Newspaper Page Text
The
Microphone
Speaks ...
By George Silverman
R ADIO has given us a new channel of propa
ganda, a new medium of entertainment, and
a new source of pain. But has it evolved a
nrw technique of amusement? Has it developed
its own talent to keep pace with its own peculiar
possibilities and handicaps? A canvass by “Va
ried the Broadway weekly newspaper which
fathered the gossip column and led to the origin
of VVinchell slanguage, of more than 150 cities
show rd that radio had not yet developed a star
of the first magnitude in its own ethereal envi
ron'. that veteran Jewish stage favorites were its
most popular
e n t e rtain-
ers. Heading
the list of ce
lebrities is Ed
die Cantor
and in the or
der of popu
lar appeal the
other popular
Jewish per
formers are:
Ed Wynn,
Jack Pearl,
Burns and
Allen, Ben
B e r n i e, Ar-
t h u r Tracy,
and A1 Jolson.
The lives of
these personal -
it i e s (except
that of Ar
thur Tracy)
as stage lumi-
naries are
more or less
f a m i 1 i ar to
many of us.
T h e radio
chapter in
their careers
may or mat'
not have
brought about
some transfor-
RUTH ETTING m a t i o n in
• . Started her musical career on a their art. I he
‘ hicago radio station . . . brief sketches
of their his-
Tur \ are presented here in order to permit the
-eadf-r to judge for himself to what extent the new
medium of radio has affected the style of their
art Since Jack Pearl’s story has already ap
pealed in these columns in the form of an autobi
ographical account, the “Baron” has not been in-
uu<.“d ,* n the following biographical notes.
1 UDIE CANTOR: Owes his stage success to
l! » iucer-sized eyes and to his antics in blackface.
his unusual radio popularity to the dynamic
H w ^ antor delivery of songs and to his five
at enters, his board of critics. Cantor rose from
lewalks of New York’s East Side. Got his
theatrical chance in a moving picture theatre
a> 1 usher in a trio whose other members
( iforge Jessel and Walter Winchell. Joined
Komn'i Not*—
The Jrtrtth Stand
ard, •/ Toronto,
Canada, has been
kind month to al
low ni to reprint
the follovrsnt arti
cle that should he
of treat internt to
those interfiled in
onr present-day ra
dio protrams. It it
throngh the tooprr-
ation of the Colom
bia Hroadeaslsnt
System that toe nse
the pictnres of Ar-
tknr Traey and
Ruth Klimt.
ARTHUR TRACY, Jr.
. . . He is Ed H'ynn's [.andtman
(ius Edwards, trainer of the world’s most famous
stage prodigies; then toured in vaudeville. Came
revues, the Ziegfeld Eollies, and the rarefied at
mosphere of wealth and security only the m
stage luminaries can enjoy. Shortly after Eddie
announced his intention of retiring from Broad
way and settling down in his Beverly Hills home
with his wife and daughters, the stock market col
lapsed. Stockbrokers called for margin. Cantor’s
millions dwindled. Undismayed, Eddie went into
harness again, made several talkies, sang and wise
cracked for Chase & Sanborn. Offstage, or away
from the “mike”, Cantor is a level-headed, mod
est man. Regrets he has no male heir and calls
his home the Cantor Home for Girls. Takes an
active interest in Jewish charities; is a director
on the board of several Jewish institutions in New
York. His children are his severest critics. From
the oldest daughter, Marjorie, who is eighteen, to
his youngest, Janet, only five, all five sit in judg
ment on his jokes and stories. Experience has
taught him that their reactions are the best key to
the taste of his enormous invisible audience. He is
just "Ed” to his children and to his one and only
Ida.
ED WYNN: The "Perfect Fool" on the
stage. The “Fire Chief" with the shrill
“S-o-o-o” laugh on the air. Born Israel Edw'in
Leopold, the son of a hat manufacturer in Phila
delphia. At the age of fourteen his comic genius
first expressed itself in a Y. M. H. A. play. En
couraged by success, young Israel Leopold became
a member of a touring stock company w'hich paid
him $12 a week for playing small bits and acting
as porter and valet on the side. Made extraordi
nary histrionic progress, displaying ingenious ver
satility. But all this (Please turn to Page 13)
Eddie Cantor in Atlanta
By
Joseph A. Loewinsohn
D uring the famed
comedian’s recent visit
to Atlanta, a Jewish
restaurant on Capitol Avenue
was a riotous scene engen
dered by an unexpected ar
rival of Eddie Cantor, George
Jessel and a party of seven.
After the afternoon per
formance at the Fox T heatre,
a fine-looking closed automo
bile stopped in front of the
modest entrance of a “kosher”
restaurant located in the teem
ing neighborhood of the South
Side.
George Jessel’s dapper fig
ure, followed by that of Eddie
Cantor and their guests, en
tered the unassuming interior
of the restaurant.
“We want a regular Jew
ish dinner, herring and all,”
spoke up Jessel, as the propri
etor emerged from the kitchen
to meet the colorful group.
The man’s face lit up as he contemplated the hun
gry guests. Totally unaware of the identity of
the diners, he hurriedly retreated to the mysterious
recesses in the back of the room to make prepa
rations for the feast.
Appetizing and unmistakably native odors per
vading the place gently assailed the nostrils of the
animated band of strangers. Tantalizing aroma
of the Jewish cuisine wafted in the air as Cantor’s
party noisily settled round the table.
The owner of the restaurant, a taciturn, hard
working businessman, was innately shrewd and
guileless. When Jessel informed him that the
banjo-eyed little fellow was none other than Eddie
Cantor, U. S. A., the restauranter smilingly re
torted: "Oh, Yeaah ?”.
While the diners ravenously devoured “gehakte
AT THE “CANTOR HOME FOR GIRLS”
Ida and Eddie Cantor with Marorie, Natalie, Edna, Marilyn,
the pup and Janet
herring init tzibules" (chopped herring with on
ions to you!), “Gebrotcne katchka, "gefilte kish-
kes”, etc., news of Cantor’s presence electrified
the temperamental neighborhood. The place was
quickly filled w'ith eager-faced youngsters and
grown-ups. It was a motley, heterogeneous
crowd bent upon seeing the popular American en
tertainer.
Soon the entire city block was dark with laugh
ing, pushing, jostling, gyrating masses of the south-
side citizenry. Somebody in the disturbed neigh
borhood phoned the police headquarters, and a few
minutes later the air was rent w ith piercing shrills
of the police siren. The crowds formed a lane
for the approaching police car.
When the police, ploughing with difficulty
through the dense (Please turn to page 13)
™ E SOUTHERN ISRAELITE *
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