The Phoenix Jewish news., 1962-02-23

and admiration gave him the con-
fidence to make serious beginning
for a career on the stage.
1t was a far cry from anna
teur night at Miners BOwery
Theatre to opening night at the
Ziegfeld Follies. 1t took Eddie
Cantor 10 years of slow, tOrtuous
progress on a zig-zag course
across the vaudeville stages of
tank towns and big cities.
In one of his earliest jobs, as
singing waiter in Kerry Walsh's
bar and restaurant at Coney Island,
he sang songs and encores to the
accompaniment of Jimmy Durante
at the piano. At 10, he was the
senior member of Gus Edwards
kid Kabaret," in which he also
served as a big brother to the
younger actors, George Jessel in
particular He made his first ap-
pearance in the 1917 Ziegfeld
FollieS.
Grandma Esther did not live to
see her grandson attain the peak
of his profession, the showcase of
show business produced by FlorenZ
Ziegfeld. She died a few months
before, on Jan. 81, 1917. Ironically,
it was the 25th birthday of her
grandson, who wept bitterly be-
cause he had not been able to do
enough in return for her years of
love, work and worry in his be-
half. Her life became for him a
symbol of the Jewish tradition of
philanthropy and humanitarianism.
The comedians popularity was
enhanced by photograph rec
Ords, and he ventured into an
other medium, the movies, where
the producer for his first film,
"Kid Boots" was B. p. Schulz
berg, a bOyhOOd chum from the
East Side.
The thousands of families who
had collected his photograph rec
ords had also acquired radio sets,
and they were among the first to
greet his honey voice as an old
"friend to friends" on the radio.
His program on Sunday nights be-
came solidly established as one of
the most hilarious, yet wholesome,
hours in the week. Whole families
gathered to listen, to laugh at his
humor, and occasionally, to learn
from his humanity.
When the late President Franklin
D. Roosevelt needed advice in
launching Embarrassing campaign
to combat polio, he called Eddie
Cantor to the White House. The
President asked Cantor if he could
get million people to contribute
a dollar each, and Cantor answered
that he could get 10 million people
to give a dime each. That was the
beginning of the March of Dimes.
Cantor's humanitarian interests
have covered a wide range of
causes including the Red Cross
and entertainment and morale
services on behalf of members of
US. armed forces.
A natural" for teleVisi0n, Can
tor was rated with the nations
top teIevisiOn comedians but aft
er his heart attack ON Oct. 1,
1852, he had to curtal his pro-
grams and some of his other
public appearances.
In one field, however, he has not
curtailed his interest or efforts.
This is his help to other people.
With the rise Of Hitler and the
mass defamation of European Jew
ry, there was a desperate need for
funds for two urgent tasks: the
rescue of the survivors, many of
them children, and the early es-
Establishment of an independent Jew
ish state in the land of Israel as
the surest way to save and re-
build lives.
To this cause Cantor devoted his
time and energy, touring the major
cities of America and breaking all
records in funds raised in the his
41,.,x r. Az TT-sAzI To,.,s-I.