Texaco Town 1936 12 06 (12) Guest Leslie Howard

# The Eddie Cantor Show: Texaco Town, December 6, 1936

Step into the warm glow of a December evening in 1936, when millions of Americans gathered around their radios for an evening of pure enchantment with Eddie Cantor and his Texaco Town broadcast. On this particular night, the irrepressible "Banjo Eyes" welcomes the distinguished British actor Leslie Howard—the refined gentleman who captured hearts as Ashley Wilkes in Hollywood's upcoming *Gone with the Wind*—into his vaudeville-inflected orbit of comedy, music, and spontaneous charm. Expect the rapid-fire banter for which Cantor is famous, the orchestra's lush arrangements, and that electric unpredictability that made listeners tune in faithfully each week. Howard's cultured British accent provides the perfect foil to Cantor's manic energy, setting the stage for comedy rooted in transatlantic misunderstandings and the collision of two vastly different theatrical worlds.

The Eddie Cantor Show was appointment radio during the Depression era, a beacon of escapism when Americans needed it most. Cantor himself was a vaudeville legend who'd conquered Broadway and Hollywood, yet possessed the rare gift of intimacy that radio demanded—his famous eye-rolling delivery and infectious laugh translated perfectly through the airwaves. By 1936, the Texaco sponsorship had made the show a weekly institution, and Cantor's ability to attract A-list Hollywood guests demonstrated radio's paramount position in American entertainment before television would eventually steal its crown.

This episode captures a fleeting moment when radio was still king, when personalities like Cantor could command the nation's attention for a full hour each week, and when an evening with Leslie Howard and Eddie Cantor was the most coveted entertainment available. Tune in and discover why millions of listeners considered this appointment radio essential listening.