In 1954 Fisher won the Cash Box magazine Top Male Vocalist award. Drug use made Fisher easier for his handlers, who booked him into almost continuous performances, to manage. The shots were a mixture of substances, but mostly amphetamines or "speed " Jacobson would eventually lose his license to practice medicine, but not before Eddie Fisher had become a confirmed drug addict.įisher's youth, fame, and wealth carried him through the next several years, and his records continued to sell well. Jacobson more and more often in the years to come. He felt better immediately, and turned to Dr. Max Jacobson and given an injection of special vitamins, or so he was told. After excessive singing began to harm his voice, Fisher was taken to celebrity physician Dr. Television was just part of Fisher's hectic performance schedule, which included tours as well as frequent live shows in New York. The show lasted over three years on radio as well as on television when it ended, NBC found another show (albeit a less successful one) for him until 1959. ![]() Sponsored by the Coca Cola corporation, the show was called Coke Time, as Fisher's popularity with teenagers made soft drinks a logical sponsor. ![]() Returning to civilian life in early 1953, Fisher found that his handlers had set up a television program for him to host, a twice-weekly show on NBC. Not until Fisher made a personal request to President Truman did the Army allow him to visit Korea and entertain fighting troops. In fact, given that his recording dates, television appearances, and tours continued without a hitch, Fisher's career probably benefited from his military service. But Blackstone used his influence to ensure that Fisher would spend his two years in the military crooning with the U.S. He had several hit records, performed frequently on television and on tour, and was given Billboard magazine's award as Most Promising Male Vocalist of 1950.Įarly in 1951, Eddie Fisher was drafted into the Army during the Korean War. Throughout the rest of 1949 and all of 1950, Fisher's career grew at a rapid pace. Finally, Cantor and Blackstone arranged for Fisher to sign with RCA Victor, one of the biggest recording companies. A star was born in one hour of conniving, where four years of talented and honest effort had achieved nothing.Ĭantor then took Eddie Fisher under his wing, giving him a place on his current national tour and television show, and even wrangling invitations for the young singer on other major television programs. Several reporters, who had been alerted by Milton Blackstone of a breaking show-business story, covered the "discovery" for major newspapers. Cantor set up the audience to love Eddie Fisher, and Fisher performed very well. Now 21, he was more mature and his stage presence had greatly improved, so Blackstone decided to manufacture a groundswell of popularity for Fisher, and persuaded the famous comedian Eddie Cantor to "discover" Fisher during a performance at Grossinger's.īlackstone paid for "fans" to sit throughout the hall, and to cheer wildly during Fisher's act. Frustrated with his progress, in 1949 Fisher put himself fully under the control of Blackstone, and made one last effort at establishing himself as a singing sensation. In the fall of 1946 Fisher returned to the Copacabana, where he was given a small job, and the ambitious young singer spent the next three years in a vain effort at becoming a star. There Fisher set about learning as much as possible, not only by honing his own skills, but also by studying the behavior of the famous acts that performed at Grossinger's. ![]() Fortunately, the nightclub owner put Fisher in touch with publicist and celebrity manager, Milton Blackstone, who in turn found the youthful entertainer a summer job at Grossinger's resort hotel in the Catskills. In an audition at the Copacabana, Fisher impressed the owner with his voice, but his immature looks and manner detracted from his talent. Calling himself Sonny Edwards, Fisher haunted the city's nightclubs for months, searching for work. Two years later, the seventeen-year-old Fisher obtained a tryout with the Buddy Morrow band in New York, but he was only employed for a few weeks. He sought a singing career from an early age, and became a regular performer on Philadelphia radio by the age of fifteen. One of seven children of a Jewish grocer in South Philadelphia, Edward Fisher had a Depression-era childhood of poverty and frequent moves. Of a highly-publicized series of romantic entanglements, involving some of the most famous celebrities of his generation. For a brief time, Eddie Fisher was the most popular male vocalist in America, but for a longer period, the affable crooner was the center
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