature star in 1930 with the film Whoopee!. While Cosby received a sharp backlash, he was largely unapologetic for the remarks and continued his criticism during a speech on July 1 at a Rainbow Coalition meeting commemorating the anniversary of Brown v. Cantor soon bounced back thanks to Hollywood movies and the radio. Cosby became the center of controversy in May 2004 when he made public remarks critical of low-income African Americans whom he believed to be deprioritizing education in favor of sports and fashion. Cantor was one of the era's most successful entertainers, but the 1929 Stock market crash suddenly took him from multi-millionaire status to being broke and deeply in debt. Cosby received Kennedy Center Honors in 1998 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. He starred in the Broadway musical Whoopie! in 1928. On March 12, 1997 Mikail Markhasev was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with the attempted robbery and shooting of Ennis. From 1921 through 1925 he had an exclusive contract with Columbia Records, then returned to Victor for the remainder of the decade. Their only son Ennis Cosby, aged 27, was murdered on January 16, 1997, while changing a flat tire in Los Angeles, California. Cantor started making phonograph records in 1917, recording both comedy songs and routines and popular songs of the day, first for Victor, then for Aeoleon-Vocalion, Pathé, and Emerson. He is married to Camille Hanks and they have four daughters. For some time Cantor co-starred in an act with pioneer African-American comedian Bert Williams, both appearing in blackface; Cantor played William's son. He is now a leading educational philanthropist. In 1912 he appeared in Gus Edwards Review, and in 1916 debuted in the Ziegfeld Follies, where he would appear for years. The Cosby Show also served as a vehicle to raise issues of drugs, illiteracy, teen pregnancy, and gang violence. By his early teens he began winning talent contests at local theaters, and started appearing on stage and in 1907 became a billed name in Vaudeville. Notably, he structured the 80's Cosby family to represent children at all ages, and the addition of Sandra as a Princeton-educated lawyer is meant to show how good parenting and education of children leads to success. He was orphaned in childhood and made a living entertaining for coins on the city streets of Manhattan's Lower-East-Side. He has attempted to integrate education with television in some projects, such as Picture Pages, where Cosby taught children how to draw in a series of shorts aired by PBS. Cantor was born as Edward Israel Iskovitz in New York City, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. Cosby earned a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts in 1977: his thesis concerned the use of the Fat Albert series as a teaching aid. His nickname was "Banjo Eyes.". A colorful work of Cosby was his portrayal as a bigot in Bill Cosby on Prejudice (1971). Eddie Cantor (January 31, 1892 - October 10, 1964) was a comedian, singer, actor, songwriter, and one of the most popular entertainers in the United States of America in the early and middle 20th century. Despite his success in other media, Cosby's film acting career has been characterized by mediocre projects such as Leonard Part 6 (1987) and Ghost Dad (1990), although he did star in a series of successful comedy films with Sidney Poitier in the mid-1970s such as Let's Do it Again. In fact, Fatherhood and Time Flies were the best selling non-fiction hardback books of 1986 and 1987, respectively. He has also written several humorous books about different aspects of life, based on his stand-up comedy such as Fatherhood and Love and Marriage. He won several Grammy awards for comedy albums, had a top forty song ("Little Old Man") in 1969, and sang on a number of albums. Bill Cosby was a regular on the Captain Kangaroo show in the 1980s, presenting the "Picture Pages" segment which was later syndicated on its own. He has producer, writer, director and even composer credits on many of his projects. Cosby then appeared in a series of shows named after himself: The Bill Cosby Show, The New Bill Cosby Show, the animated Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, Cos, The Cosby Show, The Cosby Mysteries, and Cosby (based upon the British series One Foot In The Grave). Cosby won two Emmy Awards for his portrayal of an undercover CIA agent; it was also the first time an African-American actor starred in a weekly dramatic television series. After working as a bartender for several years, he began his career as a stand-up comic, and was discovered by Sheldon Leonard, who landed Cosby a break-out television role in I Spy (1965). Later, he won an athletic scholarship to Temple University. He joined the United States Navy in tenth grade and completed high school through correspondence courses. Cosby was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At one time, he was one of the most highly paid entertainers in the United States. His sitcom, The Cosby Show was very successful, and notable for being one of the first to star a well-to-do middle-class African-American family. William Henry Cosby, Jr., (born July 12, 1937) is an African American actor and comedian. Dr. |