Movie actors realize they've made an impact in the entertainment world when Hollywood produces a motion picture about their life. That's precisely what happened to vaudeville, stage and screen actor Eddie Cantor in 1953 when Warner Brothers gave him the full-blown biopic treatment in its 'The Eddie Cantor Story' with actor Keefe Brasselle playing 'Banjo Eyes.'
Cantor's debut in feature films came when he was 34, a relatively late age to be be starting out in cinema. His October 1926 movie, "Kid Boots," was a silent version of the 1923 hit musical of the same name he starred in for an incredible 489 straight Broadway performances. The film expands Cantor's lead role as a wheeling-and-dealing caddie at a private country club's golf course, who becomes a witness in a court case for a playboy in the middle of a messy divorce with a gold-digging wife. Clara Bow serves as Eddie's love interest.
Cantor, born and raised in New York City, dove into the entertainment business early on, displaying a knack of singing and slinging jokes in saloons, where a young Jimmy Durante played piano for his act. He graduated to vaudeville before producer Florenz Ziegfeld slotted him into his 'Ziegfeld Follies of 1917.' Working alongside Will Rogers, Fanny Brice and W. C. Fields, Cantor proved his worth with his melodic voice and his sense of self-deprecating humor. When on tour, he briefly dated future 'Valley of the Dolls' author Jacqueline Susann.
His prominence in the 1923 play 'Kid Boots' showcased his talents even more. Inventor Lee De Forest hired Cantor to appear in one of his first sound movie recordings to demonstrate his recent invention Phonofilm. Eddie sings two songs from the play 'Kid Boots.' De Forest's "A Few Moments with Eddie Cantor" was the innovator's biggest name star for his series showing how the first sound impulses imbedded on a celluloid strip could play in perfect sync with the picture.
The play also had a profound influence on Frances Rose Shore. As an aspiring singer, she sang one of the play's most popular songs, "Dinah," during several radio auditions. When she was being introduced by a famous New York City radio disc jockey, he had trouble remembering her name but knew she was going to sing her signature song. So he quickly called her the 'Dinah girl.' She loved the name so much she adopted it to ever be known as Dinah Shore.
Eddie Cantor used the movie "Kid Boots" as a springboard to introduce himself to a variety of media, including radio and television. In the following year he was offered the lead in Warner Brothers' 1927 "The Jazz Singer." But along with George Jessel he turned down the part, missing out on one of the biggest historical turning-points in cinematic history.