Born in New York City. The son of a playwight-stage producer, he began singing professionally at age nine and at 11 teamed up with Eddie Cantor in vaudeville. He appeared occasionally in silent and sound films, but it was in nightclubs and on Broadway (The Jazz Singer, etc.), and later on radio and TV, that he achieved a reputation as an entertainer and songwriter. In the late 40s and early 50s he produced musical films for Fox, such as THE DOLLY SISTERS (1945), NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947) and WHEN MY BABY SMILES AT ME (1948), for some of which he also wrote the songs. He traveled extensively, speaking, entertaining, and raising funds on behalf of various causes and won a special Oscar®, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in 1969, for this activity. He also frequently entertained US troops overseas. A compulsive teller of jokes and anecdotes, he was known as America's "Toastmaster General." His second of four wives was silent movie star Norma Talmadge. Memoirs: So Help Me, (1943) and This Way, Miss (1955).  Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award 1969. 1 Honorary Award