Who Am I? August 2024
I was born in Harlem to Sarah (aka Sandra & Sadie at different times) and Moses in Harlem long ago. Dad sold paints and varnishes and sometimes worked as a contractor and house painter. Mom sold notions at Wanamaker’s Department store and occasionally worked as a store detective. Mom recognized my talent as a born ‘ham’ and she pushed me into the entertainment business. She was my most devoted fan and tried to attend most of my performances ever since I was 5 years old.
I had an 80 year career beginning in the Silent Era. My professional life included film, stage, vaudeville, radio and television. By the time I was 8 years old I appeared in over 50 silent movies with stars such as Pearl While, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Marie Dressler and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Many of those films were shot at the American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. Studios in Fort Lee, N.J. My mom enrolled me in the Professional Children’s School, a school which provided an academic education for young troupers and vaudevillians. Among my classmates were Ruby Keeler and Gene Raymond. While still a teen I got an emcee job in vaudeville. I’d introduce the acts and then I’d often interrupt them with sight gags and slapstick humor. Sometimes my banter would upstage the other acts. I had a rubber face which was perfect for physical comedy. I appeared in both Earl Carroll’s Vanities and the Ziegfeld Follies.
My 13 year stint on radio was my springboard into the new medium of TV. I wrote, produced and directed my own show. My variety show was a big hit. We’d do sketches and old vaudeville routines. I’d often wear outrageous costumes. I fought with my sponsor because they ‘discouraged’ African-American acts on my show. I gave that sponsor an ultimatum - “they appear on my show or I go…” Consequently, the Step Brothers, Pearl Bailey, Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, the Nicholas Brothers and others performed in my shows. Sales of TV sets in America zoomed during my tenure as a TV host. It was also said that the water level in the Detroit reservoirs went noticeably down each night after my show because viewers only relieved themselves after the show was over.
After my TV career ended I found stand-up work in nightclubs in Las Vegas clubs such as The Sands and the Desert Inn. I also appeared at the Riviera Nightclub in Fort Lee, N.J. My shtick was being brash but I always ‘worked clean.’
In no particular order, I loved golf, cigars, gambling on the ponies and beautiful women. I had romantic flings with Lucy, Veronica Lake and a young Marilyn.
I was a founder, along with Jimmy Durante, Robert Taylor, Georgie Jessel and Bing Crosby of the Friars Club of Beverly Hills where I emceed many a fun roast.
Besides everything else, I was a softie when asked to do charity performances. In WWI, as a child performer, I entertained at Camp Upton doing celebrity imitations. I entertained overseas in WWII and Vietnam. Over the years I raised millions for charitable causes. In fact, I held the first TV telethon years before Jerry Lewis ever got the idea.
I was honored with 2 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – one for radio and one for TV. I am sure you know me by now. That’s me in the photo below.
(1a)Who Am I? (1b)What sobriquet did I have? (1c)What nickname did Walter Winchell give me? (2a)What are my favorite meals? (2b)What is my cigar of choice? (3a) I was married four times but the love of my life was a Paterson girl, a former captain in the Army WAC, who worked as a publicist. We were married for almost 40 years. What was her name? (3b) I was honored on a commemorative stamp in 2009. Name at least 2 others that were so honored in the same series of stamps. (4)What was the name of my TV variety show and in what time slot did it go on the air? (5)What did Kermit Goell do for me?
