Eddie Cantor’s Broadway Vehicles

A century ago today: opening night of Eddie Cantor’s first starring Broadway vehicle Make It Snappy. Cantor of course was initially a vaudeville performer, and then a star of major Broadway revues like the Ziegfeld Follies (1917-1920) and the Broadway Brevities of 1920 (after he fell out with Ziegfeld regarding the actor’s strike of 1919). He was a sketch comedian, a monologist, a singer and dancer. He was considered Broadway’s principal rival to Al Jolson (and yes, unfortunately he was known for doing blackface**). In sketches (and offstage as well) he interacted with the likes of W.C. Fields, Will Rogers, Fanny Brice,Leon Errol, and Bert Williams.

Make it Snappy (1922) was, for the first time, a showcase primarily for Cantor. It’s hit songs included the still well-remembered “Yes, We Have No Bananas” and “The Sheik of Araby”, as well as “My Yiddishe Mammy”, a spoofing mash-up of “My Yiddishe Mama” (associated with Sophie Tucker and Belle Baker) and “Mammy” (associated with Al Jolson). He did funny sketches as a tailor, a taxi driver, and a timid police cadet. Supporting him was a cast of about 75, including notables like Nan Halperin, Lew Hearn, J. Harold Murray, Portland Hoffa (prior to her association with Fred Allen), and Sally Long, who was also in Cantor’s next show, Kid Boots.

After the success of Make it Snappy, Ziegfeld wisely mended fences with Cantor, casting him in the Follies of 1923, and Eddie’s first book musical Kid Boots (1923-25). The title is a joking reference to “kid gloves.” Cantor was to become associated with the noun. After Kid Boots, there were the later vehicles The Kid from Spain (1932), and Kid Millions (1934).

Described as “A Musical Comedy of Palm Beach and Golf”, Kid Boots seems at least a partial inspiration for the setting of the Marx Brothers’ first book musical The Cocoanuts(1925). Kid Boots even has a song called “When the Cocoanuts Call.” Its better remembered hits included “Alabamy Bound” and “Dinah”. The latter song became Dinah Shore’s theme song when Cantor discovered her for his radio show in 1940. His character in the show was somewhat sleazy: he played the top caddy at a golf resort, who gives private lessons on the side (using trick balls that make the players worse so they will keep needing lessons). He also dabbles in selling bootleg hooch, and doing a little blackmailing. Notables in the cast included Mary Eaton,Jobyna Howland, Harland Dixon, and Ethelind Terry. The show was adapted into Cantor’s first starring movie vehicle in 1926.

Whoopee (1928-29) is the best remembered of Cantor’s Broadway outings, both because it was adapted into a 1930 movie, and because the hit title song has been covered by many other artists, notably Frank Sinatra. The other major song in the show “Love Me or Leave Me” was sung by Ruth Etting, the show’s other star. Also in the cast: Ethel Shutta, Tamara Geva, Spencer Charters, Buddy Ebsen, Gladys Glad, and Chief Caupolican. It was directed by Seymour Felix. It has a lot in common with other vehicles of the time, such as Rio Rita and Show Boat. It’s set in the western desert of Arizona and is about a young lady who wants to marry a man who is part Native American. She flees on the eve of her approved marriage to another man, announcing her intention to elope with Eddie’s character, a hypochondriac who is just there for his health.

Whoopee was followed by a Cantor booking in Earl Carroll’s Sketch Book (1929) and a solo engagement at the Palace Theatre (1931) which was still a vaudeville house at the time, but gradually converting to a movie house.

After a decade as a major movie star, Cantor returned to Broadway in Banjo Eyes (1941-42). This wasn’t just a nostalgia trip. Eddie’s screen popularity had begun to wane by the late ’30s as the public’s taste in comedy changed. The title came from one of Cantor’s stage nicknames, inspired by his big, round peepers. Eddie played a greeting card salesman in the show, hence the preponderance of songs in the show with titles like “Birthday Card”, “Valentine’s Day Card”, “Easter Greetings”, “Merry Christmas”, and “Mother’s Day”. The plot concerns a talking horse named Banjo Eyes, played by the vaudeville team of Morton and Mayo. The nag gives betting tips to Eddie so he can make a mint! Also in the show were Virginia Mayo (who’d gotten her start with Morton and Mayo), Lionel Stander, June Clyde, Tony and Sally De Marco, Ray Mayer, and future novelist Jacqueline Susann! This was Cantor’s last Broadway show and sadly he had to close early due to the heart problems that plagued him through his last years. In 1946, he produced the short-lived show Nellie Bly.

**Obligatory Disclaimer: It is the official position of this blog that Caucasians-in-Blackface is NEVER okay. It was bad then, and it’s bad now. We occasionally show images depicting the practice, or refer to it in our writing, because it is necessary to tell the story of American show business, which like the history of humanity, is a mix of good and bad.

For several more articles on Eddie Cantor see the dedicated Travalanche section here.

For more on show business history including the great Eddie Cantor,consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, and stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.