The Characters of Charlie Cantor

September 4 was the birthday of radio and television comedian Charlie Cantor (1898-1966).

As it happens, Charlie was no relation to Eddie Cantor, whose real name was Itzkowitz. But he did start out in vaudeville, where he first discovered his knack for accents and voice work. A particular specialty was Irishmen and characters who were none too bright. Some think the voice of Chumley from Tennessee Tuxedo is an homage to Cantor. Many of Cantor’s characters were so stupid, they actually said “Duh”! During his vaudeville days, Cantor also worked as a song plugger and could even play some barrel house piano. After finishing his education at NYU he performed for a time in night clubs.

Cantor worked in local radio as early as 1921, years before the networks were even formed. He was at his peak during the 1940s, when he was a regular or semi-regular on The Fred Allen Show (as “Socrates” Mulligan), The Jack Benny Program (as Logan Jerkfinkel), Duffy’s Tavern (as Clifton Finnegan, the supposed antithesis of Clifton Fadiman), The Baby Snooks Show(as Uncle Louie), and The Life of Riley (as Uncle Buckley). He was also briefly a regular on Abie’s Irish Rose, and appeared on Amos ‘n’ Andy, The Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy Show, TheGeorge Burns and Gracie Allen Show, My Friend Irma, The Ray Milland Show, and The Phil Harris–Alice FayeShow, The Kate Smith Hour, and even “straight” shows like The Shadow and Dick Tracy. Cantor was known to work on as many as 40 different radio programs in a single week.

Cantor’s first television appearance was on The Colgate Comedy Hour in 1950. When The Jack Benny Program came to TV, Cantor was one of the many cast members to appear on the show from time to time. You could also see him on The Red Skelton Hour, The Ray Bolger Show, The Joey Bishop Show,The Ann Sothern Show, The Danny Thomas Show, and many other programs, including live tv dramas like Schlitz Playhouse and Playhouse 90. He’s only a handful of movies: Duffy’s Tavern (1945), Stop You’re Killing Me (1952), The Great Imposter (1960), and That Funny Feeling (1965). His final credit was a 1965 episode of O.K. Crackerby.

Charlie’s brother Nat Cantor was also in the biz, appearing in the Broadway shows Off to Buffalo (1939) and Lunatics and Lovers (1954-55).

For more on vaudeville, where Charlie Cantor got his start, 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.