So Far, So Funny

Book excerpt: At 18, Hal Kanter first came to Hollywood to work as the ghost writer for a comic strip for the princely sum of $10 per week-before he was fired. It was then he heard an Eddie Cantor radio show and realized that he could write better jokes than the famed comedian's writers were providing him. Interestingly enough, Cantor's writers agreed with him, at least to some degree, and hired the brash young man to work with them on the Jack Oakie radio show. Thus was born one of the more interesting and varied careers in Hollywood. Kanter's writing career went from radio shows to screenplays to television series. Along the way he worked with such luminaries as Bob Hope, Frank Capra, Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and a host of others. Awarded an Emmy for writing The George Gobel Show, he was the creator of Julia, the ground-breaking television series. Though he went on to enjoy great success as a producer and director, Kanter always considered himself, first and foremost, a writer. And just how many scripts has he written? "More than I can lift," he says.