It's Time To Smile 1941 01 15 (16) Guest Phil Harris

# The Eddie Cantor Show: "It's Time To Smile" - January 15, 1941

Picture yourself settling into your favorite chair on a winter's evening in 1941, the warm glow of your radio dial casting dancing shadows across the parlor as Eddie Cantor's signature greeting crackles through the speaker: "It's time to smile!" Tonight, the stage at NBC's Studio 8-H practically vibrates with anticipation as the banjo-eyed comedian welcomes the charming, quick-witted Phil Harris into the fold. What unfolds is a masterclass in live comedy—a collision of Cantor's rapid-fire, almost manic energy with Harris's smoother, more measured wit. You'll hear the audience roar with genuine laughter (not canned, not sweetened), witness ad-libbed repartee that only live radio could deliver, and experience musical interludes that showcase why these entertainers captivated a nation desperate for escape during increasingly troubled times.

The early 1940s found The Eddie Cantor Show at the height of its popularity, broadcasting directly from Manhattan to millions of homes hungry for warmth and comedy. By this point, Cantor had become an institution—a vaudeville veteran whose infectious enthusiasm and elaborate production numbers made him a natural for radio's golden age. This particular broadcast captures the show in its sweet spot: still innovative, still risky, performed with the crackling spontaneity that television would later sanitize away. The chemistry between Cantor and guest stars like Harris created unrepeatable magic, moments of comedy that lived and died in that very broadcast moment.

This is entertainment preserved in amber—a glimpse into an America that gathered around radios as families, where laughter was communal and timing was everything. Tune in and discover why audiences of that era considered Eddie Cantor must-listen programming.