John C. Reed

“Cantor’s 60-minute C&S shows were largely carried by himself, Wallington, and violinist Dave Rubinoff, with occasional guests. Rubinoff supposedly led the orchestra. It was typical early ’30s variety: Cantor singing and mugging, situation skits, orchestra numbers, violin solos. Rubinoff’s segments were billed as “Rubinoff and His Violin,” and his radio-fed fame in those days was greater than that of most noted concert violinists. He “was a good violinist rather than a great violinist,” Cantor wrote years later: but Rubinoff was “a showman who gave the impression of being all the great violinists put together.” His Russian accent was so formidable that he did not speak on the air. In the early days, Cantor did Rubinoff’s lines: he would ask a question in his natural voice and answer it with a Russian accent. Cantor played every conceivable dialect, from “an Irish policeman to a Swedish cook.” Later he hired people for his skits: Teddy Bergman (Alan Reed) and Lionel Stander played dialects, including the Rubinoff role.””