Edward Hastings Ford (1887 – January 27, 1970) was a vaudeville comedian who created the radio show ''

Can You Top This? ''Can You Top This?'' was a radio panel game in which comedians told jokes and tried to top one another. The unrehearsed program, sponsored at one point by a papaya-flavored soft drink called Par and later by Colgate-Palmolive, was created by ...

'', on which he appeared as the character Senator Ford.

Early years

Ford was born Edward Hastings Fauth in Brooklyn in 1887 and had a sister, Harriet Fauth Lavinia. He dropped out of Manhattan's public school system after the

eighth grade Eighth grade (or grade eight in some regions) is the eighth post-kindergarten year of formal education in the US. The eighth grade is the ninth school year, the second, third, fourth, or final year of middle school, or the second and/or final ye ...

. His first job was in photoengraving. He married Hilda Engelhardt (?–1957). Ford also pursued an interest in art, as he "obtain dan art schooling and operated an art studio in New York's lower Broadway, doing commercial illustrating."

"Senator" Ford

A 1943 newspaper article traced the origin of Ford's nickname to a speech he made at New York's Republican Club in the 1910s. The speaker who preceded Ford was future President Warren G. Harding, then a member of the U.S. Senate. Following Harding's remarks, "the toastmaster jocularly referred to Ford as 'Senator' Ford in introducing him to the audience. The title has stuck since."

Radio

Ford became a panelist on a comedy quiz show called ''

Stop Me If You've Heard This One ''Stop Me If You've Heard This One'' was a comedy radio series, created by the actor-humorist Cal Tinney (February 2, 1908 – December 2, 1993) and sponsored by Quaker Oats. Hosted by Milton Berle, it aired Saturday evenings at 8:30pm on NBC be ...

'', which ran from October 1939 to March 1940. Shortly after that show ended Ford was inspired to create the similar but far more successful ''

'', which co-starred friends and colleagues

Joe Laurie, Jr. Joe Laurie Jr. (February 24, 1892 – April 29, 1954) was an American vaudeville monologist who later performed on radio and on Broadway. He was born in New York City.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of ...

and

Harry Hershfield Harry Hershfield (October 13, 1885 – December 15, 1974) was an American cartoonist, humor writer and radio personality. He was known as "the Jewish Will Rogers". Hershfield also was a columnist for the ''New York Daily Mirror''. His books ...

. ''Can You Top This?'' ran on local radio in New York for two years until being picked up nationally by NBC, where it ran for another twelve years. There were two television versions of the show, the first version ran on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

from October 1950 to March 1951; the second, which premiered January 26, 1970 (the day before Ford's death), aired in first-run syndication only eight months.

Personal life

Ford's first wife died in 1957. He married Louise Grace July 11, 1957.

Death

Ford died at Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport, Suffolk County, New York on January 27, 1970 of lung cancer and throat cancer.

Legacy

His papers are archived at

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...

References

1887 births 1970 deaths American radio personalities Monologists

External links

*{{IMDB name, 0285490, Edward Hastings Ford