EDDIE CANTOR was born Edward Israel Iskowitz [2] in New York City, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants. His mother died in childbirth one year after his birth, and his father died of pneumonia when Eddie was two, leaving him to be raised by his beloved grandmother, Esther Kantrowitz. As a child, he attended Surprise Lake Camp. A misunderstanding when signing her grandson for school gave him her last name of Kantrowitz (shortened by the clerk to Kanter). He adopted the first name "Eddie" when he met his future wife Ida Tobias in 1903, because she felt that "Izzy" wasn't the right name for an actor. Cantor married Ida in 1914.
When he was growing up on the LOWER EAST SIDE OF NEW YORK, Eddie used to pick up groceries for housewives in exchange for a slice of salami or piece of cake. One thing perplexed him though. Why did these women always send him to the SAME store even though it was farther away than some others?
One day he went to a closer store and was sharply criticized for doing so. How did they know he thought? The next time he went to the regular store he decided to see if he could somehow solve this mystery. It seemed all the grocer did was to make mistakes. If the order called for a dozen dinner rolls he would count out 13. If it asked for 6 bananas he put in 7. And he always filled the milk jugs well above the quart line! Did he need glasses?
Finally, Cantor decided to confront this adult about his errors. The grocer just smiled and said, “ It never hurts to give a little something EXTRA. “
CANTOR NEVER FORGOT THOSE WORDS. He used the same principle to rise in show business. Years later he decided to return to the old neighborhood and found out that the store he used to run errands to was gone. He inquired around and finally found the gentleman he was looking for. He no longer worked behind the grocery counter. He was now the chairman of a board of a large chain of supermarkets!
