It's Time To Smile 1941 05 14 (33) Guest Bob Feller

# It's Time To Smile - May 14, 1941

Step into Studio 8-H at NBC's Radio City and feel the electric buzz of a Wednesday evening broadcast that crackles with an energy unique to spring 1941. Eddie Cantor, the "Banjo Eyes" himself, is in magnificent form as he welcomes the nation's most celebrated baseball pitcher, the blazing fastball artist Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians. You'll hear the roar of the studio audience as Cantor weaves his trademark rapid-fire comedy with genuine admiration for his guest, leading Feller through a series of hilarious exchanges that somehow manage to be both comedy gold and surprisingly touching. The banter builds toward sketches that showcase Cantor's vaudeville roots—replete with impressions, musical numbers, and the kind of physical comedy that somehow translates beautifully through the radio waves. What emerges is a portrait of American entertainment at a pivotal moment, when baseball still reigned as the nation's undisputed pastime and radio comedy was the beating heart of the country's entertainment diet.

By 1941, Eddie Cantor had already spent a decade as radio's preeminent entertainer, his voice as recognizable to American listeners as the hum of their own living room sets. This particular broadcast arrived at a poignant crossroads: Feller himself would soon trade his pitching mound for a Navy uniform after Pearl Harbor, becoming one of baseball's first great stars to answer his country's call. Cantor, always a patriotic showman with deep theatrical roots, brings both levity and subtle reverence to the interview, capturing a fleeting moment before everything changed.

Don't miss this window into a vanished America where star power meant something earned through live performance, where comedy required genuine wit, and where an afternoon with Eddie Cantor and Bob Feller felt like visiting friends in your own home. Tune in and hear radio's golden age at its finest.