Eddie Cantor Dead At 72

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30569, 12 October 1964, Page 13

Eddie Cantor Dead At 72

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) HOLLYWOOD

(California), Oct. 10. Eddie Cantor, the vaudeville star whose dancing feet and double-takes brought him stardom in movies, radio and television, died today at the age of 72. The Associated Press said Cantor died of a coronary occlusion. At his side, a nurse said, were two of his daughters, Mrs Natalie Metzger and Mrs Edna McHugh, a nurse and a doctor. Cantor, wealthy and virtually retired from show business, had been plagued with a. heart ailment for several years. In 1953 he was lost to a television series for four months after a heart attack. Much of his later life was spent quietly in his Beverley Hills home writing books and articles reminiscing on his long career and philoso-

phising about life. He also was active in numerous charities. Cantor made his professional debut in 1907 in New Yaak’s Old Clinton music hall. A few years later he hit Broadway with a burst of energy that was to be-

come his trademark. He made up for his small size with an electric personality that was infectious. Often black-faced, he would sing in a ringing voice, tapping his hands together and roaming the stage with a rhythmic skip. He frequently added another trademark: rolling his eyes at phenomenal speed.

Cantor soon was a Ziegfeld Follies star appearing in such stage hits as “Whoopee” and “Kid Boots.” Ziegfeld billed him as the “Apostle of Pep.”

A millionaire in 1929, he was broke a few months later, but he wrote a book about his losses and made enough to lay the foundation for another fortune.

The 1930’s were big years for Cantor as he switched to radio and movies. He appeared for Samuel Goldwyn in “Palmy Days,” “Kid from Spain” and others. Cantor was born Izzy Iskiwitch on January 31, 1892, in New York. His parents died before he was two and he was raised by his grandmother.