EDDIE FISHER
1957
 | The $15-million Tropicana, placarded as "The Tiffany of the Strip," opens as the city's most expensive hostelry to date. Singer Eddie Fisher headlines in Monte Proser's "Tropicana Revue." |
Eddie Fisher, Eddie Cantor, Sammy Davis Jr. 1958 Liz, Eddie and Debbie in happier days. Tropicana 1958
Eddie and I met on the Roy Radin Vaudeville Revue in 1977, in Pompano Beach, Florida. He was the headliner and I was conducting. When we finished that tour, he asked me to conduct a show for him at the Playboy Resort, in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. We did a week there, and I worked with him for another 7 years. Even though I was conducting full time for Donald O'Connor and Eddie Fisher during those years, I never had a conflicting date. I always felt that he had one of the greatest voices of all time. We never had a bad night and always had fun, both on and off stage. One of my fondest memories, working with Eddie, was a 2 week stint at the Newport Resort, in Miami Beach. Eddie's Road Manager, Peter Cohen, and I had more fun than any two people should ever have had the opportunity to have and we will remain friends forever. Every date I conducted for Eddie, I considered a privilege. It was always amazing to watch the reaction of women to Eddie. He had more charm and Charisma than any two men. Unfortunately for Eddie, they were to be his undoing... but what a way to go!
Later in life, Eddie found his wife Betty Lin, who was one of the most charming people I ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was and will always remain my dear friend.
They still couldn't spell my name right.
A great, and well deserved, review for Eddie. At least they spelled my name right in this review.
EDDIE and TIM on the Roy Radin Show 1977
Hollywood Palladium with the Harry James Orchestra 1983
Eddie and Tim Philadelphia Pops December 2,1981
Eddie and Lyn Davis, later to become Mrs. Norman Lear The S. S. Norway
Eddie was presented with the "Final Production Run" 1975 Buick Convertible
MY ADVENTURES WHILE ON TOUR WITH EDDIE FISHER
These are just a few of the things I did during the day.
The Captain, Peter Cohen and a friend We used Peter's hand for scale
I caught a 9 foot long, 210 lbs, Golden Hammerhead shark one day while we were performing in Miami.
Our pianist and I went Glider flying one afternoon in Las Vegas
Flying in a glider was so much fun, I decided to try flying without a plane at the "FlyAway"
We went to Hilo, Hawaii in the mid 80s for a couple of weeks, at the Nani-Loa Surf Hotel. While we were there, Mother Nature gave us the show of a lifetime. Both Moana Loa and Kilauea erupted at the same time. We were told that it was the first time in 100 years that both had simultaneously erupted. There were news people all over the hotel. One of the news helicopter crews was staying at our hotel. We got to chatting and I told them that we would love to go and see the eruption close up. One pilot told me to sit by the phone. About an hour later, we were called and told to get to the heliport as quickly as possible. Within a few minutes, we were airborne and in for the flight of our lives. We flew right to the top of Moana Loa, with lava shooting up 400' into the sky. We spent a good half hour flying around the lava spout and I got some great photos. Below are a couple of my favorites. On the way back to the heliport, we were approaching the lower edge of the lava flow. As it cuts through the brush, Methane gas is built up. There are explosions when the gas pockets get too large. One exploded directly below us, as we flew over and we were almost brought down. Gas fumes filled the cockpit and the shockwave from the explosion below made the pilot lose control. Fortunately for us, the pilot was very experienced and brought us back safely, with one of a kind photos and a story to tell for the rest of our lives.
Click here to see a few videos of Eddie from years gone by.
Trivia:
Eddie was responsible for many innovations. One animation innovation was this new style, narrated by a studio animator. The predecessor to South Park, I think?
One of my favorites was the classic "Eddie Show". It started when one of the animators found a cut out head of Eddie Fisher (hence the name). Soon they had a number of these life-sized heads with jaws cut to allow 'talking'. They would use these puppet figures to lip-sync songs out a window. The show became so popular that they had to do it at lunch time as folks from around the studio, from artists to lawyers to secretaries would gather to watch. A show was soon designed and every Christmas they would perform a 'new' Eddie show in the window. It was the first time I had ever heard "I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas". The greatest Eddie show ended with Santa (apparently) falling off the roof of the animation building! Hilarious.
MAIN I O'CONNOR I FISHER I BERLE I MEKKA I BARTY I RADIN I JAZZ FEST I PHOTO GALLERY
