Eddie Cantor, the famed Jewish comedian and one of America’s top entertainers during more than four decades of show business, died here last night of a heart attack at the age of 72. Throughout most of his years on the stage, in films, radio and later television, he popularized the humorous aspects of early American Jewish immigrant life. Following his retirement in 1953, he was active in many Jewish causes, especially the United Jewish Appeal and the Israel Bond Organization.
Born Isidor Iskowitch of immigrant Russian Jewish parents on New York’s lower East Side, Eddie Cantor entered show business while still in his teens and rose to the top of the entertainment field. Mr. Cantor suffered a heart seizure in 1953 and retired from active show business. He continued, however, to assist many philanthropic causes.
At the conclusion of a fund-raising tour on behalf of the United Jewish Appeal in 1947, Mr. Cantor received the organization’s humanitarian award, previously given only to Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Eleanor Roosevelt. For a number of years he served as president of the Jewish Theatrical Guild of America.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
