The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theater

There was a fluctuation in quality among the episodes, but those that featured old masters---like George Raft (dancing gracefully but lightning fast as in his vaudeville and speakeasy days), Buster Keaton, Billie Burke, The Three Stooges or other vaudeville or legit theater trained stars---were gems. This program, Cantor's final TV show, was similarly nostalgic to his last radio show, in which he played old recordings from his own collection of the great stars of vaudeville and musical comedy. Whereas many of those old sound recordings were subsequently reissued in LP and CD, the film episodes from this series are not, to my knowledge, currently available. That's a shame. I wish whoever has them in cold storage will soon transfer these 30 minute filmed telecasts to DVD for aficionados to enjoy. Frank Cullen American Vaudeville Museum