September 13, 1931: Eddie Cantor's Debut on Chase and Sanborn Hour

September 13, 1931: Eddie Cantor, star of vaudeville, had his debut on NBC, giving birth to the Chase and Sanborn Hour,which was among the top shows of the 1930's.

Cantor joined Chase and Sanborn on September 13, 1931 to replace Maurice Chevalier, who was returning to Paris. Cantor made collaboration with Jimmy Wallington as announcer  and violinist Dave Rubinoff on this program.  Cantor became the leading comedian, and his scriptwriter, David Freedman, as “the Captain of Comedy.”

Cantor soon became the world's highest-paid radio star because this program. Cantor's theme song was his own lyric to the Leo Robin/Richard Whiting song, "One Hour with You." His radio sidekicks included Bert Gordon, (comic Barney Gorodetsky, aka "The Mad Russian") and Harry Parke (better known as "Parkyakarkus"). Cantor also discovered and helped guide the career of singer Dinah Shore, first featuring her on his radio show in 1940, as well as other performers, including Deanna Durbin, Bobby Breen and Eddie Fisher.